The Age of the New Frontier
by Lord Maximus
Summary: The walls between two universes, different but similar in many ways, begin to break down and leading to outcomes no one could have predicted. A new age is about to begin but will it be one of peace or one of never ending chaos and death?
1. Chapter 1

**The Age Of The New Frontier**

 _The multi-verse was a wonderful place, full of life in all shapes and forms spanning across an unlimited number of worlds and dimensions. Each universe, each world, each dimension is different and unique in its own way but there is always a small similarity even if the worlds are polar opposites. Unfortunately when life is created it also leads to the creation of great evil. In every universe evil comes in all shapes and sizes with great powers with the intent to become the most powerful being of their world and enslave the inhabitants for their pleasure._

 _However where there is great evil there is also good to stand in its way and thwart its plans. They could be warriors, they could be scientists, they could be thieves, they could be liars, and they could be simple ordinary people with the right potential waiting for the right time. It does not matter in the end for all worlds and universes are separated by a thin wall that keeps the multi-verse in balance but that wall can be broken and it can allow worlds to come together which leads to unpredictable results._

 _Space._

 _The Final Frontier._

 _Our mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before._

(Following events of the Dominion War)

2379

A coup takes places on Romulus and Shinzon declares himself Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire

The _Enterprise_ -E defeats the I.R.W. _Scimitar_ in the Great Bloom System, killing Shinzon.

Tal'aura declares herself Praetor of Romulus but both Dontra and the Reman Xiomek oppose her rule

The Female Changeling is sentenced for crimes against sentient beings and sent to the maximum prison facility Ananke Alpha

2380

Romulan forces begin to blockade Remus

A cooperation with the Federation to restore Cardassia's agricultural base is opposed by conservative government forces and the True Way

2382

Tal'aura reforms the Romulan Senate to increase her power and accepts Federation aid

2383

Reconstruction of Cardassia begins with Federation aid

2384

Sela is appointed as leader of Tal'aura's military force

Tal'aura is murdered on Romulus, causing further unrest in both Romulan Senates

2385

The _Enterprise_ -E assists in the evacuation of non-Klingon residents on Khitomer

Starfleet Borg taskforce is dismantled, leading to Seven of Nine to cut her ties with Starfleet

Remans are granted Romulan citizenship for the first time

Captain Jean-Luc Picard becomes the Federation ambassador to Vulcan

2386

The Federation-Cardassian Treaty is signed and the Cardassian military is decommissioned

Data becomes captain of the _Enterprise_ -E

2387

Sela is exhiled and takes command of a fleet of ships, leaving for the Delta Qaudrant

The Hobus star goes supernova, destroying Romulus, Remus and several other Romulan planets

2388

K'Dahn, son of Worf, is born

2389

The Klingon Empire attacks several worlds in Romulan and Gorn space.

The Detepa Council is re-established as the governing body of the Cardassian Union

2391

True Way movement causes unrest in Cardassian society

Admiral Taris establishes a new Romulan fleet

The _Enterprise_ -E discovers possible Species 8472 activity in the McAllister C-5 Nebula

2392

Admiral Taris is declared leader of the Romulan Star Empire after driving back a Klingon Fleet

Starfleet mediated talks between the Klingons and the Gorn break down

2400

Worf makes a personal appeal to the Federation Council and Starfleet for Federation support of the Klingons' fight against the Undine infiltration but is rebuffed and cuts ties with the Federation

2401

Councillor Konjah of the Klingon High Council is revealed to be an Undine after an attack by Lethean mercenaries.

2404

The Gorn Hegemony surrenders to the Klingons and the Klingons execute over a dozen Undine infiltrators in the Gorn government and military

2408

Sela is named empress of the Romulan Star Empire

The _Enterprise_ -E investigates loss of contact with Starbase 236 and is destroyed by Undine forces

2409

The Romulan Republic settles on New Romulus

Former Praetor Taris is captured for her role in the Hobus supernova and is suspected of collaborating with the Iconians

The Borg return, launching their attack onto the Alpha and Beta Quadrants

The Borg return and attack Vega Colony

Evidence of the Iconians involved in many political turmoil is discovered by Starfleet and the Klingon Empire

The Federation and the Klingon Empire halt an invasion into the galaxy by the Mirror Universe along with an invasion of Klingon space by the Fek'Ihri, an invasion of Deep Space Nine by a rogue Jem'Hadar fleet, and an invasion of Defera by the Breen

The _Enterprise_ -NCC-1701-F is launched along with the flagships of the Romulan Republic and the Klingon Defense Fleet

Current Timeline

* * *

 **Location Unknown**

From the darkness of the void they watched the galaxy that they had once ruled.

They watched as the unworthy grew and spread like vermin, claiming the worlds that rightfully belonged to them and that they would one day reclaim. They had watched and waited for countless centuries and they could wait a thousand more if necessary. As they watched the galaxy that one day be theirs again they also watched other worlds that teemed with unworthy that selfishly fought for the worlds that they did not deserve. It was insulting to them to see their greatness pushed aside for lesser and unworthy vermin.

But they would wait and plan for when they would turn the unworthy against each other and watch as they burn in the fires of their own ignorance.

Even if they had to burn other galaxies to do it.

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
D** **eep Space  
Uncharted System**

Far from any form of civilized space a giant black cube moved through space towards a system where it had detected an energy surge from a dead star that could be used to create a temporal portal. The Collective had tried this before but the process had been unrefined at the time. Due to the loss of the transwarp conduit the Collective had been dealt a harsh blow, even worse than the loss of four million drones to Species 8472. If that was not enough the Collective had been infected neuralytic pathogen that took the Collective little over a year to expunge but not before it had inflicted massive damage.

The Collective set out to begin rebuilding its strength, assimilating species in their reach to replenish their numbers. Progress had been slow so the Collective began analyzing new theories to regain their strength and eliminate their enemies. The Collective had already considered several strategies and assigned multiple cubes to test them in different areas of Borg space where it would be possible to fully review the results of these tests.

Now it was ready for what the Federation referred to as a 'beta test'. If it works the Collective will once again reign supreme in the galaxy and all of its enemies would be destroyed or assimilated. In the end it did not matter.

Resistance was futile.

 _Dead Star Detected_

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 _Scans Confirm Star Is Suitable For Test_

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 _Approaching Star_

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 _Commencing Test_

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 _Activating Chronoton Pulse_

The cube emitted chronoton particles as it activated its transwarp engines, creating a transwarp corridor that began absorbing the temporal energies from the dead star.

 _Corridor Established_

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 _Inputting Coordinates For Timeline_

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 _Warning_

 _Gravitational Increase Detected_

 _Unable To Escape_

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 _Increasing Power To Deflector Shields And Structural Integrity Field_

 _Unable To Compensate_

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 _Transmitting All Data To Unimatrix_

A rift began to form, pulling the cube towards it as it released more chronoton particles and disappeared into the rift.

Upon swallowing the cube the tear released a subspace shockwave that destroyed everything in its wake over a distance of ten light years.

And its people simply continued on after learning the incident, deeming the loss of a single cube irrelevant. They had thousands of ships and drones to replace their loss and they would continue on as the Collective deemed fit.

* * *

(Following events that took place before the Clone Wars)

33 BBY

Padme Amidala becomes elected Queen of Naboo

Poggle the Lesser becomes Archduke of Geonosis

The Galactic Republic passes a bill of taxation of trade routes in the Outer Rim Territories

32 BBY

The Trade Federation invades Naboo but is later repulsed but at a price.

Anakin Skywalker is freed from slavery and leaves Tatooine with Qui-Gon Jinn

Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn is slain during the Invasion of Theed

Obi-Wan Kenobi is dubbed Jedi Knight and takes Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice

The Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum is replaced by Sheev Palpatine

The Kaminoans are hired by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to build a Clone Army for the Galactic Republic

Sifo-Dyas is killed on a mission to negotiate peace talks on the planet Felucia

A mysterious man named Tyrannus commissions bounty hunter Jango Fett to be the template for the clone army

31 BBY

Kuat Drive Yards received a secret order along with billions of credits to mass produce starships, vehicles and equipment for an army

30 BBY

The Galactic Senate passes a legislation ordering the Trade Federation to disband its droid armies.

29 BBY

Raith Sienar develops plans for a giant space station called the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid

Padme Amidala begins her second term as Queen of Naboo

25 BBY

Padme Amidala becomes Senator of Naboo upon the end of her second term as Queen.

24 BBY

Naboo Security Forces launch an attack on a Trade Federation research station, stealing plans for a new battle droid

Various corporations and planets begin to withdraw from the Republic following the appearance of Count Dooku on Raxus Prime declaring his intent to forge a new government in response to the corruption of the Republic Senate, leading to the formation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems

Chancellor Palpatine reaches the end of his second term but the passage of Emergency Powers Act allows him to stay on office until the Separatist crisis is dealt with

An assassination plot on Palpatine is thwarted but twenty one senators are killed

The Military Creation Act is proposed

22 BBY

Chancellor Palpatine announces a full Senate vote on the Military Creation Act

The Loyalist Committee is formed as an advisory body to the Chancellor

Bounty Hunters Zam Wesel and Jango Fett attempt to assassinate Senator Amidala on Coruscant

Obi-Wan Kenobi tracks Jango Fett to Kamino and discovers a clone army that has been created for the Republic. Kenobi follows Jango Fett to Geonisis and is captured, followed by Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker. All three are sentenced to execution in the Geonosian arena.

Evidence of the Confederacy of Independent Systems is preparing for war with the Galactic Republic. The Galactic Senate votes to grant Palpatine more emergency powers as he promises to create an army to counter the Separatists.

The First Battle of Geonisis begins the Clone Wars

The Hunt for the Decimator and death of Confederate Commander Sev'rance Tann

Asajj Ventress is recruited by Count Dooku on the planet Rattatak

The Confederacy invades the planet Rhen Var, beginning the Dark Reaper crisis which ends with the Republic seizing victory at the Battle of Thule

General Grievous makes his first official appearance in the war by defeating a Republic fleet assigned to attack the planet Hypori

Republic captures Muunilist and Skywalker duels assassin Asajj Ventress on Yavin 4 and Obi-Wan defeats bounty Durge on Muunilist

Republic forces led by Mace Windu defeat Confederate forces on Dantooine

Quaren Isolation League, backed by the Confederacy, attempts to seize control of Mon Calamari but is defeated by Republic forces led by Kit Fisto

A small droid force attacks and destroys a Jedi temple on Illum

A Separatist fleet invades and blockades Praestlyn in the Sluis Sector but is later repelled by Republic and freedom fighters which elevates Anakin Skywalker to rank of Jedi Knight

Confederacy blockade of the planet Christophsis is defeated

Ahsoka Tano becomes Anakin Skywalker's apprentice and assists in the rescue of Jabba the Hutt's son on Teth

A Confederate flotilla attacks General Aayla Secura's fleet over Quell and is destroyed but Secura is rescued by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, making a blind jump to the Maridun system in time to destroy a secret Separatist weapon

A Confederate fleet invades and blockades the planet Ryloth, wiping out the Republic garrison but the Republic launches a counterattack that liberates the planet

General Grievous attempts to sneak past the Rishi Moon to attack Kamino but is forced to retreat when the base is destroyed in battle and stops sending the all-clear signal

The planet Foerost is blockaded to trap the Techno Union shipyards which last for nearly two years

The Republic battles the Confederacy for control of Felucia that ends with the Republic forced to retreat but Felucia would remain contested ground

The Republic tests a new proton bomb that eliminates the droids armies attacking Malastare but awakens an ancient creature called the Zillo Beast. Chancellor Palpatine orders the beast taken back to Coruscant for study but results in the deaths of thousands of citizens and the Zillo Beast itself following its rampage across the planet.

Trade Federation fleet blockades Pantora but later ends the blockade due to blackmail from the senator of Pantora

The terrorist organization known as Death Watch plots with the Confederacy to seize control of Mandalore but fails and the CIS breaks away relations with the Death Watch

21 BBY

Republic invades Mygeeto and battles for control of the planet for nearly two years

Even Piell sent on secret mission to chart the hidden Nexus route

Senator Amidala is called to Naboo to settle a dispute with the Gungans for demanding Naboo to declare itself neutral

Nute Gunray intercepts a transmission of Amidala returning to Naboo and sends a droid fleet to destroy Amidala's ship

Current Timeline

* * *

 **A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…**

 **STAR WARS**

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE I**

 **THE ROAD TO TWILIGHT**

 **IT IS AN AGE OF CONFLICT AND DARKNESS AS THE CLONE WARS RAGE ACROSS THE GALAXY. DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF THE JEDI AND THEIR CLONE ALLIES THE REPUBLIC IS HELPLESS AS THE SEPERATISTS RAMPAGE ACROSS THE GALAXY, CAPTURING OR DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PLANETS IN THEIR WAKE AND CAUSING MORE STAR SYSTEMS TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE REPUBLIC FOR THEIR FAILURE TO BRING PROTECTION AND ORDER TO THEIR PEOPLE. THE WAR HAS BEGUN TO TAKE ITS TOLL AS THE PEOPLE BECOME WEARY OF CONFLICT AND BOTH SIDES DESPERATELTY SEARCH FOR WAYS TO END THE WAR ON THEIR OWN TERMS. AS THE BATTLES WAGE A PLAN CONTINUES TO UNFOLD BEHIND THE SCENES, WAITING AND PLANNING FOR THE RIGHT TIME TO DOMINATE THE GALAXY.**

 **IN THE MID-RIM SENATOR AMIDALA IS RETURNING HOME TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE GUNGANS WHO WISH FOR NABOO TO BE REMOVED FROM THE WAR AND DECLARE ITSELF NEUTRAL. LITTLE DOES THE SENATOR KNOW THAT SEPARATISTS SPIES INTERCEPTED THE TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE SENATE ASKING HER TO ACCEPT THE MISSION AND ON THE ORDERS OF NUTE GUNRAY, VICEROY OF THE TRADE FEDERATION AND A BITTER ENEMY OF AMIDALA A SEPARATIST FLEET HAS BEEN DISPATCHED TO HUNT HER DOWN.**

 **AS THE REPUBLIC AND THE SEPARATISTS FIGHT FOR CONTROL OF THE MID AND OUTER RIMS BOTH THE JEDI AND THE SITH SENSE A GREAT CHANGE ON THE HORIZON…**

* * *

They were hungry.

They were always hungry.

They always needed to feed.

They were driven by their insatiable hunger to consume but they had been stopped several times by now by bothersome prey that fought back, destroying their much needed source of power.

They needed a new plan.

They needed a new feeding ground.

Reaching out with the only few places of their former feeding ground they concentrated that power into forming a portal that would lead to another feeding ground. They had several ships that they had used for feeding grounds but they were now being used to open a gate to a new feeding ground.

They would hopefully find new prey that could not fight back and stop them from feeding.

And no one would stop them.

* * *

 **Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Chommel Sector**

"Oh dear! Oh my!"

"3PO, shut up!" A woman at the controls shouted as she angled the ship out of the way of incoming fighters that spat out red laser fire at the ship she and mechanical companion were on. "Rear deflectors are down and so is the hyperdrive. 3PO, send a distress signal and fast!"

"Right, Mistress!" The golden plated robot hastily said, accessing the communication system. "I do hope help comes soon!"

'So do I.' The woman thought as she frantically looked for a way to escape her attackers.

It was times like these she wondered what she had done to deserve always ending up in crazy situations where someone or something was trying to kill or capture her. More than once a simple mission where she was either working as a senator or returning home just to simply handle a few personal dilemmas and she ended up instantly attacked or captured.

'Maybe Anakin will show up out nowhere and save me again.' The woman idly wondered and shook those thoughts away. 'Now is not the time for that.'

She needed to escape and quickly because the rear deflector shield was almost depleted. Just as she looked at her scanners, hoping for any signs of help arriving but instead picked up a strange energy surge slowly forming in the sector they were approaching.

Perhaps a way out…

Or a way to get herself killed.

A laser blast rocked the ship and she soon realized she had no choice and set course for the blue swirling vortex with the Separatist fighters and the large ship following them. As the ship entered the vortex her vision was temporarily blinded by a flash of blue light and she thought she saw what could only be described as ghosts and a ship she had never seen before pass by her before her vision was engulfed by a bright light.

* * *

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

The Jedi Temple remained an impressive sight to those who took the time to see with the Jedi Council Chamber located at the very top of the spire. The sight of seeing an entire city would have been described as beautiful but the Jedi Council had no time to enjoy such delights. At this very moment, a small green creature wearing robes with great wisdom in his eyes was gripping his cane as images exploded like a volcano in his mind.

 _Dark cybernetic creatures marching out of the shadows…_

 _"Resistance is futile."_

 _Ships of various size, shapes and colors fighting against cube shaped ships that changed into grey triangular shaped warships…_

 _Faces of different beings staring at him…_

 _A planet with blue oceans, green land lands, and white clouds shining bright in space…_

 _"Our mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."_

 _And then from out the darkness came a creature whose mere presence screamed with power and darkness._

 _"You claim to walk in the light but you are blinded as you chase the shadow. Do not attract our attention, little creature." Its voice, ethereal and mocking, taunted him before vanishing back into the shadows._

Master Yoda opened his eyes, finding himself back in his room with the curtains closed. "Danger to the Republic there is."

* * *

 **Mid-Rim  
Arkanis Sector  
Republic Scout Group  
Approaching Tatoo System**

From the blackness of space emerged four triangular shaped ships, their hull pointed forward like a dagger but armed to the teeth with turrets, propelled forward by large tube shaped engines at the rear with the lead vessel moving at the front as the other three moved in a formation.

"Sir, we've emerged from hyperspace and are moving towards the designated coordinates." An officer reported to the commander who stood at the far end of the bridge, looking out through the angular windows at the empty void.

"Very good, captain." The man was dressed in what was obviously a military uniform complete with black boots and gloves. "Inform General Skywalker."

"Yes sir. I'm sure he'll be happy to know…Once he's done training." The officer said with a smile.

The commander sighed in slight annoyance. It was not first time General Skywalker had sparred in the hangar, attracting a great deal of attention from the crew.

* * *

 **Republic Star Destroyer _Resolute_  
Hanger Deck**

In the large hangar of the ship, men dressed in white armor with black facial markings on their helmets watched as two fighters spared with cylinders that released beams of blue and green, greatly resembling swords. For anyone who didn't know these men they would have released they all had the same face, even if they had a few minor differences like custom styled facial hair or lack of facial hair, tattoos or no tattoos, scars on pale or tanned skin which had been on multiple worlds with different kinds of weather.

What they had in common besides faces, armor, and weapons was that they were all soldiers and they were watching their commander beat the living hell out of his student.

"Come on Snips, is this really the best you can do?" A young man laughed as he blocked the green energy saber easily with his blue one.

The opponent, his apprentice, grunted as she as she grappled with her master but things weren't going her way. Not that they ever did when she sparred with her master as he was one to never hold back in anything, even something as a simple as a spar. It didn't take long for him to slash at her knee, earning a cry of pain but luckily it didn't leave any burns or even a scar, just a small gash that would heal quickly.

Grunting the apprentice looked up at her teacher with a glare who deactivated his weapon. "Now don't give me that look, Snips. I told you that you have to be quick and ready for anything."

The girl grunted as she stood back up. "Come on, again."

"Sorry but we're out of time. We just came out of hyperspace. You'd know if you were listening to the engines." The man said with an infuriating smirk.

The girl rolled her blue eyes. "Sure, master, whatever you say."

The man chuckled. "Glad you understand."

The girl shook her head and followed her 'master' off the hangar deck and towards the bridge. They passed through officers in the halls, greatly standing out for various reasons. The man wore custom dark robes but walked like a confident commander while the girl stood out even more due to her orange skin and the striped organic head dress with two head tails falling down the side of her face.

"General Skywalker, we have emerged from hyperspace." The commander said when they arrived on the bridge.

"Any sign of any Separatist ships?" The man, Anakin Skywalker asked.

"Negative sir, but we're conducting a routine patrol. Might I ask why we were sent out here?" The commander asked.

"The Chancellor received Intel from Jabba the Hutt of a possible Separatist attack mounted against Tatooine for refusing to allow the Separatists to use the hyperspace lanes in Hutt space. We're here to provide defense." Anakin explained.

"A simple patrol? Why ask us instead of sparing a few ships while we concentrate on the front lines?" The commander asked.

"They'd possibly feel better if we were here to make the people of Tatooine feel safe." Anakin shrugged but to be honest he'd rather be on the other side of the galaxy than patrol the dust ball that had once been his home.

"So…how long?" His student, Ahsoka Tano asked. "A week? Few weeks? A month?"

"Just as long as soon we can assure everyone that there is no Separatist fleet on the way. Once they hear there's a Republic Fleet out here they'll back-"

"General!"

Anakin didn't get the chance to finish as a clone rush up to him. "We've received new orders sir. We're being called to the Naboo system."

"The Seps are attacking Naboo?" Anakin asked in concern.

"It's possible sir. Our garrison reported something about Senator Amidala disappearing during a mission to Naboo." The clone reported.

Anakin's eyes widened before he spun around and sprinted to the bridge. "Yularen, set course for Naboo. Now!"

* * *

 _It is the year 2409 AD and the Alpha Quadrant is on the brink of full scale war as the United Federation of Planets clashes with the Klingon Empire in a bloody conflict that has lasted for five years while other forces work to advance themselves in the midst of the fighting. What remains of the Romulan Star Empire struggles to rebuild itself while a new faction known as the Romulan Republic is established that is dedicated to peace like their Vulcan brethren. The Borg have returned, the Dominion works to rebuild its forces, the True Way works to force the Cardassian people to return to its pre-military state, and the Alpha Quadrant has been infiltrated by dangerous forces. As the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans work to stabilize the quadrant by any means necessary another conflict threatens to spill into the galaxy that will endanger them and the Milky Way galaxy._

* * *

 **Form** **er Romulan Neutral Zone Boarder  
USS _Friedrich_**

 _Stardate: 87009.5_

 _The USS Friedrich has been dispatched to the Bassen Rift to investigate strange readings near the Basen Rift which was the site of the battle between Reman Warbird Scimitar and the Enterprise-E. Following the end of the battle large amounts of thalaron radiation was released when the Scimitar was destroyed and Starfleet has made a point to monitor the area. These systems surrounding the Bassen Rift have been uninhabited after the supernova from the Hobus star destroyed Romulus and Remus and most of the planets in the system have been left alone due to the extreme dangers of tharalon radiation but long range scanners from our tour of the Neutral Zone have discovered strange anomalies occurring the rift. At this moment we are moving at one half impulse power so we're not caught off guard by possible Romulan or Reman ships._

 _End Log_

"One Hundred Sixty-seven, one hundred sixty-eight, one hundred sixty-nine, one hundred seventy." He grunted as he sat up from the floor mat, taking a small break from his morning exercise that had been over an hour of push ups.

He stood up and picked up a towel from a nearby table to wipe off the sweat from his head and sighed.

He sat down next to a replicator. "Water, cold please."

In a small flash of light appeared a glass of water which he took and desperately drank to quench his thirst. Once he was done he picked up the book he had left on his desk and opened it up to the page he had left off.

" _Bridge to Captain Malcolm._ " A voice from the bad on the table spoke.

"Go ahead."

" _We're approaching the area where the first anomaly was detected._ "

"Understood. I'm on my way." Captain Kurt Malcolm quickly changed into his uniform and headed for the bridge.

As he walked through the hall he could hear the engines of the _Friedrich_ slowing down, meaning they were approaching their target and no doubt his tactical officer Surla was running multiple scans for signs of anything dangerous as usual. That was the norm with her but he didn't mind as in times like these with the state of conflict between the Federation and the Klingons slowly coming to an end but with all of the other conflicts in the galaxy a little paranoia was justified.

The USS _Friedrich_ NCC-93018 cruised along what was once the Federation-Romulan Neutral zone while scanning passively for all known possible disturbances. The ship was a modified _Sovereign_ class Assault Cruiser, armed with enhanced phaser banks and arrays for better shield penetration, Covariant shielding and a neutrino deflector array for increased protection and regeneration, advanced quantum slipstream drive, neutronium-monotanium hull armor, greater electroplasma efficiency at lower levels all of which were reversed engineered Borg technology, while carrying photon and quantum torpedoes made the _Friedrich_ a formidable ship for anyone who comes looking for a fight.

"Bridge." Kurt said instantly upon entering the turbo life.

He listened the faint humming of the lift as it took him up to the bridge. It didn't take long for the lift to take him to the bridge and when the doors opened he was satisfied to see all of the bridge crew were at their posts.

"Status." He said as he walked towards his command chair.

"We're moving one quarter impulse power to where the first anomaly was detected." The first officer, a Vulcan named T'Vrell reported from the first officer station.

"Good. Hold station at three thousand kilometers so nothing catches us by surprise." Kurt said as he sat down.

"Aye sir." Ensign Ku Zalara who was a Bajoran replied, executing her captain's commands.

The _Friedrich_ came a stop in the empty system as its powerful scanners began looking for anything that presented itself as something abnormal in a system that was empty aside from a few dead planets and a gas giant.

"Anything to report?" Kurt asked after fifteen minutes.

"Yes sir. I'm reading a quantum and spatial distortion in subspace but I'm having trouble getting a complete lock on it. It's possible a subspace rift is forming here. I'm also detecting chronoton based particles." Lieutenant Rako, a Trill reported from his station. "The patterns are erratic. It's like the barriers that separate normal space and subspace are weakening in this area of space."

"Any idea what could cause that?" Kurt asked.

"Negative."

Kurt sighed as he closed his eyes. "I can only imagine what we'd have to do to find out what's going on out here. Suggestion?"

"We can send a class one probe to get a better look." T'Vrell suggested. "If a rift is forming it's safer that we maintain a safe distance."

"Very well. Lieutenant Surla, prepare a class one probe." Kurt nodded.

"Aye sir." Surla, a female Andorian replied from her station. "Probe ready to be launched."

Lieutenant Rako's console started beeping. "Captain, something's forming!"

Kurt stood up and watched as space in front of the _Friedrich_ became distorted and a tear of bright blue light ripped itself out in front of the massive Federation ship. "Full reverse! Pull us back!"

The Federation ship pulled back out of reach of the newly formed anomaly as it stretched out, almost pulling the _Friedrich_ into it.

"Full scan now." Malcolm said, watching the view screen carefully.

"It appears to be some kind of…quantum fissure forming but I've never seen anything like this before." Rako stated as his console beeped. "Captain, I'm detecting movement. Something is coming out."

"Yellow Alert." Malcolm replied, not willing to take any chances.

Out of the tear came a ship that no one on the bridge had ever seen before with a dark grey hull in contrast to the _Friedrich_ and dwarfed the Federation starship with fin like protrusions near the end where the engines were located in a cross like pattern with a tower at the front and below it was a large forward turret resembling old style cannons. It was sleek but armored and it was obvious it was a warship with all of the smaller cannons running along the hull. It was clearly different from any ships that Malcolm had seen before, both data banks and his short experience as captain.

The ship was angular, yet boxy with giant engines compared to the _Friedrich_ 's which seemed to be the only kind of thrusters the ship and the tower had a hexagonal shaped window which was assumed by the bridge crew to be the ship's bridge. Upon leaving the tear the ship seemed to drift forward slowly, propelled by whatever had sent it out of the tear.

"Full scan and open all hailing frequencies." Malcolm quickly said.

"The vessel is eight hundred twenty five meters in length, four hundred twenty six meters in width, two hundred forty three meters in height. The hull is made of a hybrid alloy unknown to sensors but I am picking up trace elements matching carbon and neutronium. There are no life signs aboard the ship and it is operating on a low power setting. Its possible life support was cut off and the crew died of suffocation." Rako reported. "Scans show the engines are ion based but I'm not detecting any inertial dampers which could explain why the ship is still drifting."

"Ion based engines? That's a very old method of propulsion." Malcolm mused.

"There are also signs of hull breaches along the rear, close to the engines. The damage is consistent with weapons fired." Rako continued.

The view screen showed battle scars along the hull, confirming Rako's theory that the ship had been damaged in a battle.

"Multiple weapon emplacements located across the hull of the ship. There is no record of them but there are similarities to plasma and laser based weaponry." Surla reported. "I can't exactly identify the armaments as the mechanics are unlike anything I've seen before."

"They got into a fight, tried to flee and they somehow ended up here." Malcolm guessed, taking what he had learned to form a plausible theory.

"That is a logical theory, Captain." T'Vrell nodded.

"So what do we do, sir?" Rako asked.

Kurt frowned in thought before standing up from his chair. "Prepare an away team to beam aboard. I want them to be well armed just in case. I want them all assembled in ten minutes."

"Captain, I should point out that is against regulations for the commanding officer to go into possibly hostile territory." T'Vrell pointed out.

Kurt smirked. "No guts, no glory T'Vrell. Besides, I was a tactical officer longer than I was a captain. Do we need environmental suits?"

"No sir. Scans confirm an atmosphere composed of oxygen suitable for humanoids." Rako answered.

"All right but we're not taking any chances. Everyone will be properly armed with personal shields and tricorders. No stupid risks." Kurt looked around the bridge, seeing no one was going to protest. "All right, let's get started."


	2. Chapter 2

**Mid-Rim  
Chommell Sector  
R** **epublic Star Destroyer _Resolute  
_ Bridg** **e**

" _With the Gungans putting pressure on the queen to remove Naboo from the war Senator Amidala was asked to speak with them._ " The holographic image of Mace Windu stated.

"Did she have any escort?" Anakin aside.

" _The Senate insisted but she refused._ " Anakin's former Jedi Master and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi stated.

'Of course she did.' Anakin thought with frustration.

" _As far as we can tell her ship was not destroyed and there has been no distress signal but we are looking into it now._ " Mace Windu stated.

"We can be there in no time." Anakin stated.

" _No, Skywalker. We need your fleet to hold off a possible Separatist attempt to capture Sullust._ " Mace said. " _We need you to defend them. We'll send Master Shaak Ti to look into it. Her healing skills will be useful if the Senator is injured._ "

Anakin wanted to argue but he couldn't with Ob-Wan and Ahsoka watching so he simply nodded. "Yes Master."

Obi-Wan shared a look with Anakin and nodded before the transmission ended.

"Don't worry, Master. I'm sure Padme's fine." Ahsoka said once they were alone.

"I know but-"

"Sir, we're detecting something up ahead. We can't tell what it is." A sensor officer reported, interrupting the discussion.

"Separatists?" Anakin asked, turning around.

"No…It's not like anything I've ever seen." The office replied, his eyebrows furrowing as he attempted to adjust his scanners. "It's…"

He didn't have to finish his sentence as the space in front of the fleet exploded in a blast of light, resembling a tear.

"Master…" Ahsoka trailed off, stunned by what she was seeing. "What is…"

"I don't know." Anakin answered Ahsoka's unfinished question. "It looks like hyperspace but I've never seen anything like this before."

Out of it came a giant ship, a black cube with strange green lights that slowly moved out of the hole as it closed up. The ship had no engines, bridge, or anything that was regularly seen any of starship in the galaxy.

"I've never seen a ship like that before." Ahsoka said, feeling nervous for some reason.

"Neither have I." Anakin turned and walked back towards a table that was projecting a holographic image of the ship. "Open a channel. Let's see if whoever onboard feels like talking."

No one noticed it but Anakin suddenly felt a great disturbance upon seeing that ship, a sense of emptiness that he had never felt before.

"Opening a channel now sir."

* * *

Inside the cube, systems had powered down due to the fact that the ship had been shunted through space and time, causing minor damage and power loss.

 _Seventy percent power loss_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adjusting remaining energy generators_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Activating emergence power systems_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Minor damage, regenerative sequence initiated._

The crew moved as one, restoring systems and repairing minor damages while working to discover their current location.

 _Star formations do not match database_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _No response to subspace transmission from the Collective_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _No trace of transwarp network detected_

If it wasn't connected with the transwarp network anymore that meant it was no longer in its home galaxy. However instead of panicking the crew reacted with cold indifference as they continued to scan the surrounding space.

" _Attention unknown ship, this is General Anakin Skywalker of the Republic flagship Resolute. Identify yourselves._ "

The Collective stopped, hearing a voice on the subspace channel and detected four ships of unknown origin slowly approaching. The universal translator instantly picked up the language known as 'English' being used by the speaker designated Anakin Skywalker. An instant scan confirmed they did not match any known vessels but a more detailed scan was warranted.

 _Vessels do not match any design in Collective database._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Initiating Polaron Scan_

The cube released a green light on the ship called the _Resolute_ , scanning it down to the last bolt.

* * *

"What's it doing?" Ahsoka asked in alarm as the bridge was bathed in a green light. "Are they attacking us?"

"It's some kind of high energy beam but it's not harming us…I think it's scanning us." The scanning clone officer reported.

"Shields up. I don't like the way they are acting." Anakin said, scowling in apprehension.

He reached out with the Force, sensing that the ship he was staring at was in some strange way…alive and yet at the same time it wasn't. He couldn't sense the Light Side or the Dark Side or even any kind of emotion on the strange ship. It felt alive but he couldn't feel the Force flowing from that ship, as if they were somehow shielded from the Force which was something no one had considered to be possible.

All he sensed was a strange emptiness but it had a purpose, a cold unfeeling purpose while at the same time was almost a literal void in the Force.

* * *

 _Ship Class Unknown_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Sp_ _ecification Not In Collective Database_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Length: 1, 137 Meters_

 _Width: 548 Meters_

 _Height: 268 Meters_

 _Engine Units: Primitive Ion Engines Using Unknown Fuel Source_

 _Power System: Unknown But Matches Fusion Reactor Technology Using Tachyonic Matter in a Similar Pattern to Federation Warp Cores_

 _Armament: Multipl_ _e_ _High Energy Plasma Laser Hybrid Weaponry Varying In Size And Multiple Torpedo Launchers With Baryon Based Warhead, Proton Detonator, Six Tractor Beam Projectors And Two Types of Primitive Shielding Systems Detected_

 _Life Signs: Over Seven Thousand Humanoid Life Signs Detected_

 _Additional Information: Detecting Multiple Smaller Armed Aerial And Ground Vehicle Unknown Class Ships_

 _Final Analysis: Information Needed On New Galaxy_

 _Prepare Boarding Party_

 _Assimilate Crew And Access Databanks_

 _All Species In This New Galaxy Will Become One With The Borg_

* * *

"They've stopped scanning us." The sensor clone reported.

"Guess they learned whatever they wanted to know." Ahsoka commented but she still felt on edge like her Master.

"General, the ship is replying. Audio only." The clone at the communication station reported.

What happened next was unexpected as the speakers on the bridge and on the entire ship broadcasted no one voice but what sounded like thousands of voices speaking in unison. " _We are the Borg. You will lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._ "

Anakin frowned as he shared a concern look with Ahsoka and Yularen before opening a channel. "If you open fire on us you will be threatening war with the Galactic Republic and that is something you _do not_ want."

" _War is irrelevant. Resistance is futile._ " The Borg replied, not at all threatened by Anakin trying to force them to back down. " _You will comply._ "

"No, we won't. Commander, ready our forward cannons and target that ship." Anakin said, closing the channel. "Send a message back to Coruscant and inform the Jedi Council we have engaged a new enemy." Anakin didn't realize what was about to happen but the galaxy was about to be changed forever. "Open fire."

The gunners quickly carried out Anakin's orders and the four Republic capital ships opened fire, their turbolasers spitting blue energy bolts at the Borg Cube and blasting away portions of the giant ship that remained stationary, refusing to fight back despite its threat.

* * *

 _Enemy Vessels Firing High Energy Plasma Weapons With Powerful Kinetic Impact_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adapting Shields And Modifying Internal Dampening Fields To Adjust For Kinetic Force_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Regeneration Commencing_

* * *

The four _Venator_ Class Star Destroyers continued to attack but slowly the attacks became less effective against the Borg Cube and soon enough they simply exploded harmlessly against the surface of the Cube.

"How damaged is that ship?" Anakin asked, watching through the bridge windows with Ahsoka and Yularen.

"We've inflicted enough fire power to destroy a Separatist Dreadnaught but the bloody thing is still standing. At first we were damaging it but it no longer seems like we're inflicting any damage." The Sensor Clone reported.

"How can that be possible? No ship could stand up to a barrage like this." Yularen stated.

"Prepare a squadron of bombers and tell them to fire their ion cannons." Anakin said, staring at the Cube as it simply hung before the Republic ships, ignoring their attacks.

Minutes after Anakin gave the order the front of the Republic ships opened, allowing yellow painted fighters with Y-shaped hulls launched from the hanger and moved in attack formation towards the Borg ship, firing cerulean bolts which impact the Cube and sending electrical discharges along the hull. The Y-wing class bombers had come out of production early in the Clone Wars and had proven themselves well, being used by both Clones and Jedi. They were well armored and shielded while fast and maneuverable and armed with ion cannons to disable enemy ships and proton torpedoes to damage or destroy enemy installations. The Y-Wings flew in attack formation around the Cube, firing their torpedoes and ion cannons that left scorched marks and electrical discharged across the hull as the fighters continued their attack.

* * *

 _Warning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _New Weapon Signature Detected_

 _Scanning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Ionized Particle Weapon Disrupting Power Distribution Systems_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adapting Shields_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Diverting Power To Compensate_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Lock Weapons On Smaller Vessels_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Prepare Boarding Parties_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Locate Computer Core_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Pr_ e _paring to Extract Sample of Republic Ship_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Assimilat_ _e Any Lifeforms Onboard_

* * *

The Borg Cube targeted the fighters as they made their strafing run and lashed out with plasma beams that moved along the surface of the Cube, hitting and destroying the incoming fighters with amazing and terrifying pin-point accuracy. The fighters split apart to try and save themselves, retreating back to their ships as the Cube continued to fire on them.

"Sir, our fighters are being decimated." The sensor clone reported.

"Did their ion cannons have any effect?" Anakin narrowed his eyes at the Cube that had destroyed so many of his fighters in only a few seconds.

"They did. We read power fluctuations for a second." The officer reported.

"That must be why they started attacking the fighters. They ignored us attacking them up until now." Yularen mused.

"But what do we do now?" Ahsoka asked, now concerned with the battle and how bad it was seemingly going.

"We know they had an effect which means we'll have to be careful now." Anakin's mind was on overdrive as he started thinking of a plan.

"GENERAL!" The clone technician shouted. "Something's happening!"

The Borg Cube activated its tractor beam on a nearby _Venator_ Star Destroyer and lashed out with a powerful beam that sliced into the hull of the ship, cutting out a circular piece of the hull and pulled it into the Cube.

"It cut out a piece of the _Republic Dream!_ " Ahsoka cried out in shock.

"We can't let this go on. Commander, prepare-"

"Sirs! Intruder Alert!" A clone technician shouted. "We're getting reports of intruders that are…literally appearing out of nowhere. I'm getting the same report in the hangar, engineering, and the weapon controls."

Anakin and Ahsoka were suddenly overwhelmed the same feeling of emptiness that they had sensed from the Cube. They were brought out of their thoughts as a green light appeared in the center of the bridge, revealing a strange humanoid that looked heavily cybernetic. Its skin was blotched pale, half its face covered by cybernetic implants, a machine like arm and multiple wires and strange devices covering its body from head to toe.

"WHAT THE-" Someone said Anakin and Ahsoka pulled and activated their lightsabers while the clone guards pulled out their blasters.

The intruder ignored the blasters pointed at it and looked around the bridge, moving to a nearby console on the wall.

"Halt! Stay where you are!" A clone trooper shouted, aiming his rifle at the intruder but he was ignored.

As the intruder moved to access the console the clone trooper fired, sending a blue bolt of energy and plasma that hit the intruder in the back. It's back sparked as it fell over, small gearing sounds were heard as the cyborg seemingly died.

"Is it dead?" Ahsoka asked as the clone trooper slowly approached the body and looked it over, checking its pulse.

"It's dead, sir." The clone trooper answered.

"At least we now know we can hurt them but how did it appear like that?" Yularen asked. "Did it…teleport itself onboard?"

Anakin was silent but he thought over what Yularen had said. The intruder had appeared out of nowhere in a flash of green light meaning it was possible that it had teleported onto the _Resolute_ and that would explain the other intruder sightings. No such technology had ever been invented even though a few scientists had invested interests in creating matter transporters.

"What do we do, General?" Rex asked.

"We locate the other intruders onboard and stop them. Get the other ships on the comm and keep them on the line. We have to stop them before they take over the entire fleet." Anakin quickly said. "Rex, get everyone moving. We're stopping them here and now."

"Yes sir." Rex nodded.

The clone troopers responded with quick reflexes that had been trained into them as they fired on the invading Borg drones in the ship, taking out a few in the first few minutes of the fighting before the Borg adapted to their blasters and their shields began shrugging off blaster bolts. A clone pulled out Z-9 cannon and pulled the trigger, letting loose a fire storm of blue plasma bolts that hit the Borg drones marching across the hangar deck that knocked more than a few of them down. The kinetic force of the cannon was enough to momentarily stop the Borg advancements as the shields did not take into account of heavy kinetic resistance. However the Borg continued to appear out of the green transporter energy as they attempted to overwhelm the clone troopers.

As for Anakin and Ahsoka they moved with their own group of responding clone troopers through the _Resolute_ , their lightsabers slashing through any Borg drones that they came upon. As they moved through the ship, the Borg drones analyzed Anakin and Ahsoka's lightsabers, attempting to adapt their shields to the unique weapons.

* * *

 _Analyzing Unknown Weapons_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Pure plasma Contained In Magnetic Field_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Power System Unknown_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Further Scan Required_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adjusting Shields To Compensate For Plasma Heat_ _And Kinetic Force_

* * *

"Rex, bring out the droid poppers." Anakin shouted as he slashed another drone down.

"Right!" Rex nodded.

Droid poppers, short for Electro-Magnetic Pulse Generator was an anti-droid weapon used by the Republic against battle droids, releasing a blast of electrical energy that damaged or disabled electronic systems. In this case it was effective against incoming Borg drones that were instantly disabled instantly by the EMP pulse.

* * *

 _New Weapon Detected_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Electro-Magnetic Pulse Capable of Disabling Drone Units_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adapting Shields_

* * *

The Borg continued on, their collective already adapting their shields to block the effect of the droid poppers as Ahsoka slashed at another drone, only for her lightsaber to be blocked by the drone's shields.

"Huh?!" Ahsoka gasped as her lightsaber bounced off the drone.

She stepped back as the Force screamed at her to move and jumped back as the drone tried to grab her. She was not the only one as Anakin slashed another and spotted five Borg drones approaching him. He raised his lightsaber and slashed at the nearest drone but the drone's shields blocked his lightsaber. The drone tried to grab him but Anakin raised his hand and blasted the drones back with the Force.

"They keep coming, General." Rex continued to shoot at the drones, even though his twin pistols were not having much effect anymore.

Anakin thrust out his hands, releasing a Force blast that knocked the remaining drones back into the walls. The drones instantly disintegrated in a flash of green light.

* * *

 _Warning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Unknown Form of Attack Used By Humanoid Species_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Scanning for all Possible Energy Connected With Psionic Abilities_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Further Study Required_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Data Link With Databas_ _e Established_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Downloading Navigational Data_

 _Downloading Available Species Data_

 _Downloading Communication Logs_

 _Downloading FTL Drive Specifications_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Scanning For Suitable System to Construct Unimatrix Zero-One_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Warning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Detecting Multiple Ships Approaching_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Method of FTL Similar to Quantum Slipstream Drive Used By Species 116_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Detecting Weapon Emplacements Similar to Republic Vessels_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Prepare For Hostilities_

* * *

"I think we got them all General." Rex said once the drones were all gone.

"For now. These things are like their ship." Anakin said. "You can hurt them for a moment but they'll just…adapt to everything that is used against them."

"Adapt?" Ahsoka asked, walking up to her master.

"I sensed it through the Force. Whatever these Borg are they are not from this galaxy. I can't feel the Force in them. I couldn't even sense single individual thought. These Borg are perhaps millions of beings held together by a single will, some kind of collective consciousness." Anakin tried to explain what he had felt.

"A hive mind?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes, unlike anything I've ever sensed before." Anakin nodded. "Back to the bridge. I need to contact the Jedi Council."

He remembered sensing something powerful controlling all of the minds that were part of the Collective as he tried to delve in, only to be rebuffed. He saw enough to know what they wanted.

Assimilation of all biological life and advanced technologies.

Absolute Order.

Evolution.

Resistance is futile.

They would adapt to almost any form of weapons except one thing: the Force.

The Force could repel them but that wouldn't be enough for the Borg ship that continued to attack the fleet. They needed a strategy to stop the Borg before they destroyed the fleet. If only there was a way to stop the Collective…

"General! We're detecting a Separatist fleet coming out of hyperspace. They're on an intercept course." A clone officer reported.

"I see them." Anakin narrowed his eyes as he saw the enemy ships.

It was a classic invasion force, consisting of four _Munificent_ class frigates, two _Recusant_ class ships, three _Lucrehulk_ class battleships, and a _Providence_ class dreadnaught that was leading the fleet.

"General, multiple enemy ships coming in at multiple vectors. They're closing in on us and the Borg ship." The tactical officer reported.

"Pull us back. We can't fight both." Anakin said quickly.

* * *

 **Separatist Fleet  
Confederate Providence Class Destroyer - _Invisible Hand  
_ Bridge**

"General, the Republic Fleet is just ahead." The Command Battle Droid reported.

"Launch fighters and direct all power to the forward deflectors." The Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies and killer of many Jedi General Grievous narrowed his eyes at the sight of the Borg ship. "Identify that ship."

"Unknown, General." The droid reported before the Borg cube swept across the Separatist fleet with another polaron scanning beam. "General, we're being scanned and hailed."

From the speakers came the voice, or rather voices of endless individuals speaking as one. " _We are the Borg. Life as you know it as ended. You will escort us to your point of origin. From this point on you will service us. Resistance is futile._ "

"Target the cube and blow it out of the sky!" Grievous growled.

Vulture Droids and Hyena Bombers launched at the Borg Cube while the Separatist ships opened fire on the massive ship. The Borg Cube seemed distracted by the sudden appearance of the new enemy but responded by scanning the fleet and then came to a decision on what to do. Tractor beams lashed out, grabbing the Vulture Droids and the Hyena Bombers, pulling them into the Cube's docking hangar that opened themselves up to receive their new guests.

* * *

"Why are they capturing those droids?" Ahsoka wondered.

"I'm not sure." Anakin frowned as his mind went to work, looking for ways to stop the Borg.

Then it hit him.

"Everyone prepare to abandon ship. I'll be down in engineering. Tell the rest of the fleet to pull back and wait for my signal."

* * *

 _Fight_ _er Class Ships Scanned_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Non-Organic Craft Piloted by Primitive AI_

 _Positronic Network Not Detected_

 _Limited Intelligence_

 _Non-Learning Capabilities_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Adjusting Weapons_

* * *

"Why aren't our weapons working?" Grievous demanded, glaring at the giant cub that was taking a full attack from the fleet but refused to explode.

"Our weapons are at full power, General." The Command droid reported. "I don't know why they're not working."

"Of course not." Grievous shook his head. "Full scan. I want to know what that ship is."

By this point the Borg had enough of being attacked on all sides and decided it had all it needed from the Republic and Separatist ships. It lashed out with a plasma beam that slammed into one of the _Munificent_ class frigates, slamming through the hull and hit the main reactor which set off an instant chain reaction.

"All forward cannons fire! Divert all power to the cannons!" Grievous roared at how one of his ships was destroyed instantly and the Borg made look as easy as swatting a fly.

The Separatist ships intensified their fire power, slowly breaking through the Borg ship's hull as the adaptive shields were not designed to withstand all those attacks under a prolonged amount of time. The cube fired a gravimetric torpedo that hit the bridge of a _Recusan_ t crippling it instantly.

"Spread the fleet out. Attack from all angles." Grievous said, quickly looking for any weaknesses in the unknown enemy's ship.

* * *

" _General, the Borg ship is attacking the Separatist fleet. The Separatists are being pushed back but they are holding their ground_."

"Well, remind me to thank whoever's commanding the fleet, even if it's Grievous or Dooku." Anakin said as his trusty astromech droid, R2-D2 inputted the final commands. "Are we ready R2?"

R2 beeped in reply.

"Good. Let's go." Anakin said, rushing towards the hangar deck with R2 right behind him.

It was time to show the Borg that the Republic wouldn't take defeat lying down.

* * *

 _Republic Ship Approaching_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Warning: Vessel On Collision Course_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Engin_ _e Core Building Up Power To Critical Levels_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Div_ _erting Power to Transporters_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Prepare to Launch Emergency Escape Vehicle_

* * *

The _Resolute_ slowly moved towards the Borg Cube as the Separatists continued their attack. Just as Anakin's fighter launched the ship's hyper drive engaged and propelled the ship right into the Borg Cube, causing a massive explosion that engulfed the two ships.

"Any sign of my Master's ship?" Ahsoka asked once she and Yularen were on the bridge of the _Protector._

"He launched just as the as the _Resolute_ rammed the Borg ship." The clone at the scanning station answered.

"Look." Rex pointed at the flash from the explosion faded.

The Borg Cube had been completely destroyed by the impact of the ship. The Borg had anticipated Anakin's plan to ram their ship but they had not had enough time to properly adjust their shields as the added power from the hyper drive as it activated blasted through the hull with the increased kinetic force had completely devastated the cube.

"He did it." One of the clones said with a triumphant smile.

"Yes but we still have work to do. First let's pick up General Skywalker. There is still a Separatist fleet in the vicinity." Yularen spoke up, remaining focused.

"Yes sir."

* * *

"The ship has been destroyed, General." The pilot droid reported.

"Yes. These Jedi obviously have some common sense." Grievous commented, looking at the Republic fleet as it pulled back with the remaining fighters in a defensive formation.

"Shall we attack?"

"No. We must inform Count Dooku of these…Borg." Grievous answered, looking at the remains of the Borg Cube.

A ship powerful enough to fend off both a Republic and Separatist fleet was something Count Dooku would need to know immediately.

"Set course for Serenno. I will deliver my report myself." Grievous sat back in his chair.

"Roger, roger."

* * *

"We're pulling General Skywalker's pod in sir."

"Good." Yularen nodded, keeping an eye on the Separatist fleet that remained stationary. "Keep our forward shield at full power and all weapons trained on the Separatists."

"Yes sir."

"Admiral, the Separatist Fleet is pulling back."

The clone was right as everyone on the bridge could see the CIS fleet pulling back to re-enter hyperspace.

"Wonder why they are running." A clone mused.

"There is no time to wonder. We must retreat." Yularen said, not in the mood for guessing.

"Yes sir."

Both fleets moved away from the debris field that was once the giant cube, too tired to face each other in combat. As the ships moved back and prepared to enter hyperspace no one noticed the sphere that moved quietly through the debris, using it as cover to avoid detection. The Borg continued their work, now safe behind the assumption that they had been destroyed.

* * *

 _Objective Successful_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Powering down All Non-Ess_ _ential Systems to Avoid Detection_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Transporting Dron_ _es to all Command Ships in Range_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Begin Assimilation_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Access Navigational Database_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Locate Suitable System for Construction of Unimatrix_

* * *

 **R** **epublic Star Destroyer _Defender  
_ Engine Room**

A clone technician opened the door to the engine room to run a diagnostic on the main reactor and check it for damage from the battle. "Engineering, report."

There was no answer.

He looked around, seeing only a dark room with no signs of life.

"Report!" The technician looked around. "Hello."

Something answered as multiple red lights flashed in the dark as the multiple humanoids came out of the dark.

The clone technician made one final scream before a drone grabbed him and raised its other hand to his neck, releasing two tubes that injected something into his skin.

* * *

 **Confederacy Providence Class Destroyer- _Invisible Hand  
_ Engine Room**

"General Grievous wants us back at Serenno now." An engineer droid said as they worked on repairing the coolant systems for the engines of the _Invisible Hand_.

"We can't move any faster." Another droid complained.

"Tell that to the General."

"No thanks."

It was well known what happened to droids who questioned General Grievous.

"Now let's hurry up and-GAH"

The droid was cut off as a hand grabbed its shoulder and pulled it back. The droids looked up, spotting cybernetic humanoids appearing out of nowhere.

"What the-" A droid was cut off as a Borg drone grabbed it and injected nano-probes into its body.

The rest of the droids didn't have a chance as they were either destroyed or assimilated. The Borg and their new drones moved, assimilating anyone in their way and extracting all valuable information from the databanks and the minds of the new drones.

* * *

 _Transportation Succ_ _essful_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Beginning Assimilation Process_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Downloading Data Files_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Selecting Planets For Suitable Assimilation:_

 _Serenno_

 _Naboo_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _High Priority Planets:_

 _Coruscant_

 _Raxis_

 _Kamino_

 _Kashyyyk_

 _Geonosis_

 _Cato Nemodia_

 _Mygeeto_

 _Alderaan_

 _Fondor_

 _Foerost_

 _Anaxes_

 _Kuat_

 _Muunilist_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Targeted for Assimilation Once Collective Gains Adequate Number of Drones_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Detecting Primitive Bio-Device Implanted In Clone Drones_

 _Bio-Device Programming Limits Aggression And Ability To Defy Commands_

 _Programming Contains One Hundred Fifty Protocols_

 _Analyzing Data_

 _Programming Suggests Clones Modified For Unknown Reasons_

 _Probable Programmer: Data Suggests Clones Comply To Orders Of Supreme Chancellor Of Galactic Republic Designated Sheev Palpatine_

 _Final Analysis: More Data Needed For Conclusion_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _All Will Become One With The Borg_

* * *

 **Form** **er Romulan Neutral Zone Boarder  
Unknown Ship**

The first thing Captain Malcolm noticed as he was beamed onto the bridge of the mysterious ship with Lieutenant Rako, Surla and the _Friedrich_ 's Chief Engineer a Saurian named Kolez was that it was different from most known ships. Rako had his tricorder out and scanned the hallway which was dark with lights flickering and sparks flying out of exposed and damaged panels.

"No life signs in this area Captain." Rako said as he adjusted his tricorder. "But there is some heavy interference, possibly from the wormhole the ship came from."

"That limits our search ability." Surla stated grimly, holding a phaser rifle that was brought for safety precautions.

The crew was all armed with phaser rifles or simple hand phasers with personal shield generators attached to their belts for better protection against any kind of possible assault.

"We'll have to split up then. Rako, you help Kolez find the engineering and assess if we can help the crew repair this ship. Surla, you're with me. We'll find the bridge."

"The scans located the engineering to be close to the center of the ship. The bridge was located on the forward tower." Kolez said before moving down the hall with Rako.

Malcolm and Surla moved down the halls, noting the differences on this ship from any many known starship designs. It had turbolifts but they only moved up or down unlike the turbolifts used on Federation ships. The walls were gray and the doors were circular while being heavily armored for various possible reasons.

"Captain, if we continue down this corridor we'll come upon the bridge." Surla said, looking at the readings on her tricorder.

"Any life readings?" Malcolm asked as they moved in the direction of the bridge.

"Negative."

Malcolm frowned. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

* * *

 **Unknown Ship  
N** **ear Engin** **eering**

As Malcolm and Surla moved towards the bridge followed the same tactic of using their tricorders to find the engineering section of the ship.

"I don't recognize what kind of engine they have but it is similar to a fusion reactor that occupies more than half the interior." Rako said, following the tricorder's directions.

"I've never heard of a fusion reactor powering a ship this size. What kind of fuel does it use?" Kolez asked curiously.

"Unknown but I know it's tachyonic in matter." Rako answered.

"A fusion engine using tachyonic matter? That's something I've never heard of before." Kolez admitted, now interested.

"You're right. Almost all known ships use anti-matter, plasma, quantum singularities, fusion or even nuclear reactors but I've never heard of tachyonic matter used as a power source." Rako stopped as they came upon a set of circular doors that opened up to reveal a large room with giant pillars lined up that, reaching from the ground and up into the ceiling with a console in the center at the top floor of the chamber. "I believe this is the engine room."

Kolez took out his tricorder and examined the chamber. "It is and it's pumping the fuel into the engines still. The tachyonic matter is being annihilated in a manner similar to a matter-antimatter reaction."

"Wow. So instead of anti-matter they somehow extracted tachyon matter and confined in these reactors, and then annihilated it which released large amounts of energy from what the tricorder reads. Of course they'd have to store a lot of this since I'm not detecting any backup or alternate power sources, not even a micro-fusion reactor." Rako said in fascination as he looked around and saw a stair set leading up to the ramp that would lead to what he assumed was the core console. "One way to truly find out."

Kolez nodded as he followed Rako up the stairs and towards the console. "There was no evidence that they used warp drive so they must have an alternate method of traveling faster than light."

* * *

 **Unknown Ship  
Bridg** **e Tower**

As they started to familiarize themselves with the systems in the engine room Malcolm and Surla arrived at the bridge, the circular doors opening automatically and allowing them to walk in and look around. The bridge was sparse compared to the bridge of most starships the two had encountered with only a few terminals on multiple levels risking up to what looked like the command station in a pyramid like fashion. The bridge was empty except for what looked like robots at each station, all of them damaged. They were thin and skinny with a light brown colored exo-skeleton, skeletal like hands, only two fingers and thumb and their heads resembled an elongated skull with black eyes painted on them.

"They're robots." Malcolm said as he walked up to what he assumed was the command chair and noticed the same kind of robot with yellow markings sitting in it, its 'head' bent at an angle that suggested it had was damaged. "The crew must be made of machines."

"That is odd." Surla commented as she ran a tricorder over a 'dead' crewmember. "The pack contains a battery with electromagnets keeping their limbs attached to the torso and a transmitter in their heads. It possibly allows them to receive signals, like a Borg drone communicating with the Collective."

"I hope it's not too much like the Collective." Malcolm muttered as he looked around the bridge. "This explains why there were no life forms."

"Why make an entire crew of artificial life forms? Could their creators have some kind of physical deficiency?" Surla wondered as she walked over to a nearby console. "I will try to access the command console."

The computers were different from the ones on a Starfleet vessel, having a combination of old fashioned keyboards in a language Surla did not understand with advanced touch pad screens. She touched the screen, frowning as she tried to understand the language before hooking her tricorder up to the screen and ran a universal translator program.

"I'm receiving data now, Captain. The universal translator is working to decode the language this crew used…" Surla frowned as the program moved faster than anticipated. "That was quick. The universal translator deciphered the language faster than I thought."

"What does it say?" Malcolm asked as he walked over.

"Well, according to this data this ship was the _C.S.S. Winds of Mygeeto_ , a _Munificent_ Class Star-Frigate crewed solely by….Battle droids?" Surla said, sounding puzzled at the end. "That could be what they call androids used to fight."

"Any idea what they were doing?" Malcolm asked, looking at the console.

"Several logs states that the _Winds of Mygeeto_ was assigned to a…Confederate fleet assigned to protect the Republic planet Naboo…Captain, the coordinates for this planet are in the Beta Quadrant, almost in the exact position of New Romulus." Surla said upon seeing the coordinates of the planet.

"Sounds like there's a war going on. Can you tell me what this…Confederate fleet is?" Malcolm asked.

"The ship belongs to...The Confederacy of Independent Systems and…It's territories are split with multiple systems across the galaxy in the Delta, Gamma and the Beta Quadrants, in areas of space previously claimed by the Borg, the Romulans, the Dominion, and even the Federation." Surla said, surprised and curious by what she was seeing. "Captain, I don't believe this ship is from our home galaxy."

"A ship from another galaxy?" Malcolm looked at Surla. "This is unexpected but it explains the radical difference from regular ship designs."

"There is more, Captain. The Galactic Republic, it's a galactic power spanning a thousand star systems that is currently in conflict with the Confederacy."

"A galactic government? That's something not even the Dominion can claim to be." Malcolm stated.

It was well known that the galaxy's largest known powers were the Federation in the Alpha Quadrant, the Klingons and the Romulans in the Beta Quadrant, the Borg in the Delta Quadrant, and the Dominion in the Gamma Quadrant.

"Yes sir. There's not much else in the databanks. No history files, no scanning data to how they arrived or how they could get back if they survived. I do not believe they designed these ships to have any form of data other than tactical data on this war." Surla suggested.

"Even the Klingons had logs dating back throughout their history. And were these 'droids' the only crewmembers?" Malcolm looked across the bridge. "This ship is too big for a crew this small to operate unless they had it fully automated."

"I'm going through the logs now sir. The ship was assigned to hunt down the Senator of Naboo but something happened. The logs don't state much of what happened but the ship tried to capture the Senator's ship that was apparently trying to escape but something happened. The crew recorded a strange energy signature before they were pulled into some sort anomaly." Surla finished with slightly widened eyes.

"It's possible." Malcolm conceded. "Of course we have no proof of what happened since we have no idea what really happened or is happening at wherever this ship came from."

"Actually Captain, there's something else." An image of the ship appeared on the screen Surla's tricorder was an image of the ship with a section of it flashing red. "I think I've located the rest of the crew. They're deactivated and stored in this section."

"Deactivated?" Malcolm raised one eyebrow. "So a small crew operates the ship while the rest is put into storage, a standby mode. Can we reactivate them?"

"I believe so but is this a wise course of action?" Surla questioned.

"We don't really have much of a choice. If we do nothing this ship will simply float through uncharted space and they'll never get back to their home galaxy. It'd be cruel to leave them helpless like this but since they were involved in a war a little caution is warranted. How much of them can we reactivate?" Kurt looked at the screen, showing an image of the same 'droid' as the ones on the bridge.

"This system is set to activate all of them. I don't think it was to control how much are reactivated." Surla said, looking through the data scans. "This ship has a transmitter that activates all droids in transmitting range. Possibly a way to activate or deactivate them as quickly as possible without complicating measures."

"So it's either keep them deactivated or reactivate them all." Malcolm closed his as he sighed before opening them again. "I'll meet up with Rako and Kolez and we'll meet up where the droids are being stored. I'll contact you when we're together and you reactivate them."

"Aye sir." Surla nodded as Malcolm turned and left the bridge.

* * *

 ** _Winds of Myg_** ** _eeto_** **  
Hangar Deck**

The location where the droids were being stored turned out to be a hangar was which odd since it would have been more logical for the droids to be stored in a place where they had less chance of being sucked out into space if there was an accident. The hangars were protected from the vacuum of space by force fields like on Starfleet vessels but they were much larger than most hangars the _Friedrich_ crew had seen before. Most of the droids were crouched down and curled up while other models were simply hanging from the racks and others were stored in a ball like formation that were all stored in racks were connected to what looked like ships or land based vehicles, possibly for deployment but they couldn't make an accurate guess with the limited information that they had.

"Surla, we're here now. Ready when you are." Malcolm said to his comm badge.

" _Acknowledged._ "

A second later the racks began moving and lowering the droids onto the ground and the droids uncurled themselves, standing up as their heads moved up, their necks moving straight up so the heads could properly face forward and reached over their shoulders, pulling their weapons out and standing straight with their weapons ready, like a military unit.

"Oh my…" Rako whispered, feeling slightly intimidated by the rows of what apparently were war machines.

Apparently one of the droids heard him as one turned its 'head' towards the Starfleet group.

"Hey look! Intruders!" It shouted in a high pitched comically sounding voice.

The droids all looked at the three Starfleet officers who seemed speechless by the attention directed at them.

"What should we do?" One of the other droids asked, sharing a look with a few of its fellow machines.

The droids shared looks with each other, seemingly confused until one spoke up. "Blast them!"

The Starfleet officers looked alarm as the other droids nodded, replying. "Roger, roger."

"Now hold on a sec. We mean you no harm. I'm Captain Kurt Malcolm representing the United Federation of Planets-" Malcolm started but ducked as the droids started shooting at him and his crew.

The hangar lit up as red bolts of light shot at the Starfleet officers who quickly ducked by a pile of crates that luckily protected them.

"Guess they weren't programmed for diplomacy sir." Kolez commented dryly.

"I guess not." Malcolm pulled out his phaser rifle. "There's too many to take out and our shields can only take so many hits before they go down."

Rako held out his tricorder to scan the incoming bolts. "They appear to be a form of plasma based lasers, Captain. Our shields would hold out but under an attack like this we would not last long."

"I have an idea sir." Kolez said as he pulled out his hand phaser and made a quick adjustment. "They don't seem to be moving. They're standing still meaning they weren't programmed for complex tactics. They probably move straight towards the enemy like Borg drones. A proper recalibrated phaser could help out a lot."

Malcolm nodded and began adjusting his rifle. "Good idea, Kolez. You and I will take the ones on the left and Rako will hit the ones on the right."

The other crewmembers nodded, adjusting their phasers and when they were ready the peeked out with their weapons and fired, releasing four beams from each weapon that collided with their targets, vaporizing the droids they hit instantly. In a few short seconds they took out a dozen battle droids but there a lot more to replace them and they continued shooting, ignoring the destruction of their fellow models. Malcolm aimed his rifle and fired a series of phaser pulses that knocked down any battle droid the pulse hit, causing smoke and sparks to erupt from their torsos.

"We can't stay here for long. Our phasers will run out of power before we take out even a quarter of them." Kolez stated.

"We can't beam out under fire like this!" Malcolm replied as a red bolt flew over his head.

* * *

 ** _Winds of Mygeeto  
_** **Bridge**

Surla turned her head as the droids on the bridge reactivated, looking slightly disorientated but that changed when they saw her.

"Intruder!" One of the droids shouted, pointing at her. "Get her!"

Surla ducked as a droid pulled out its blaster and shot at her. Knowing she was outnumbered she rushed towards the doors and ran off the bridge while the droids struggled to hit her.

"Where did she come from?" A pilot droid asked.

"It doesn't matter. We have a mission." The command droid answered as it sat back in the command chair. "We have intruders onboard. Stop them."

"Commander, we are detecting a ship just in front of us." The pilot droid spoke up. "It's not Republic. What do we do?"

The droid's simplistic programming came up with a quick answer based on the orders given to it by its makers. "Destroy it."

* * *

 **USS _Friedrich  
_ Bridge _  
_**

Lieutenant Commander Zohm frowned as he watched the strange ship slowly start to power up. "Status on the Captain."

"They are still alive…Commander, the ship is coming about." The Vulcan ensign stated as the mysterious ship started moving. "Sir, I believe its shields are coming online and its powering weapons."

"Red Alert!" Zohm quickly said. "Contact the captain and try to beam them out!"

"I can't reach them…Sir, we're being targeted!"

The _Friedrich's_ shields came online just as the alien ship fired a stream of bright bolts from the main cannons that slammed into the forward shields.

The bridge slightly shook from the impacts.

"Shields are holding at ninety percent, sir." The ensign reported. "Shall I return fire?"

"No. We cannot fire with the captain onboard." Zohm answered. "Take evasive action. Find keep close but out of their firing range."

The _Friedrich_ rolled to the side, dodging the forward turbo-lasers and moved the side as its shields brushed aside the smaller anti-fighter cannons.

"Target those weapons. One quarter power." Zohm gripped the armrest of the captain's chair.

"Targets locked."

"Fire."

The Federation ship's phaser arrays fired a series of orange beams that easily passed through the deflector shields of the now enemy ship which were designed to handle multiple attacks in the form of blaster bolts and projectiles but not against a prolonged particle beam, destroying the turrets easily with quick precision.

"Enemy weapons destroyed sir. The ship has suffered minimal damage."

Zohm nodded. "Keep trying to contact the captain."

* * *

Things got worse as the hangar was filled with the sound of metallic rolling causing the Starfleeters to look up and saw three machines rolling towards them, their bodies compressed to resemble a wheel of sorts. They stopped in front of the crates and unfolded themselves, their beetle like metallic bodies standing with three crab like legs supporting them from a bulb like section connected to the torso and instead of hands they dangerous looking twin like cannons that were aimed straight at the Starfleeters.

"Oh cra-" Rako started and quickly ducked as the three machines opened fire, sending a barrage of red laser bolts that battered against the crates.

Kolez pointed his hand phaser at the middle machine and fired but before it was hit a bubble of blue energy surrounded it and the phaser dissipated against the newly form shield.

"They have shields!" Malcolm grunted as twin bolts flew past his, missing his hair by a few inches. "Like the Borg!"

Rako quickly held out his tricorder, scanning the shields surrounding the new droids that continued to fire. "The shields are different from the ones used by the Borg. The shields seemed to be a ray based particle shield. They're generating high intense electromagnetic fields and a large amount of radiation. A properly recalibrated phaser could-"

"Just do it!" Kolez shouted impatiently as he fired another phaser beam that was absorbed by the force field surrounding the droid on the right.

Rako nodded as he adjusted his hand phaser to disrupt the shields used by the machines, thankful that they were less complicated by the shields used by the Borg. "I'm sending the data to your weapons."

Malcolm pointed his rifle at the droid on the right and fired releasing a bright orange phaser beam that collided with the shield that struggled to repel the attack but the phaser beam passed through the shield and blasted the droid in the 'face', blinding it and causing it to stagger back before it collapsed. The other two droids continued to fire but now the Starfleeters could pierce their shields and they opened fire, tearing through the shields and destroying them easily.

"Good job Lieutenant." Malcolm nodded with a smile at Rako who smiled at the praise. "Three down a dozen more to go."

" _Surla to Captain Malcolm!_ " Surla's voice said from the comm badge.

Malcolm tapped the badge. "Surla, I think our hosts are a little cranky. Can you shut them back off?"

" _Negative sir. The droids on the bridge came back online and chased me out._ "

"Great, bad news all around." Malcolm sighed.

" _Maybe not, Captain_. _I can perhaps deactivate them with my tri-corder. I can modify it to emit a signal matching that of the signal that activated the droids._ "

"Do it!" Malcolm shouted.

" _Aye sir._ "

The droids continued to fire at their target until they shut down a second later, the command signal from the bridge ordering them to shut down.

Malcolm peeked his head out and saw that all the droids were deactivated. "They're deactivated now."

Rako sighed in relief as he stood out from behind the crate he and Kolez were using as cover. "That was close. I actually thought we were goners."

Malcolm walked over to the lines of deactivated droids that simply stood their heads hanging forward like they had been hung. "We've got a few more issues gentlemen."


	3. Chapter 3

**USS _Friedrich  
_ Captain's R** **eady Room**

 _Captain's Log Supplemental:_

 _We had boarded a mysterious ship that appeared out of what Lieutenant Rako believes to be a quantum fissure and came back with more questions than answers. Aboard the ship called the **Winds of Mygeeto** was a crew of machines that reacted very hostile upon seeing us when activated, possibly following their programming for dealing with intruders. Fortunately they were deactivated before they could kill us but now we are left to wonder what exactly we must do._

 _End Log_

Malcolm ended his log and looked over the scans of the machines submitted to him by Lieutenant Rako. The first was model was apparently the regular model used by the Confederacy but they were inferior to the other models in performance and design with frail bodies made of unknown materials and simplistic programming. The second model was a more advanced humanoid looking version with duranium armor and small cannons built into their right forearms with torsos designed to detach from their bodies for some reason. Their scanners were basic thermal and imaging sensors but they were still more advanced.

And then there were the beetle like droids with the wheel mode with bronze based armor while their shields powered by a fusion generator built into the bulb like section where the crab like legs were. Unlike the other models these wheel droids utilized non-visual composite radiation sensors, possibly to allow for better vision and less susceptible to being blinded by light based effects. In layman's terms they were all designed as weapons of war and another war with a mysterious and unknown power was the last thing the Federation and the surrounding interstellar governments needed happening right on their doorstep. He turned to the scans of the quantum fissure before it vanished and Rako confirmed that it was possible the fissure could be opened again by generating a tachyon pulse through the deflector dish but Malcolm decided to hold off on that until Starfleet was informed of what had happened.

In the meantime some of the droids were taken onto the _Friedrich_ and were under scans by a science team while Rako claimed they could be reactivated by emitting a signal that was modified to imitate the same signal that activated them on their command ship. It was still dangerous as the droids were naturally hostile when they were activated the first time so their weapons were removed or deactivated to avoid a shoot out on the _Friedrich_. A quick scan of their weapons confirmed they were plasma energy pulse weapons, using a cartridge filled with an unknown gas and a small energy storage device. When the weapon is fired a small amount of the unknown gas is moved from the cartridge into a chamber where the power pack energizes the gas and transforms it into a high intense particle beam coupled with intense light.

The beam then passes through a crystal lens of some form which generates the beam into a bolt that is fired from the emitter. A small amount of ozone was detected from the emitter when a volunteer security officer tested it on the holo-deck and smelled like burnt metal meaning there was a danger of possible overheating. The energy bolts didn't generate any form of heat but upon impact the kinetic energy instantly created heat that was enough to cause terrible damage to living tissue upon contact. The bolts also dissipated in small explosions of heat and force upon contact with any kind of unshielded surface.

They also came with a stun setting, bypassing the gas chamber to create an electromagnetic burst in the form of a ring that disrupts the target's nervous system, knocking the target out instantly. Though considered somewhat primitive compared to most weapons in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants it was a powerful weapon, especially if there were ship mounted versions of the weapon. Fortunately the personal shields used by Starfleeters and other interstellar governments could block the 'blaster bolts' for a short time before the shields were eventually worn down depending on size and power.

"Any word from Starfleet?" Malcolm asked as he stepped onto the bridge.

"They're sending a task force and the Romulan Republic is sending a fleet of their own." Surla reported. "There is a chance the Klingons will be sending one as well. They won't want to be left out if there is a repeat with the Dominion."

Everyone on the bridge understood as the last time something like a stable wormhole had appeared it was the Bajoran wormhole that indirectly led to the Dominion War that to this day was still being felt by the whole Quadrant. So it was understandable would be naturally cautious in case there was something like the Dominion on the other side of the wormhole.

"Very well. I'll be down in the lab looking over our guests."

 **Laboratory Two**

"Anything new T'Vrell?" Malcolm asked as he walked into the lab where some of the droids that had been brought back were being examined.

"Aside from the initial report, nothing else Captain." T'Vrell reported, looking over the battle droid that was resting on the table. "These droids follow rather simplistic programming compared to Borg drones or Captain Data. They do not have positronic brains or artificial neural networks and their processing system is somewhat primitive. Even our holographic AIs have superior programming. It seems they are built only to follow orders given to them or any programmed sub-routines their transceivers receive from the nearest control relay."

"Any information on where they were made?" Malcolm asked.

"Their memory files say they came off the assembly lines on a planet called Hypori and were assigned to be stored on the _Wings of Mygeeto_ until they were reactivated for new orders." T'Vrell answered.

"Still not a lot of help." Malcolm sighed. "Can it be reactivated?"

"We've managed to record the signal used to activate the droids so imitating it will be quite simple." T'Vrell nodded, tapping the computer screen attached to the table.

"Let's have a security team and a force field on standby just in case. I don't want to take any chances." Malcolm said, looking at the deactivated battle droid.

"A logical decision sir." T'Vrell nodded in agreement.

 **USS _Friedrich_  
Brig**

The deactivated battle droid had been moved into the brig, placed behind a force field with security officers on standby as T'Vrell followed Surla's actions and reconfigured a tricorder to emit the activation signal that had been scanned from the _Winds of Mygeeto_. Malcolm stepped into the room, followed by Rako, stopping in front of the cell.

"Are we ready?" Malcolm asked, looking at T'Vrell who nodded.

"The tricorder has been set to perfectly imitate the activation signal." T'Vrell nodded.

Malcolm nodded. "Well no time like the present."

T'Vrell tapped the tricorder, watching as the device emitted the activation signal to the droid in the cell that activated a moment later, standing up straight and looked around in confusion.

"Hey, where am I?" The droid asked.

"On my ship." Malcolm said, taking a step forward and allowing the droid to see him.

"Who are you?" The droid pointed at the Federation captain.

"Captain Kurt Malcolm of the USS _Friedrich._ " Malcolm answered. "And you are?"

"Uh….I am OOM-69, Commander Class Droid of the Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent System." The droid answered with a small bit of pride in its voice, looking down at itself. "Hey, where's my blaster?"

"We removed it. Last time you and your friends were activated you shot at us." Malcolm said, watching as the droid looked back at him. "If I lower the force field you won't attack us will you?"

"Uh…no." The droid known as OOM-69 answered, sounding unsure. "Are you Republic?"

"No. You're on a Federation starship." Malcolm shook his head.

"Federation? Trade Federation? But you are human and they don't wear clothes like that." OOM-69 stated.

Malcolm raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I think we both got a little confused. Let me start, I'm Captain Kurt Malcolm of the USS _Friedrich_ of the United Federation of Planets. I never heard of a Trade Federation before."

"United Federation of Planets…Uh…That does not compute." OOM-69 tilted its head.

"That's because apparently you are from another galaxy." Malcolm said with a small smile. "And you somehow ended up in ours."

"Another galaxy? Impossible! You can't travel outside of the galaxy!" OOM-69 exclaimed and pointed accusingly at Malcolm. "Are you playing a joke?"

"No jokes. You are in another galaxy or universe and I can prove it. If you'll follow me," Malcolm nodded to the security officer who deactivated the force field. "I will show you the proof."

OOM-69 took one small step, its foot touching the ground out of the cell before fully stepping out. Malcolm gestured for it to follow him as he walked out of the brig, followed by the battle droid and two security officers. OOM-69 watched the crewmembers that passed by it in the hall, paying it no mind which was new as it was a battle droid. Usually when people saw it they either reacted with fear or tried to shoot it since it was a battle droid, a weapon programmed for war and violence. Now it was on a strange ship with strange people and its limited programming didn't exactly prepare it for an occasion like this.

Battle droid programming was kept relatively simple: shoot who they are told to shoot and follow orders from whoever they were programmed to obey.

Though it did not know this the people who programmed it like to keep their battle droids simple and cheap which also meant stupid. They could fly ships, they could stay on guard duty for endless hours before needing to power down and shoot the enemy, not very well but they still could do it. Compared to artificial life forms like Captain Data or Borg drones battle droids were simple toys, archaic and primitive with only basic programming. It simply just followed Captain Malcolm as he led it into a room that looked like a lab.

"Welcome to astrometrics." Malcolm gestured to the lab. "We use this place for stellar cartography, which is for making maps and projections of the galaxy. Here is a map of our galaxy." He inputted a few commands and a holographic map of the galaxy appeared on the large screen. "And here is a map of the galaxy we took from the navigation computers of your ship."

Next to the image of the Milky Way Galaxy appeared another galaxy that was just as large, both of them almost the same size.

"Wow!" OOM-69 marveled at the imagery of both galaxies. "That is neat!"

"As you can see the two galaxies are completely different. You could go over it yourself and see if we're telling the truth." Malcolm offered.

"Uh…I'm not good at astro stuff. But it looks real to me." OOM-69 shrugged.

"Well we're hoping that if we turn on the other droids you can explain to them that they're in another galaxy."

"Sure." OOM-69 nodded its head.

 **Bri** **efing Room**

After OOM-69 seemed convinced of their claims the crew started slowly reactivating the other battle droids that had been brought back and convincing them that the _Friedrich_ crew was not their enemy and they slowly caught on but it varied at times. The B-1 battle droids were easier and more social despite being clumsy while the B-2 battle droids were more aggressive but they were convinced soon enough while the Destroyer Droids were unable to speak, only able to walk or roll in their wheel modes. The droids were obviously have a little trouble adapting to the new environment so to make things easier Malcolm suggested they return to the ship to repair it for when they could return home once a way had been found.

The droids accepted the offer of help since they were programmed to keep the ship running in the absence of an organic crew and commander. They weren't as scientifically adept as the Starfleeters expected but they were programmed to be mechanics in addition to be being soldiers and they knew everything they needed to repair the _Winds of Mygeeto_. As repairs commenced the droids that were not helping repair the ship answered any questions the Starfleeters had, such as questions about their home galaxy. The droids didn't know much about the state of the galaxy, having no information on the politics aside from the fact that the Confederacy was who they were fighting for and the Republic was their enemy.

More specifically the Republic Clone Army was their current enemy.

When the Starfleeters learned that the Republic had a clone army that made them a bit weary as most forms of genetic engineering save for medical research, including cloning, were banned in the Federation. There was also the fact they remembered the Jem'Hadar, a clone army created by the Dominion to fight in the name of the Founders and the battles that had been fought throughout the Dominion War made many wonder if the Republic was perhaps not as benevolent as it sounded since a Republic was supposedly founded on the idea of democracy. And then were the generals, people the droids called 'Jedi' who led the 'clone troopers' using laser swords in battle. That was confusing to say the least as 'laser swords' being used in a battle between armies with high powered laser rifles sounded like a very foolish idea.

The droids said these Jedi had special powers, including telekinesis from what they had said when they explained how a single Jedi could somehow life objects by simply waving his hand. Obviously these Jedi had psionic abilities which might explain why they were participating as psionic abilities could be heavily advantageous.

Still that did not answer many questions:

Why was this war being fought?

Why does one side use machines and the other side use clones?

Is this galaxy in another universe or was it in a distant galaxy?

So many questions but no answers.

In the meantime the crew of the _Friedrich_ took the chance to help the droids repair the _Winds of Mygeeto_ , taking the chance to get a better look at the interior. The crew quarters were Spartan compared to quarters on Starfleet vessels with only a few living arrangements while the droids were placed in racks or workshops to be cleaned or repaired. The droids were often cleaned what appeared to be an oil bath, a quick way to clean them but it seemed kind of lazy and waste of resources when it was so much easier to clean with a simple cloth and make sure all the joints were thoroughly cleaned. The medical bays was just as different as the rest of the ship only it had a take to put a person in, filling it with a synthetic medical agent known as bacta.

According to the droids in order for the bacta it was through contact with the patient such as injection, digestion or even submerged in a tank which seemed a little wasteful to rely on so much medical resources with so few other alternatives but the medical staff tested the bacta and found its ability to heal any form of wounds was astounding. A scan confirmed the particles in the substance rapidly regenerated wounds and prevented any scarred tissue from forming. It was a synthetic substance that was blended together by various ingredients but the strength of the substance depended on how the ingredients were blended together, the place where it was produced and something called a Vractix vrachen that oversaw the blending. It was also discovered that people in the other galaxy or universe had knowledge of cybernetics, creating artificial limbs for patients who had lost a hand, a leg, or any kind of limb.

The droids mentioned a 'General Grievous' being cybernetic to the point he looked like a droid and then asked the Starfleeters not to tell this Grievous if they ever met him that they said that.

Apparently he liked bashing their heads in whenever they annoyed him.

That was unsettling to the Starfleeters since for them, whether it was organic or artificial life was life and it seemed this General Grievous had little regard for it. Rather than question the droids further, because they didn't pay attention to much details and only knew what was considered general knowledge. In exchange for helping them the droids allowed the Starfleeters to look over unclassified transmissions that helped explain a few questions about their point of origin. It seemed the Republic and the Confederacy had been fighting for what they called hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim to better establish themselves for the war and for the most part the Confederacy was winning but recently the Republic had gained access to the lanes in an area of space claimed by a race call the Hutts.

Things just on becoming more and more curious about this new galaxy.

The crew just moved on and continued studying their ship where they made a startling discovery. This ship had transwarp capability.

"How is this possible?" Malcolm asked once the senior staff was gathered in the briefing room.

"I asked and took a close look at the engines as the droids repaired it. From what I gather the engines eliminate the hypermatter, what they call the tachyonic matter they use as fuel in a matter similar to our warp core but they were contained by fusion systems. It's similar to how a singularity core works onboard Romulan ship and it produces large amounts of energy." Kolez brought up an image of the _Winds of Mygeeto_ on the screen. "Essentially the fuel is fed into the engines which destroys them by accelerating the fuel to infinite speed, releasing large amounts of energy and gamma radiation. The radiation is released through an ignition from an ionization chamber, causing ripples in the time-space matrix and allowing the ship to propel off the ripples and into what the droids call hyperspace."

"Hyperspace?" T'Vrell raised an eyebrow.

"That's what they call the dimensional plane their ship enters." Kolez answered. "It's possibly another form of space, much like subspace."

"I remember hyperspace being a theory of FTL travel in early Earth history." Malcolm commented thoughtfully. "If not for the Eugenics Wars followed by World War Three we probably could have discovered if it was possible or not."

"That sounds amazing." Rako said, smiling at the discovery of something incredible.

"Once inside this hyperspace inertial dampers counter the effects of the acceleration and a null quantum field stabilizer stabilizes the corridor from collapsing in midflight as well as protects the ship from the gravitational forces as well as keeping it from emerging prematurely." Kolez continued, highlighting a part of the engines.

"Fascinating." T'Vrell noted.

"However there is a limitation to this method of FTL. The droids explained the hyperdrive is incapable of functioning in proximity to gravitational anomalies and if it fails the ship would be permanently trapped in hyperspace." Kolez pointed out.

"It would still be a boon to the interstellar governments. According to the scans it might be faster than quantum slipstream or Borg transwarp." Rako pointed out. "A lot of people would want to tear that ship apart to see how it works."

"What about their weapons?" Surla asked, changing the subject.

It was Rako's turn. "Their main energy weapons are basically larger versions of their blasters but with greater power. The particle beam is generated much like the blasters the droids use the same gas like substance their blasters use only the ship weapons use large banks of capacitors to build up and store more powerful energy than the standard weapons. The ship also has ion based particle cannons for supposedly interfering with electronic and computer systems."

"An ion based weapon that disables ships?" Malcolm asked.

"I've scanned it, Captain and our shields can be adjusted to block this weapon. This weapon is mostly effective because apparently ships in this other galaxy don't use EPS systems like we do. They use an archaic method of power generation, electrical currents carried along superconducting wires." Rako answered.

That got raised eyebrows from the entire table as that kind of power generation had been out of use for centuries. It was replaced by the more efficient Electro-Plasma System which converts high energy plasma from the Warp Core into a source of energy for the ship. Almost every species that had achieved Warp Speed had used EPS systems, even the Borg.

"How could they not find a more effective method of power generation?" Malcolm asked.

"I'm not sure." Rako shrugged. "Despite the question of their power generation their weapons could be powerful enough to pose a danger in a direct confrontation. However in case of that happening there are several weaknesses that can be exploited."

"Good to know." Malcolm nodded.

"The first weakness is the range of the 'turbo-lasers'. Their range is about the same as early Romulan plasma torpedoes from a century ago, meaning the magnetic field that holds the plasma is flawed and allows the plasma to leak out. The second weakness is the maneuverability of capital ships, they move more like sea based battle ships, acting two-dimensionally instead of taking advantage of the usual advantage of the environment of space. They are also slow compared to most known ships in our galaxy meaning we can outmaneuver and outfly them except when they use their hyperdrives." Rako listed the weaknesses he had theorized based on his scans of the _Winds of Mygeeto_. "The third weakness is the shields which work differently compared to our own. They act more like deflectors with two different forms of shielding, one for block solid objects such as kinetic weaponry and the other for energy based weaponry but they only have enough power for one shield at a time, not both. They are not designed to hold out against phased energy weapons such as phasers or disruptors and a few torpedo hits would bring the projectile based shielding down."Rako stopped for a second. "I also scanned the hull of the _Winds_ of Mygeeto and it's made of several unknown elements that are several times stronger than duranium which is also used in this galaxy with reactive-dispersive armor. The fourth and final weaknesses are the engines themselves which are ion based. They are large enough that if a torpedo was shot through the exhaust port it would cause critical or even fatal damage."

"Captain, I ran a scan of the rift that the _Winds of Mygeeto_ came from and I found something troubling." T'Vrell continued. "I found traces of triolic energy."

Everyone at the table looked at T'Vrell.

"Triolic?" Malcolm asked with a small amount of dread in his voice. "You mean…." He trailed off but T'Vrell knew what he was asking.

"Yes, Captain. It's consistent with the time portals the Devidians used on Drozana Station but its larger due to a phase shifted tachyon pulse that could only be generated by another ship." T'Vrell explained. "The Devidians have appeared on ships passing by objects that emit triolic energy and if the ships lack the necessary shielding to block the Devidians to phase onto the ships. It's possible they hijacked those ships and used them with whatever source of triolic energy they had with them to create another portal and enlarged the portal with modulated energy weapons."

"And now the Devidians might be in another galaxy or universe that knows nothing about them." Surla stated grimly.

"I never thought they would try something like this but it does make sense. They tried to bring an entire sector into their phase of existence with the Driffin's Comet." Maclom frowned at the memory of the Devidians.

"If the Devidians are behind this why haven't we seen them?" Kolez asked.

"After the incident with Driffin's Comet and hearing reports of Devidian sightings where sources of triloic energy was found Starfleet made it mandatory for all Federation ships to be equipped with a modified sub-space shielding system to block out the triolic energy the Devidians emit so they could not slip onto Federation ships in sectors where sources of triolic energy have been found." Malcom answered. "I recall our encounter with Reman and True Way extremists that would have led to our destruction if there wasn't a small comet that emitted triolic energy."

Everyone remembered that mission well as the _Friedrich_ had been investigating the disappearance of a Federation starship and had discovered that it had been attacked and wrecked with the surviving crew taken hostage. Malcom and his crew had managed to save the hostages but they discovered that a nearby comet emitting triolic energy had allowed the Devidians to appear aboard the pirate ship. When the _Friedrich_ had tried to escape an entire fleet of Reman warbirds had decloaked and were ready to attack and would have destroyed the _Friedrich_ if T'Vrell hadn't suggested using a sub-space pulse to amplify the triolic energy which allowed the Devidians to manifests themselves onto the pirate ships and distract them long enough for the _Friedrich_ to escape.

"Logically the Devidians would indeed be capable of this as they exist out of phase with this universe. It would be possible for them to phase shift into a new universe." T'Vrell said, her logical mind analyzing the situation.

"What does that mean?" Rako asked. "We can't let the Devidians run loose in another universe."

"I want Starfleet notified immediately. In the meantime we'll continue to watch out fo-"

" _Bridge to Captain Malcolm_."

"Go ahead."

" _Scans are picking up a reaction where the anomaly was before the foreign ship appeared. We believe its reappearing_."

"We're on our way." Malcolm quickly stood up.

Just another day in the life of a member of Starfleet.

In front of the _Friedrich_ the same tear of bright blue light appeared the same way it had appeared before but the Federation ship luckily was out of its range so it wouldn't be pulled in by the gravity.

"Full scan." Malcolm said as he stepped onto the bridge. "I want to know if something is coming out again."

"Captain, sensors are detecting an object coming out." Rako stated. "I think it's another ship."

It was indeed another ship, different from the _Winds of Mygeeto_ as it was much smaller. It was ejected out into regular space much like the first ship had been and it looked like it had seen better days. It was small, runabout sized with a silver hull and it somewhat resembled Federation ship designs but its engines were obviously not warp nacelles.

"Scan that vessel." Malcolm sat down on his captain's chair.

"Unknown configuration and type. Seventy six meters in length with a chromium made hull." Rako said as he scanned the new ship.

"Prepare a tractor beam and pull it into the rear shuttle bay. Prepare a security team to be in the shuttle bay when the lands."

"Aye sir."

:::

The ship was small enough to fit in the _Friedrich_ 's shuttle bay and but the crew was either dead or unconscious leaving the ship unable to extend its landing gear. Docking clamps activated and held the ship as security officers followed the Captain into the hangar bay.

"Status report." Malcolm said upon arrival.

"We just finished docking procedures, Captain." A Telarite security guard answered. "We've scanned two life forms aboard, one human and one artificial. They are not moving but scans confirmed the human is still alive."

"Can you activated its landing gear or open it?" Malcolm asked, looking the ship over.

"Not yet sir. We're looking for external air locks we can open but scans confirm there is only one opening and it can only be opened from the inside." The security officer stated.

"Did you scan any power source using tachyons?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes sir." The security officer nodded.

"So it means this ship might be from the same galaxy as the first ship." Malcolm whispered thoughtfully. "Captain, lock the transporter on the life forms and beam them to sick bay."

"Aye sir."

Malcolm looked at the new ship. "Curiouser and curiouser."

* * *

 **Hypersapce  
En-route to Serenno  
Confederacy Providence Class Destroyer- _Invisible Hand  
_ Bridge**

The _Invisible Hand_ was both famous and infamous amongst the Republic and the Confederacy as it was the flagship of General Grievous, the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy's droid armies and one of the most dangerous enemies the Jedi and the Republic had ever faced. Though not as large or powerful as the _Malevolence_ the _Invisible Hand_ had become as much an avatar of terror in the eyes of Republic worlds as its master, leading the Separatists in battle, causing destruction and mayhem almost everywhere it went.

"What is taking so long?" General Grievous banged his duranium fist on the arm of his chair. "I wanted us back at Serenno hours ago."

The full of pilot droids and Neimodians trembled slightly at the anger and frustration in Grievous's voice, fearful that he might take his frustration out on them.

Grievous turned his head to the security officer. "Contact engineering and find out what is taking so long."

The Nemodian officer quickly tapped his screen. "No response sir."

"Then send a security team to check what is taking them so long to fix the hyperdrive." Grievous waved his hand in disgust.

Just as he finished the _Invisible Hand_ finally entered hyperspace.

"Finally." Grievous shook his head as he stood up. "It's about time. I will be in my quarters. I do not want to be disturbed."

No one said anything as he left the bridge.

Who would be stupid enough to try?

:::

 ** _Invisible Hand  
_ Top Deck  
General's Quarters**

Grievous stalked through the hall of his flagship towards his quarters, wishing to get some actual rest before arriving at Serenno. The encounter with these strange creatures would be something Count Dooku and Lord Sidious would want to know immediately and that was why he was on way to his quarters to contact Count Dooku and inform him ahead of time. Stepping into the elevator Grievous waited slightly impatiently for it to reach the top level and almost knocked the doors down as he stepped and entered his quarters…

"WHAT IS THIS?!" Grievous bellowed as he found his quarters swarming with cybernetic humanoids that had completely remade his quarters with strange technology that he had never seen before. He stomped down from the balcony, toward the nearest drone and reached out to grab it and demand where it had come from.

The drone seemed to sense Grievous' intent because it grabbed the cyborg's arm, clenching it in a surprisingly tight grip.

"Release me at once!" Grievous bellowed, backhanding the drone and sending it flying across the room and crashing into the wall, causing its cybernetic body to spark.

The other Borg drones turned to face Grievous as he pulled out his lightsabers and slowly stalked towards him.

"You have made a big mistake." Grievous growled as he slashed at the closest drone.

But to his surprise the lightsaber bounced off an energy shield surrounding the drone's body. The drone attempted to grab him but Grievous' reflexes saved him as he lashed out with his foot, kicking the drone back before it could grab him. The Borg slowly surrounded Grievous as he spun his lightsabers as if to warn them they were making another big mistake which he believed they were by challenging him. One drone raised its arm and fired a beam of green light which Grievous blocked with a blue lightsaber.

To his surprise the beam wasn't deflected like a blaster bolt would have been but instead the disruptor beam seemed to push through the lightsaber, disrupting the magnetic field used to contain the plasma slowly caused it to overload until it exploded, taking Grievous' right arm with it. Grievous was knocked back as the lightsaber exploded; scorching his body but thankfully he was not critically damaged. He got up, looking at his destroyed arm in shock at what had happened. No blaster or laser weapon had ever managed to destroy lightsaber like the Borg's disruptor beam had done just now and it made Grievous believe he had imagined the whole thing.

Looking up Grievous saw the Borg drones approaching him again and instantly realized he needed to retreat or he would be killed. He ran to the wall, his clawed feet digging into the wall and jumped up onto the balcony before rushing to the elevators.

As he ran he tapped the comn-link attached to his mask/face. "Attention, we have been boarded by unknown invaders. Activate all droids on standby and lock down the ship."

:::

The klaxons on the _Invisible Hand_ rang throughout its hulls, alerting the droid crews and activating the droid reserves to better contain the situation. Droids patrolled the halls in groups and it didn't take long to locate the intruders who were moving down the hall with machine like efficiency that matched the battle droids. What was surprising and concerning was that there were droids and Nemodian crewmembers walking with the Borg towards the droids.

"There they are!"

"Why are there droids and crewmembers with them?"

"Halt! You're under arrest."

The Borg drones ignored the droid chatter, continuing to walk with cold indifference.

"Did they hear me?" The command droid asked.

"I don't know."

"I said you are under arrest!"

The Borg simply continued walking towards the droids.

"What do we do now?"

"Blast them!"

The droids opened fire on the Borg drones, downing only two of them before the drones adapted to the blasters and continued forward.

"Uh-oh!"

:::

General Grievous stepped onto the bridge, growling at the latest events. "What's the situation, Captain?"

"Our droids have engaged the intruders, General but there's something wrong." The security officer reported.

"What is it?" Grievous barked.

"Well…There are droids and crewmembers with the intruders and are helping them." The security officer stuttered.

"What?" Grievous stomped over and looked at the screen on the security console, watching the Borg drones marching through the halls and taking down any droids in their way. His eyes narrowed as he watched the Borg drones inject something into his droids that soon made them attack alongside the drones. "They are reprogramming the droids."

"But what about the crew?" The security officer asked.

"It doesn't matter! Tell the droids to fall back and attack from the distance!" Grievous barked, ignoring the security officer flinching and didn't really care. "And bring out the heavy hitters. Those cyborgs have shield generators."

"Y-Yes sir!" The officer squeaked.

:::

A _Providence_ -class carrier had a crew of over six hundred droids and organic crew with over one and a half million deactivated battle droids in storage that would be activated for planetary subjugation. Those droids were activated, patrolling the halls of the _Invisible Hand,_ looking for the intruders.

They weren't hard to find.

B1 Battle Droids, along with B2 Super Battle Droids, Droidekas, and even A-DSD Spider Droids locked onto the Borg drones and opened fire. The Borg's shields had already adapted to the weaponry used by the droids but they could only take so many hits before the shield were overwhelmed and soon enough the drones went down. The drones returned fire, blasting down droids with their disruptors and enhanced blasters that destroyed anything they hit. Not even the shield used by the Droidekas could protect them as the Borg quickly adapted their weapons to the frequency of the shields and the droids had no concept of re-modulating their weapons or shields.

 _Enemy Numbers Interfering With Mission_

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 _Multiple Weapons Capable of Overloading Shields_

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 _Adapting to Numbers_

The Borg drones adjusted their weaponry to fire a continuous beam of disruptor energy that mowed down the large number of droids in their way, allowing them to move forward with little to no resistance.

:::

"General, the intruders have been stalled but their making their way through on hall Sectors Three to Five. They're moving towards the bridge." A security droid reported.

"Activate ray shields. Don't let them get to the bridge and drop out of hyperspace. I don't want to bring these things back to Count Dooku." Grievous stated.

The Neimodian pilot inputted the command into the console but nothing happened. "Something's wrong, General."

"What is it?" Grievous growled, glaring at the pilot who started to sweat.

"Th-The controls are not responding. I can't drop us out of hyperspace." The pilot stuttered. "The helm has been isolated from the main system."

"Override." Grievous curled his hand into a fist.

The pilot tried that. "Nothing, sir. The helm will not respond."

Grievous banged the arm of his chair and let a loud grunt as he stood up. "Fine then. I will deal with these abominations myself."

No questioned how he would do it with only one hand as they had seen him emerge from battles much less.

:::

Though the Borg had adapted to the weapons used by the battle droids the battle was slowly reaching a stalemate due to the sheer number of droids that were fighting and also because Grievous's bodyguards, his Magna class assassin droids had joined the battle, attacking with their electro-staffs which kept the Borg Drones had bay. The Magna class droids had been personally customized and trained by Grievous himself to fight Jedi and not only were they capable of fighting Jedi but they were also able to defeat their master's current enemy. Due to their more sophisticated programming and combat skills the Magna droids ploughed through the approaching Borg drones who simply continued to walk forward with no care or regard for their own wellbeing. Commando Droids had also joined the fight and were actually fighting Borg drones, hand to hand and though the drones were physically capable of fighting back they lacked the programmed fighting skills that the Commando Droids used due to the fact that the Borg relied on their ability to adapt to weapons instead of actual combat.

However the Borg were slowly pushing forward as they assimilated droids and CIS bystanders, increasing their numbers and slowly making their way through the ship towards the bridge. Ray shields activated in the halls, trapping drones that were incinerated as they simply walked into the shields but that was a temporary solution as the Borg adapted to the shields a moment later with their own shields to block the harm effects of their prisons.

As Grievous made his way to the battle he watched as Borg slowly increased in number and growled in frustration. "This is becoming annoying."

His keen mind at work Grievous deduced that these drones, cyborgs, or whatever they were only vulnerable to energy weapons for a short time and that they somehow could reprogram droids and organics to fight for them. With that in mind and that fact that lightsabers were useless against them along with him missing his right hand Grievous resorted to brute force as he charged in, attacking the Borg while being mindful of their attempts to grab and possibly reprogram him.

Grievous was not a mindless droid as he stated on numerous occasions.

He utilized brute forced with creative tactics as he brutally crushed anything that got in his way, including assimilated droids and Neimodians. The Borg responded by stalking towards him to surround him but Grievous planted his legs up on the wall and moved across the ceiling and jumped down into crowed, flattening a handful of drones.

"Next time, send your _best_ warriors to stop me!" Grievous shouted as he crushed the skull of a drone with his foot.

The droids joined in on the attack but the Borg were now ignoring them, focusing on Grievous as he continued crushing and killing robotic freaks that dared to infest his ship. At this point the Borg seemed to realize that approaching Grievous was a bad move and activated their disruptors, firing at the cyborg general who dodged the green particle beams.

"Your improving but not by much!" Grievous laughed as he sped forward, his droid body and reflexes allowing him to dodge disruptor beams that would have possibly injured or killed him.

He continued to push the Borg back, stomping them like the insects that they reminded him off when he was younger and was fighting against a brutish race of bugs that had infested his planet and slowly killed off his people. Grievous showed no mercy back then just as he was showing no mercy now.

" _General, we're coming out of hyperspace and entering Serenno space._ " The pilot reported from the bridge. " _I still cannot stop the ship._ "

"Notify the defence fleet surrounding Serenno of our situation. Abandon this ship." Grievous grabbed another drone and flung it at a pair of drones walking towards him, knocking them down and causing sparks to shower.

* * *

 **Serenno System  
Orbit of Serenno**

The _Invisible Hand_ emerged from hyperspace and slowly approached the fleet of CIS ships surrounding Serenno, home of their CIS head of state, Count Dooku. Already the fleet scanned the _Invisible Hand_ 's transponder and recognized it as the flagship of General Grievous. The droids in the fleet responded by attempting to contact the ship.

" _Serenno Defense Fleet to Invisible Hand, respond please. I repeat, Serenno Defense Fleet contacting Invisible Hand, respond please._ "

The _Invisible Hand_ did not respond.

:::

The communications officer banged his console in frustration. "I can't reply or contact anyone! The entire bridge has been isolated!"

The ship continued on course towards the planet Serenno and the bridge crew could see the defense fleet that was no doubt preparing to blast them out of the sky. Communications were out so they could not warn the fleet that the ship had been hijacked by an unknown enemy.

"We must flee then." The commanding officer left in charge stood up. "Evacuate the ship."

"What about the general?" The security officer asked.

"He doesn't need us."

* * *

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Palace**

When one looked at one of the large palaces that was home by one of the Counts of the Six Great Houses that ruled Serenno they would probably expect it to be full of nobles and servants but the home of Count Dooku was almost completely empty with the exception of droids that managed the menial tasks of ensuring the palace was kept clean, cooking and guarding the palace in Dooku's absence while almost any form of furniture had been removed. The Count had little use for such useless possessions as he meditated in a large room with a glass window that allowed him to look over the rose bushes surrounding his palace. The Count himself was using the free time he had which was no doubt little as any moment someone would contact him with news on the war effort and ask him for advice and instructions on what to do next. However his meditation was not interrupted by a transmission from one of his subordinates or perhaps news of civil unrest on this planet no doubt caused by the fact that someone was dissatisfied with the way Dooku had basically forced them to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems with absolutely no say from them or even a window breaking.

His eyes opened as he sensed something approaching. "Something is approaching…"

It was unlike anything he had ever sensed before, a feeling of vast intelligence but lacking any form of emotion.

No compassion.

No anger.

No hate.

Just a feeling of cold driven desire that was approaching this planet. He couldn't feel the Force from this intelligence but he knew something was coming.

A literal hole in the Force was approaching.

He tapped the switch at his desk. "Get me the commander of the defence fleet."

:::

 _Approaching Serenno Orbit_

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 _Defense Fleet Moving to Intercept_

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 _Enemy Commander Attacking Forward Drones_

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 _Adapting Droid Deactivation Signal to Communication System_

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 _Modifying Deactivation Signal_

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 _Preparing to Broadcast Deactivation Signal Across Surrounding System_

* * *

 **Serenno Orbit  
Command Ship**

"Count Dooku." The droid commander greeted as Dooku appeared in front of it as a blue hologram. "Our scans confirm it is General Grievous's flagship but there have been no response to our hails."

" _Destroy the ship, Commander._ " Dooku stated immediately.

"Sir?" The droid asked in confusion.

" _That ship is not under the control of Grievous and must be destroyed. I want no survivors._ " Dooku said.

"Yes sir." The droid turned to the gunnery station. "Target the _Invisible Hand_ and open fire."

"Roger, roger."

:::

The _Invisible Hand_ continued to slowly approach Serenno as the Separatist Defense Fleet launched fighters and prepared to fire. The Borg however were not concerned, not that they ever could be, and simply continued forward, coming into firing range of the fleet. Just the ship came into range a signal was sent on all channels and though transmission was not received by any communication system on the ships the transmission was heard by every droid in the system.

"Firi…ing…" The droid gunners and slumped over as they suddenly shut down along with the droid commander, leaving a surprised Dooku to watch as the droids suddenly shut down.

The entire defense fleet which had been crewed by droids had been completely disabled and left to drift as the _Invisible Hand_ moved past the fleet without even slowing down. An entire fleet that would have made even a Republic attack force led by Jedi think twice about tangling about was defeated in a manner of seconds and their own strength had been used against them.

Grievous kicked another assimilated droid away and was about to continue forward until he heard something and turned around to see the droids that were still fighting with him suddenly shut down. "What is this? I did not give any orders for the droids to be deactivated! Captain, what is going on?!"

:::

 _Objective Complete_

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 _All Droids Shut Down_

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 _Assuming Standard Orbit_

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 _Vessel Lacks Transporter Systems_

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 _Prepare to Enter Atmosphere_

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 _Reprogramming Droid Fighters and Carriers For Transport_

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 _Warning_

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 _Cyborg Designated General Grievous Approaching Reactor Chamber_

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 _Drone Units Moving To Intercept_

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 _Activating Security Shields_

:::

"What happened?" Dooku demanded, speaking to a human wearing a CIS uniform. "The entire fleet was disabled."

" _All of the droids have been deactivated, Count Dooku. We've tried to reactivate them but they are not responding. It's like they have been reprogrammed to not respond to us anymore. We are moving to try and get the ships running again but there were more droids than living people up here._ "

"Take control and blast that ship out of the sky, Commander. I want it gone from my sky." Dooku said darkly, glaring at the commander who stiffened and got the hidden message.

Fail and you die.

" _Yes sir._ "

:::

Grievous continued his rampage through the halls towards the main reactor, crushing any Borg drones that got in his way. He didn't know what these cybernetic freaks were up to but he didn't like them controlling his ship and knew the best way to take control was to disable the main reactor. They tried to stop him but failed as Grievous was too strong and too quick to be stopped by them. So when he reached the door leading to main reactor the Borg tried something new.

Grievous growled as he came to a stop, spotting green ray shields coming up in front of the door to the reactor chamber. "You think this will stop me?!"

He pulled out a lightsaber and slashed at the emitters, knowing exactly where they were placed, taking out the emitters and a second later Grievous kicked down the doors to the reactor chamber. What he saw shocked and slightly chilled him to his core as Nemoidians and droids were strapped to walls and tables, being operated on by Borg drones while the chamber was partially black and green.

Having had enough of these Borg freaks Grievous rushed forward, punching and kicking any Borg drone in his way with enough force to break their bodies in two as he rampaged through the reactor room. The Borg drones moved to surround him but Grievous had in fact formed a plan before he attacked. Reaching to the center of the chamber Grievous slashed through the engine cooling tanks with his lightsaber, releasing coolant gas into the chamber and then rushing out as the gas flooded the chamber and freezing anything it touched, including Borg drones whose organic bodies started to slowly turn white from the immensely cold gas. Their cybernetic technology didn't help much better as it slowly started to freeze, unprepared as their bodies froze over, leaving a now frozen reactor chamber with a dozen frozen Borg drones.

If things were not bad enough for the Borg the Serenno Defense Fleet was slowly managing to recover from their surprises attack.

:::

"Activating all forwards weapons and fighters launched." A Nemodian pilot said as fighters controlled by organic pilots launched from the ship.

"Open fire-"

" _Wait!_ " Dooku's image stopped them, holding up a hand as he sensed something.

The empty presence on the _Invisible Hand_ was now dying and it seemed to show as the Separatist Dreadnaught halted itself in space, its engines dying down and leaving it slowly float towards the defense fleet.

:::

His job done General Grievous rushed into his personal hangar and boarded his fighter, the _Soulless One_. His fighter blasted out of the hangar as the _Invisible Hand_ was surrounded by Separatis ships, ready to destroy it if necessary.

Grievous activated the holo-transmitter and Count Dooku appeared on the console. "General Grievous reporting, Count Dooku."

" _General, I want an explanation for this attack._ " Dooku said sternly.

General Grievous knew that Count Dooku was not in a good mood and knew he had to watch himself or the count might blame him for this whole mess.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st – Ambush on the _Protector_**

 **Pre- Battle Entry:** _We had just come out of a major confrontation with a species that still gives me nightmares. These Borg bots or people just appeared out of nowhere one day while we were on a mission to track down a missing senator and attacked without warning or provocation. They were unlike anything we had ever faced before. They appeared in a giant cube that took on a Republic and Seppie fleet and we only came out of it alive thanks to some quick thinking from General Skywalker. But it wasn't the end of those freaks._

 _They boarded our ships using some sort of teleportation technology and once they slipped on they captured crewmembers turning them into we have come to call…_

 _Cyber-zombies._

 _We rushed forward, outraged by what had been done to our brothers and if not for the help of General Skywalker we wouldn't have made it alive._

* * *

 **Hyperspace  
R** **epublic Star Destroyer _Protector  
_ En Route to Naboo**

" _Disturbing, this news is. Powerful and dangerous these Borg are._ " The holographic projection of a small creature with pointed ears commented after hearing Anakin Skywalker's report. " _Possible is it that connected to Senator Amidala's disappearance they are?_ "

"I don't know, Master Yoda. These Borg…They aren't like anything I've seen before. They were like a literal void in the Force. No emotions of any kind within them. They weren't connected with the Dark Side at all." Anakin explained to the twelve holographic images of the Jedi Council.

" _You said they were some kind of collective._ " His mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi stated.

"Yes, Master." Anakin nodded. "It isn't easy to explain but I know these Borg were composed of thousands of lives that were somehow…connected in a way that prevented them from feeling anything…Aside from the desire to assimilate everything in their reach."

" _Disturbing, this news is._ " Master Yoda stated.

"Agreed. _These Borg represent a serious threat if a single ship was strong enough to fight both a Republic and a Separatist fleet at once. We need to find out where they came from before they launch another attack._ " The third Jedi, Mace Windu stated grimly.

" _Indeed. What concerns me is how they were able to shield themselves from the Force. It was like a black hole and yet they are not influenced by the Dark Side."_ Jedi Master Plo Koon commented.

"It's possible they came from the Unknown Regions." Anakin offered as a suggestion, momentarily hiding his worriedness for the missing senator who happened to be his wife.

It was a good suggestion as the Unknown Regions had not been charted very much by the rest of the galaxy and there was no telling how many species might have lived outside of known space.

" _It's possible but we're hardly in a position to send out a ship to investigate. The Separatists are pushing towards Sullust. We'll lose a major trade route if we don't reinforce our fleets to stop the advancements. Obviously Grievous planned another campaign that was interrupted when these Borg appeared._ " Obi-Wan Kenobi stated.

" _One would think the Separatists would slow down after the Borg attack._ " Kit Fisto commented.

" _True. Ignore current threats we cannot._ " Yoda nodded.

" _Perhaps these Borg will back down now that one of their ships was destroyed and we've proven we won't be so easily conquered._ " Mace Windu commented.

"They didn't show concerns for the soldiers they lost when they invaded our ships. They had advanced shields but didn't care how many of them died. I'm not sure they won't be emboldened to attack again." Anakin said.

" _Then we will have to shore up our defenses and increase our patrol along our outer installations._ " Obi-Wan agreed. " _Of course the Senate won't be happy about us pulling the defense fleet away from Duro._ "

" _We'll have to do so anyways if we're to keep the route._ " Mace said.

"And what about us? Do we continue our mission?" Anakin asked, anxious to resume the search.

" _The Queen of Naboo has offered to send the entire Naboo defense fleet to aid in the search. Until we can confirm whether or not Senator Amidala is alive the Chancellor has agreed to continue the mission as long as possible. Your fleet will return for re-arming, re-fueling and reinforcements since there was a Separatist fleet approaching the Republic worlds in that sector. Master Secura has been pulled back from the front lines to investigate a Separate base in the Endor system but her fleet is close enough that it's been redirected to rendezvous with Master Shaak Ti to assist in the search for Senator Amidala and we'll help them once we've investigated these Borg._ " Obi-Wan answered. " _Don't worry too much, Anakin. Senator Amidala has been in trouble before and she's always made it out alive. Be patient and I am sure she'll be calling any second._ "

"I know Master." Anakin nodded, not liking to be reminded how many times Padme had gotten herself in trouble.

" _Be wary, Skywalker. Possible danger we might face if these Borg are to return._ " Yoda stated, bowing his head.

"I understand." Anakin said as the transmission ended.

"I'm sure Padme's all right, Master." Ahsoka said once they were alone. "We haven't sensed any danger since that fight."

"Perhaps, but I can still feel a disturbance in the Force." Anakin closed his eyes. "These Borg…I know they have something to do with her disappearance. Did we learn anything from the bodies?"

"They disintegrated when we tried to touch them. There was nothing left." Ahsoka answered sadly. "I guess they didn't want anyone doing an autopsy on their dead."

Anakin sighed. "So we know next to nothing about them."

"General." A clone officer rushed into the room. "We've lost contact with the core control room. No one has reported back."

Anakin stiffened as his senses screamed danger. 'Can it be?'

"Master?" Ahsoka looked at her Master with concern on her face.

"Get a squad ready and meet with me. We're going down there." Anakin gripped his lightsaber as he moved to the door. "And don't do anything until I get there. If they know we've been alerted to them they'll attack."

"They?" Ahsoka asked.

"Borg."

Five minutes later Anakin, Ahsoka, and over a dozen clone troopers were at the hatch leading to the reactor core. The clone troopers were armed with standard blaster rifles but some were armed with EMP launchers which were ion based weapons which were designed for use against the Separatist droid armies along with the Droid Poppers.

"All right. There's no doubt a dozen Borg in there right now working to take control of the ship. We move in and take them out." Anakin said once he was at the door with his lightsaber out.

"Yes sir." Rex nodded, pulling out his DC-17 blaster pistols.

Once seeing everyone was ready Anakin opened the door while igniting his lightsaber which was followed quickly by Ahsoka as they prepared themselves for anything…

Except what they saw when the doors opened.

"What the hell?!" A clone trooper shouted upon seeing what was inside.

The reactor core had been modified with new unrecognizable technology that was colored back and pulsed with green energy as Borg drones marched around the multiple levels of the reactor core, modifying it with their own technology but that was not what terrified the Jedi and the clones.

It was the clones that looked like Borg that were helping the drones modify the core.

"What…What happened to them?" Ahsoka looked on in horror. "Why are the clones helping the Borg?"

"…Because they _are_ Borg." Anakin answered, sensing them through the Force.

They were just as empty as the Borg.

"What do you mean?" A clone asked, horrified as he saw one of his brothers walking around with half of his face covered with metallic implants.

"The Borg…They take people… and turn them into more Borg." Anakin said, sensing the minds of the clones becoming part of the Borg hive mind, literally becoming mindless as their voices are suddenly silenced. "This ends now. We have to stop them before they turn anymore of us into one of them. Move forward. If any of you feel like you lack the will then stay back. Now is not the time to hesitate."

Rex hesitated for a second. "We're with you, General."

Anakin nodded. "Move forward. Take out any Borg you see and don't let them get close to you. We don't know how they infected the others but we can't risk it."

The troopers aimed and opened fire, gaining the attention of the Borg drones who turned and marched towards them. It was almost completely one sided as the Borg had already adapted to the Republic blaster weaponry and thus moved forward with little difficulty. The only drones that were not immune were the assimilated clones who had not been modified with personal shields and they fell after being three or four times.

"Move forward!" Anakin shouted, deflecting blaster bolts and lead the clones forward into the reactor chamber.

The clones fired back with their blasters and EMP launchers at the enemy but the Jedi quickly deflected with their lightsabers, decreasing the chance of casualties. The assimilated clones that were hit by EMP pulses let out a scream and fell over, losing consciousness instantly but the Borg drones adapted their shields to EMP pulses in just a few seconds.

"Ahsoka, do what I do." Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and thrust both of his arms forward, releasing a powerful Force push that knocked a dozen Borg drones back.

Ahsoka quickly copied her Master's move, knocking even more drones back. While blasters had little to no effect on the Borg unless it was applied through an endless barrage, wearing down their shields, the two Jedi with their powers allowed them to push the Borg back into the room, knocking them into the walls or onto the floor below, killing them instantly and somewhat mercifully to the assimilated clones. The Borg had no way to adapt to the Force that Anakin and Ahsoka used to defeat their drones and were quickly overwhelmed as the clones fired on them, taking out drones that had been damaged by the Jedi's attacks.

"Rex, use grenades and rockets on any station that's infected without blowing the reactor. I want this place clean!" Anakin shouted over the blast fire.

"Yes sir!" Rex nodded as clones carrying rocket launchers and flame throwers aimed at regeneration alcoves that had been installed and blasted them apart.

:::

 _Enemy Attacking_

 _Regeneration Alcoves Destroyed_

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 _Drone Numbers Depleted By Unknown Method of Attack_

 _Visual Suggest Psionic Based Attacks_

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 _Humanoid and Unknown Species Assimilation Priority: High_

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 _Capture for Analyzation_

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 _Set Weapons for Stun_

:::

The clones fired on drones on all levels, hitting the assimilated clones and killing them instantly while the Jedi took out the fully equipped drones using their skills with the Force to knock the drones into the walls or onto the bottom floor which killed them instantly.

"Keep pushing them back!" Anakin called out as the 501st squad continued their way through the reactor core. "Disable the controls so they can't take control of the ship!"

Rex pulled out a thermal detonator at a nearby turbine console, blowing it up in an instant which instantly disabled the _Protector_ 's engines.

"Good work, Rex. Now they can't take the ship to wherever they want to go." Anakin nodded in satisfaction as he blocked another bolt with his lightsaber.

The Borg seemed to realize it was a losing battle for them but they still continued on with complete indifference as they fought. The fully equipped Borg drones aimed their disruptors at Anakin and Ahsoka, firing their disruptors which were set to stun. Both Jedi raised their lightsabers to block but they had not realized the Borg had adapted to their weapons and the beams passed through and short circuited the lightsabers, hitting their owners and stunning them instantly.

"The Jedi are down!" A clone shouted once Anakin and Ahsoka were down.

Rex watched as the Borg drones approached the unconscious Jedi. "Don't let them near the Jedi!"

With that said the clones opened fire on the approaching Borg drones but their shields shrugged off the blast fire.

"We can't hit them!" One of the clones shouted.

Rex pulled out another thermos detonator and threw it onto the path of the drones where it exploded instantly, taking out the ramp and caused any surviving drones to fall to the floor, dying instantly on impact.

"Don't bother taking them out with blasters! Get unorthodox!" Rex shouted, pulling out his last two thermal detonators.

The clone troopers followed his example, pulling out thermal detonators or using rocket launchers and flame throwers that had been brought along to help pierce Borg shields and a second later the 501st went on the offense, tearing through the remaining Borg drones who continued to fight to the last drone but they made sure to purge their equipment of anything that would have been threatening to the Collective just as the final drone was destroyed.

"All enemies down." A clone reported once the reactor chamber had been secured.

The reactor had not been hit in the fight but the chamber was now a complete and utter mess with fires, scorched walls and ramps that had been blown apart or fallen onto the bottom floor on top of dead Borg drones.

"Let's get anyone still alive to the med-bay." Rex nodded.

:::

 **R** **epublic Star Destroyer _Protector  
_ Med-Bay**

Anakin frowned as he listened to Rex's report after being checked over by the medical droid. "These Borg…They must have slipped aboard before their ship was destroyed. They tried to take over from within."

"But was it only our ship?" Ahsoka asked from her bed next to Anakin's.

Anakin frowned. "Rex, get in contact with the rest of the fleet and tell them do a complete search of their ships."

"Yes sir." Rex nodded.

"In the meantime we operate under general quarters until a thorough check has been done." Anakin continued. "We don't move until all the all clear has been given."

"Yes sir." Rex repeated before leaving the room.

Anakin sighed and leaned back down on the bed, earning a concerned look from Ahsoka. "Master, are you all right?"

"I just have a feeling…The Borg are gone now but I can still feel them…Out there." Anakin closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"You think they will come back?" Ahsoka asked.

"I don't know, Ahsoka. I don't know." Anakin closed his eyes, desperately looking for answers from the Force on what to do and where he could find his wife.

But the Force was unusually silent.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st – Ambush on the _Protector_**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _With the Borg defeated the 501st finally had some breathing room after a long battle. They were different from the clankers and gear-heads we were used to fighting but they were much worse. At least with the droids you died only once but those robot freaks made people just like them and it was horrifying to see fellow clones, brothers I had known for a long time being turned into cyber-zombies that attacked and killed their own brothers. The Chancellor had ordered the battle to remain classified only those who had taken part and the Jedi Council who been informed by General Skywalker who agreed that any knowledge on the Borg would remain secret._

 _However the Jedi did not know that the Supreme Chancellor had ordered that the removed Borg implants taken from dead clones and destroyed equipment to be taken to a secret facility for study and research. He ordered that it be kept secret from the Jedi as a matter of high security and for the safety of the Republic._

 _No one wanted to talk about them anyways._


	4. Chapter 4

**Serenno  
Count Dooku's Palace**

"And that is what happened, my Master." Dooku bowed his head to the holographic image of someone covered head to toe in a black cloak. "We are currently salvaging anything useful from Grievous's ship to learn more about these…Borg."

" _We were quite fortunate, my apprentice. These Borg have shown to be very dangerous to our plans. Fortunately both Grievous and Skywalker halted their plans and destroyed them before they came too far. We must be prepared should they return._ " Dooku's Master, Darth Sidious stated. " _I want your best scientists to examine any salvaged Borg technology and see how it can be used to our advantage against the Jedi._ "

"It is already being done, my Master. I have ordered all vital worlds to be reinforced with additional defense ships and the deactivation code of our droids to be changed. It is obvious these Borg somehow learned of the code by taking control of Grievous's ship. Our factories are increasing production of droids as best as they can, given that they are already pushed to the limit to make more droids to combat the clones." Dooku replied with a satisfied smile. "We are in the process of improving our electronic protection should the Borg return. I should also note that while the Borg shields could stop a lightsaber and blaster fire they seem to fall short of physical combat. Therefore I have ordered an increased production of Commando and Magna droids and made it mandatory for all Separatist fleets to carry a suitable number to repel such invaders. I have also ordered to increase production of ion cannons and EMP based weapons for our forces to use against the Borg due to their cybernetic nature."

" _Good. Good. I will not allow an anomaly like these Borg to disrupt our plans again. The Republic will be reinforcing their outer worlds should the Borg launch another attack which works to our advantage. The more spread out they are the harder it will be to counter an invasion force. We will wait a few days to allow the droids to build up their numbers and prepare them for any future Borg attacks while the Republic does the same._ " Sidious stated. " _With both sides pausing slightly to build their strength back up we can use that to our advantage. The Jedi know of the threat the Borg represent but are keeping it a secret. This works to our advantage as well since we can now study their technology without the Jedi Council probing for answers. We can understand how these cyborgs came into being and how to destroy them._ "

"Yes, Master." Dooku bowed his head. "These Borg caught us off guard once. Never again."

" _Now there is the matter of the disappearance of Senator Amidala._ " Sidious frowned. " _It is if she vanished off the face of the universe. While her disappearance is beneficial to us I sense it was connected to the appearance of the Borg. And I sense…something else…A disturbance on the Force, a feeling of great hunger._ "

"I have sensed it as well for some time, Master. You believe she had a connection with the Borg attack?" Dooku questioned.

" _No. She would never condone something like the Borg who represent the exact opposite of everything she believes in. But it doesn't mean she would not somehow know of where they came from._ " Sidious answered.

"Do you wish me to search for the senator?" Dooku asked.

" _Yes but do so quietly through the unofficial channels. We don't want certain parties like the Jedi or even the Separatist Council to know."_ Sidious said, remembering that Separatist leader Nute Gunray had a grudge against Senator Amidala had tried to kill her on several separate occasions. " _Use the kind of people who will do as they are told with a promise of a reward and no questions asked._ "

Dooku nodded. "As you wish, Master."

Sidious grinned once the transmission ended. All was still going according to plan and he could make use of this Borg attack as a way to further his plans.

The future was his.

 **Transwarp Space**

The Borg Sphere continued its lonely trek through unknown space, receiving transmissions that confirmed the Borg agents that had beamed aboard the flagships of both opposing fleets had been destroyed. The Borg analyzed the data with cold machine efficiency and continued their mission. The loss of the agents was irrelevant in the long run. Both powers in this galaxy now believe the Borg were gone and they would use that time to find a place to thrive and grow. They had downloaded the galaxy map from both ships and had looked over the data regarding the fleet movements and bases in this galaxy.

They would use that to find new drones to replenish their numbers until they were strong enough to take this galaxy for their own.

All would become one with the Borg.

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 _Data Link Established With Republic And Confederacy Data Network_

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 _Locating Suitable System for Habitation And Assimilation_

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 _Recommendation: Search for Planets Not Residing In Republic Or Confederacy Space_

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 _All System Maps Updated_

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 _Warning: Galaxy Map Incomplete_

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 _Incomplete Stellar Cartography For Galaxy Alpha And Gamma Quadrants_

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 _Examining All Relevant Information_

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 _Setting Course for Singularity Cluster Designated Maw_

The Borg Sphere changed course, opening a transwarp corridor and vanished into it. The mission had begun.

 **USS _Friedrich  
_ Sick-Bay**

"How are our new patients, Doctor?" Malcolm asked, spotting Doctor Tolan, a human with a Romulan heritage, running his scanner over the unconscious woman.

"About as well you can expect for someone who was transported through a wormhole or a temporal vortex. She was slightly exposed to triolic energy so I gave her some hyronalin to clear it out." Tolan said with a small smile. "She's completely identical to Human life in this galaxy, only there a few irregular readings in her bloodstream. I'll need to conduct a more thorough scan. She's in perfect health though, only unconscious from the trauma of traveling through a wormhole."

"So…" Malcolm looked at the woman. "There is human life in another galaxy."

"Medical scans confirm it." Tolan nodded.

"Starfleet will want a full report on this." Malcolm turned away. "There is even a chance that the _Enterprise_ will be coming to join us."

"Really?" Tolan looked surprised. "It's that serious."

"Doctor, I'm sure you remember what happened the last time we found a stable wormhole." Malcolm said with a grim smile.

"Ahh…" Tolan nodded in understanding.

The unspoken answer that both man knew was the Dominion War.

"What about the other passenger?" Tolan asked.

"I had my engineers show the image of the droid to the droid crew on the _Winds of Mygeeto_ and they identified it as a protocol droid." Malcolm answered.

"Protocol droid?"

"Apparently they are interpreters, programmed with multiple languages and to assist in diplomatic solutions and to serve as personal aids. Think of them as this universe's version of the universal translator." Malcolm said with a small smile.

"A walking universal translator?" Tolan asked with a chuckle.

"Well, it's another universe so it's supposed to be different." Malcolm shrugged. "Anyways, our main prerogative is the health of our guest."

"I'm on that already, Captain." Tolan nodded. "She just needs some rest and-"

A groan interrupted their conversation. They looked over and saw the woman on the bio-bed slowly waking up and look over in their direction.

"Relaxation." Tolan finished.

:::

Padme Amidala could not for the life of her understand how she got into these messes.

Her husband, Anakin Skywalker, would no doubt be pulling his hair out at the fact she had gone and gotten herself attacked by Separatists again when she was on a simple diplomatic missions to the Gungans for Naboo's status in the war. She knew in the back of her head that refusing an escort while traveling down the Hydian Way, a route which had been pillaged with Separatist raids ever since the war started was perhaps a stupid idea but she was a senator and a diplomat and an armed escort went against her principles as a believer in peace. She had believed she could slip through the route to Malastare without being detected by any Separatist ships but it wasn't the first time she was wrong. A Separatist frigate had found her and chased her, damaging her ship's hyperdrive and she thought she wasn't getting out of this situation.

She remembered her ship being pulled into something and there was a blue flash of light before she blacked out. She felt herself on a comfy bed and not in a dark and cold cell meaning she might not be on a Separatist ship which was a relief.

The last thing she needed was to be taken captive with Nute Gunray trying to kill her again.

She woke up in room resembling a sick bay that looked too civilian to be a military ship. She sat up and spotted two men wearing uniforms she did not recognize. She was not sure what to do but she wasn't in any position to try and make a break for it and they didn't look like Separatists. They seemed to notice her as they turned and looked at her, noticing she was sitting up on the bed.

One of the men had pointed ears and raised an eyebrow. "Well…our guest is awake."

"Uh…" Padme had almost no idea how to react. "Where am I?"

The dark haired man next to the man with pointed ears smiled. "You are on the Federation starship _Friedrich_. Welcome aboard."

Padme looked confused. "Federation? As in the Trade Federation? But they don't employ humans and your uniforms are completely different."

"No. I think we're in for a long talk miss." The man said with a sigh. "I'm Captain Kurt Malcolm and you…well there's no way to prepare you for this so I will just say it. Welcome to our galaxy."

Padme could only stare in shock.

How did she get herself in these messes?

 **USS _Friedrich_  
Briefing Room**

Padme was silent as she thought over everything she had learned in the past half hour about the place she was now in.

A new galaxy.

A galaxy where humans lived.

A galaxy with no Jedi and no Sith.

The whole thing sounded unbelievable but Padma somehow knew they were not lying. Why would they lie when the Separatists would never go to such outrageous acting to fool her? They told her of the Separatist ship they had found and reactivated the droids, managing to get them to behave for the most part. Though initially worried she knew the droids wouldn't be much of a threat as without any orders they were as lost and confused as she was. She explained her galaxy and the state it was in because of the Clone Wars.

The Starfleeters listened to her story, hearing how her government known as the Galactic Republic slowly started to decline in power over the last decade that started out with the dispute over the taxation of trade routes which led to many star systems withdrawing from the Galactic Senate, forming a separatist movement that slowly became a government separate from the Republic. She told them that in response to the Separatists the Senate voted on the Military Creation Act which would allow the Republic to form an army of its own should the chance that the Separatists would become aggressive and lead to war, the first full scale war to happen in over two thousand years. She had spoken out against the Military Creation Act and was targeted for assassination by the Separatists who were secretly building a droid army to wage war on the helpless Republic but help came in the form of a clone army that had been created for the Republic and approved by the Chancellor upon being granted emergency powers by the Senate when she and two of her friends were about to be executed for supposed crimes against the Confederacy.

That was the beginning of the Clone Wars.

For the next two years the war had spread throughout the galaxy as the Separatists and the Republic fought with their massive armies. She took the time to describe how awful the fighting had been for the galaxy with numerous worlds being invaded, bombed, and otherwise occupied at gun point. Though her opinion could be seen as biased towards the Separatists the Starfleet staff heard the pain and anguish in her voice as the horrors that had been dealt throughout the war. At first the Republic was sure its clone army would be enough to defend them and that the war would end quickly but it took longer to grow a clone than it did to make a battle droid and the Separatist Droid Army outnumbered the Republic Army greatly.

So the war was mostly was mostly a stalemate with the skills of the clones and the Jedi Generals matched against the unending numbers of battle droids that waged across multiple star systems.

To them it was a not so gentle reminder of the Dominion War only this was being waged on a galactic scale.

Finally, Senator Amidala was done and agreed to retire to guest quarters set up for her.

Once she was gone Malcolm looked at his senior staff. "Opinions gentlemen?"

"To be honest Captain, the idea of a civil war being waged across an entire galaxy is unnerving. The way it all started strangely sounds very similar to the American Civil War from nineteenth century Earth with a group of states asserting their independence formed the Confederate States of America. The end of the war marked the end of slavery and oppression." Tolan stated, demonstrating his knowledge of Earth history.

"Only now millions, possibly billions of people are dying. How could a conflict of such magnitude be brought on by a trade dispute?" Rako asked.

"Corruption caused by bureaucracy but many species have been brought to near extinction for similar mistakes." T'Vrell noted. "Before my people turned to logic Surak encountered resistance from many Vulcans as he tried to introduce logic as a way to curb our aggression which nearly led to Vulcan's destruction."

"The Federation is not immune to such acts either. The peace treaty with the Cardassians nearly split it in half when many colonies were left in Cardassian control in the Demilitarized Zone which led to more than a few resigning their commission and joined the Maquis." Zalara pointed out. "My own people were involved in several conflicts."

"What about this clone army? Did the Republic commission it in secret in case war broke out? And why didn't they just train an army of volunteers which would have been cheaper and easier than creating an entire clone army?" Rako asked, not liking the idea of creating an entire army of beings simply to use them as cannon fodder.

"Possibly a secret group dedicated to the protection of the Republic. They run several calculations, predicting several possibilities of how the Separatist movement is solved, factor in the building tensions between both groups along with possible weapon build-up and finding the most likely outcome." Surla explained.

"War." Kolez stated.

"Or at the very least not peace." Surla replied. "Then they draw up the fastest way to build up an army, circumventing the usual channels and ignore the outcome of the voting of the Military Creation Act. They realize they cannot build and train an army of volunteers fast enough with the Senate in the process of voting and look for the next fastest method."

"They use cloning combined with genetic engineering, depending on their predictions of war breaking out and no doubt made sure to grow their clones as fast as they could." T'Vrell stated. "Such genetic manipulations was used by the Dominion to grow the Jem'Hedar."

"But how could a clone army be made without anyone noticing the necessary funding? Surly the high ranks in this Republic had to have knowledge of this army. The necessary funding to provide this army with ships and weapons could not be hidden away." Rako pointed out.

"Perhaps it was done by a separate corporate. Senator Amidala stated that many corporates and trading companies in the Outer Rim protested over the taxation of trade routes. It is logical that one or more politicians would set up a private funding for the army and with army being grown on a separate planet they could simply contract more than one planet with ship building facilities to secretly build fleets in factories that would be hidden from public sight until war was declared." T'Vrell surmised.

"Still, makes me doubt Senator Amidala's claims that the Republic is a civilization based on peace like the Federation considering the fact that it approved the creation of a clone army no matter how convenient it was." Rako commented. "Even if negotiations with the Separatists failed it could have just revived its old military programs. Instead it created and grew an army of warriors to fight and die for them."

"From what I heard there were no negotiations with the Separatists, at least no formal negotiations." Kolez pointed out.

"And Senator Amidala explained that the clone army was created without the Republic knowing of it." T'Vrell.

"That would be their official stance but as Rako pointed out it would be impossible for no one to know of this army. But when the war broke out they didn't object to using it. An army of warriors to fight without having to force people to fight." Surla commented sourly. "Senator Amidala is a person that believes in free will and democracy and despises war in any form. That much we could see from her but we can see there is more to it than that on both sides. An army of machines fighting an army of genetically engineered humans with one side possibly the aggressors but given the fact that it is a new and young government made up of worlds that apparently believe the Republic is corrupt it is not unexpected."

"And the Republic seems to be too tied up bureaucracy to be an effective government and has no objections to the use of cannon fodder grown to fight." T'Vrell commented.

"And now this galaxy is in danger of being drawn in." Malcolm noted. "And that's not taking into account of possible Devidian activity on the other side of the portal."

"Captain, are we not bound by the Prime Directive to not interfere on any level?" Rako asked.

"We are but also cannot ignore the Devidians in another galaxy." Kolez pointed out.

"This all moot for now. For now, Starfleet needs to be informed of this development and what we've learned about this new galaxy." Malcolm silenced any potential argument. "In the meantime let's see what else we can learn."

 **Guest Quarters**

Padme Amidala settled into her guest quarters very quickly, quickly noticing that these quarters were as comfortable as the luxury suite she had at the Senate building on Coruscant. She found a computer and was quick to access it, wanting to learn everything she could about the Federation and this so-called new galaxy. The more she read about it the more the Federation sounded like the Republic, only it was much smaller and it was more interested in exploration and knowledge of the universe. It had conflicts with other states such as the Klingon Empire but it maintained its stance on peace and exploration.

She read up on the political structure and started looking for similarities between the Federation Council and the Republic Senate. It was similar but the Council was actually much smaller than the Senate with the chief executive being the President. The military branch of the Federation was Starfleet but it was also a defensive and exploratory branch which was different from any military the Galactic Republic had used now or thousands of years ago. The galaxy had been mostly charted with the exception of the Unknown Regions and only a small part of the regions had been explored.

And then there was the Prime Directive.

This Prime Directive stated that any interference in the affairs of other cultures, primitive or otherwise was forbidden. Her political mind instantly deduced that even if the Federation were to make contact with the Republic and the Separatists they would not take part in the war since it would be regarded as an internal affair no matter how wide spread the conflict had become. At the very least that was a good thing as the last thing the Republic needed was another power joining in the war. But this presented an opportunity to end the war.

The Federation and this new galaxy could be used as a way to at least stop the fighting for a short time for diplomacy with the Separatists to resume. She was currently reading up on the Federation Diplomacy Corp and believed that working with them as they are a sovereign nation not affiliated with any other side could bring the Republic and the Separatists to the table where at least a ceasefire could be drawn up. She decided to sleep on it for a little bit and then come to Captain Malcolm about it, perhaps ask him to come to Coruscant.

It went against her principles as someone who believed in democracy to use someone else to solve her problems but her mind was going at lightspeed with all the new possibilities that come for what she had learned.

 **Kessel Sector  
Maw Nebulae  
The Maw Cluster**

The Borg sphere emerged from transwarp space and scanned the surrounding area. The data from the Republic and Separatist records indicated the area known as the Maw was cluster of block holes which was mostly avoided by the people of the galaxy. Borg sensors and shields were at full power as the sphere entered the Maw, navigating carefully to avoid being crushed or torn apart. If anyone were to ask why would the Borg choose this deathtrap to hide and build up their base.

The answer: it was perfect.

The radiation and plasma released from the singularities would be the perfect source of power for the Unimatrix in this galaxy along with the cluster of asteroids would give them the building material they needed. It would also be extremely difficult for enemy ships to navigate the Maw if their intention is to attack the Borg base.

 _Beginning Construction Of Unimatrix_

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 _Downloading Astrometric Data_

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 _Mapping All Surrounding Sectors_

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 _Preparing Construction of Shipyards_

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 _Preparing Construction of Transwarp Conduit_

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 _Establishing Subspace Relay Network For Communication Outside Of The Maw_

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 _Locating Near Systems and Planets Suitable For Assimilation_

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 _Programming Assimilated Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droids To Reprogram Droid Units_

 _Upgrading Assimilated Variable Geometry Self-Propelled Battle Droid Fuel System With More Efficient Miniature Warp Core_

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 _Analyzing Data Collected By Scouts On Republic and Confederacy Vessels_

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 _Recording Log:_

 _("Ahsoka, do what I do." Anakin deactivated his lightsaber and thrust both of his arms forward, releasing a powerful Force push that knocked a dozen Borg drones back._

 _Ahsoka quickly copied her Master's move, knocking even more drones back. While blasters had little to no effect on the Borg unless it was applied through an endless barrage, wearing down their shields, the two Jedi with their powers allowed them to push the Borg back into the room, knocking them into the walls or onto the floor below, killing them instantly and somewhat mercifully to the assimilated clones.)_

 _("Next time, send your best warriors to stop me!" Grievous shouted as he crushed the skull of a drone with his foot._

 _The droids joined in on the attack but the Borg were now ignoring them, focusing on Grievous as he continued crushing and killing robotic freaks that dared to infest his ship. At this point the Borg seemed to realize that approaching Grievous was a bad move and activated their disruptors, firing at the cyborg general who dodged the green particle beams._

 _"Your improving but not by much!" Grievous laughed as he sped forward, his droid body and reflexes allowing him to dodge disruptor beams that would have possibly injured or killed him._ _)_

 _End Recording_

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 _Analyzing Unknown Capabilities_

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 _Cybernetic Construct Designated 'Grievous' Demonstrates Enhanced Reflexes and Strength_

 _Thought Process Indicates Strategic Capabilities_

 _Final Results: High Priority Target For Assimilation_

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 _Analyzing Jedi File:_

 _General Anakin Skywalker_

 _Commander Ahsoka Tano_

 _Possible Target Based On Observation And Files:_

 _Count Dooku_

 _Subjects Demonstrate High Powered Telekinetic Abilities And Possible Telepathic Abilities Based On Signal Interaction With Collective_

 _Targets Labelled Jedi Acting As High Ranked In Republic Collective_

 _Final Results: Capture Jedi For Assimilation and Study_

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 _Assimilation Of This Galaxy Has Begun_

 _Resistance Is Futile_

 **Coruscant  
Senate Building**

Chancellor Palpatine frowned, sitting back in his chair as he looked out the window of his office, seeing the massive city before him. His mind was racing with the news of recent events and how to factor them into his plan. The appearance of the Borg had been an unexpected and almost unwelcome surprise but Palpatine had managed to use it as an excuse to leave the Inner Rim more vulnerable to attack as more ships that are protecting Coruscant and other important are pulled away to reinforce the fleets protecting the hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim. It was especially damaging to the Republic since the Republic Fleet the Borg had attacked was under the command of Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion, the main heroes of the Republic.

He planned to use this as way to elevate Anakin's reputation as a fearless hero in the wake of his defeat of the Borg invaders who were a force like no other. He also remembered that General Grievous had stopped the Borg that infiltrated his ship from taking over Serenno which itself was a saving grace as the last thing he needed was the Confederacy crippled so early in the war. Even if knowledge of the attacks were kept secret it was only a matter of time before rumors would work their way through the ranks on both sides of a great menace that was defeated by the heroes of both sides. This would only galvanize the Republic and the Separatists to continue fighting in the wake of defeating such a dangerous enemy.

Of course there was also the matter of the possibility of the Borg returning.

The very last thing Palpatine needed or wanted was a third player in the game when his plans were going smoothly the last few years. Reaching out with the Dark Side he concentrated, using his Force Sight ability to foresee all possible outcomes. His visions were becoming more and more clouded, as if something was preventing him from seeing the future. This agitated him as he had relied on these abilities for the last thirty years to accomplish the great plan that had been set in place by his predecessors.

Failure was unacceptable.

To that end Palpatine ordered the Republic and the Separatists to shore up their defenses and set up several secret projects that only a hand full that answered only to him based on all information taken from the encounters with the Borg. Weapon productions, technology studying, and warriors being trained and created for the purpose of fighting those cybernetic creatures if they ever showed themselves again all being conducted in secret bases that had been set up away from the sight of the Jedi.

A beeping sound earned his attention and he quickly brought his hood over his face before accepting the call, seeing the image of his apprentice. "Lord Tyranus."

Count Dooku bowed his head. " _You wished to speak with me, Master?_ "

"Yes. First, I want the report on the rumors based on the Borg attack." Sidious stated.

" _They are mostly baseless rumors with all who know sworn to secrecy under the penalty of death, Master._ "

"Good. Of course, as the rumors spread of these Borg suffering defeat by the heroes of both sides it will only raise their reputations and that is what we want. Now, there is the possibility of the Borg returning in greater numbers which would lead to an unacceptable problem. To that end, I have ordered an increased production of certain projects, including the special weapon."

Count Dooku raised an eyebrow. " _You believe it will stop the Borg if they return?_ "

"Yes, once the weapon has been completely tested. However we will need assistance to finish it. I want as many Genosians and construction droids you can spare without sacrificing any of our offensive power. We will also need as many workers from slave markets to increase the speed of the construction." Sidious ordered.

" _Of course Master._ " Dooku nodded. " _I know of several cartels that will be very useful and of course we can always gain some more workers from Republic planets that have been conquered. It may interest you to know that I have looked into several projects for defense against the Borg myself and they have produced very fortunate results._ "

"Oh?" Sidious raised an eyebrow as Dooku's image was replaced by the image of a ship. "A _Subjugator_ class dreadnaught?"

" _The third of its kind, the Inferno._ " Dooku said as his image reappeared. " _It has recently finished its construction and is ready to undergo its maiden voyage. I was hoping to hold it back, using an excuse that it is needed to protect capital worlds of the Confederacy but the Council and Parliament have been clamoring for its completion. Though it does not have an ion cannon it is equipped is equipped with a weapon just as deadly, a gravitic polarization cannon._ "

"Good." Sidious grinned. "And in the meantime we can use the weakened defense force to further spread out the fleet and the Jedi. With the possibility of another Borg attack the citizens will no doubt want more protection."

" _And perhaps force the Senate to grant you more power._ " Dooku surmised.

"Yes." Sidious chuckled. "And of course as Chancellor I would do everything in my power to see that such an invasion would never happen. And there is the matter of the missing Senator of Naboo."

" _I am in the process of assembling a search group capable of tracking her down without the Republic connecting it to us._ "

"See to it personally that she is found first by us." Sidious stated, not accepting any mistakes.

" _Of course, Master._ " Dooku bowed as the transmission ended.

Sidious sat back in his chair, pondering the latest events. With the possibilities presented by this Borg threat he might have move his timetable up sooner than expected which was not exactly what he wanted as he needed more dead Jedi with the Republic armies scattered across the Outer Rim. Though the Borg had been defeated he sensed they were not destroyed. They were out there, waiting and plotting to return and he needed to be ready.

That would mean strengthening the Republic and the Confederacy for the eventual outcome but as he sank deeper into the Force his mind experienced visions…

 _Strange ships that were mix of elegance and predatory dancing across the stars as they fought with ships that resembled Republic, Separatist, Borg, and some he did not recognize and he heard voices from all of them…_

 _"Qa'pla!"_

 _"Resistance is futile!"_

 _"Engage."_

 _A gathering of humanoids and sub-humans standing together in a great hall…_

 _A creature stepping out of the darkness, the feeling of power and darkness coming off it in waves. "You have come farther than we expected, but still you chase our shadows."_

 _A fleet of ships similar to Republic Star Destroyers battling against the alien ships…_

 _Someone wearing an outfit that resembled a uniform with a delta arrow on its chest stepping forward, its face blurry. "Our mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before."_

Palpatine opened his eyes as the visions ended and frowned. Though he sensed his plans were not in any immediate danger he sensed a powerful change on the horizon that was sending waves through the Force. Thankfully it was not enough to lift the shroud of the Dark Side but it was enough that a few Jedi might sense it which could complicate things. He needed to be mindful and watch for anything that might happen.

It was too soon for something unexpected to happen when he was still consolidating his power that he would use to create the New Order.

An order that would see to the end of the Jedi and the Republic

And the rise of the Empire.

 **Location Unknown**

"The plan is going as you predicted, Great One. The Borg have settled in the black hole cluster known as the Maw. They are assimilating and building up their forces as we speak. We have agents infiltrating the Republic and the Confederacy as well as independent groups as we speak." The being quickly bowed as he made his report. "We have also set up several outposts on remote planets for research and observation."

" _Good. Let the Borg build up their forces as both sides continue fighting. It will not matter if the forces of the Milky Way discover this plot. The forces of this galaxy run in the shadows, unable to see through the darkness._ "

"Yes Great One. They are foolish. These so called Jedi have no experience fighting in a war. They will not be able to stop us."

" _They have power…But they are mere children, unable to truly understand the universe. In the end, the time of mortals playing with powers beyond their recognition is over. Now the Age of the Whole has begun._ "


	5. Chapter 5

**Republic Venator Class Star Destroyer _Spearpoint  
_ Bridge**

Jedi Master Even Piell strode onto the bridge of the ship, seeing his second in command already at the main table. "Tarkin, what's the status of the attack?"

The man in the Republic Military uniform glanced at the smaller Jedi. "The operation is a success, General. The outpost is destroyed with no losses of our own."

"Good." Piell nodded. "We can make our way through the Nexus Route and map it without Separatist eyes on our back."

"Yes." Tarken agreed. "A secret hyperspace route that the Separatists do not know about that would allow us to send secret fleets through to attack them from behind."

"Well, we'll make our report and see what Council wants next." Piell said, walking to the front of the bridge.

"Of course. The Council." Tarkin mumbled as he walked off the bridge.

Piell closed his one eye in annoyance at his second in command and was glad for the moment of peace. It was only a matter of time before he and Tarkin had another disagreement that would temp the Jedi Master to take his lightsaber out and-

Piell shook his head. 'I need some shore leave after this.'

Tarkin walked into his quarters, making sure everything was in their proper order as he walked over to his desk and looked over the latest reports. The war for the most part had reached a stalemate which was unacceptable as the Separatists were continuing freely defying the Republic and acting as though they were the leading government in the galaxy.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "General Tarkin?"

Tarkin stood up and walked to the door, opening it and seeing three clone troopers. "Yes, what is it?"

"We have a situation sir. You are needed on the bridge." The lead trooper answered.

"Very well." Tarkin stepped out of his quarters and walked back towards the bridge.

At least that was the plan.

At an intersection the trooper in front of him stopped and turned to the left which led away from the bridge.

"Trooper, where are going? The bridge-" Tarkin stopped upon feeling the rifle pressed against his back.

"Keep moving and don't say a word." The trooper behind Tarkin threatened with a dark and hateful voice.

Tarkin wisely remained silent as the troopers 'escorted' him down the hall and he slowly realized where they were taking him. The lead trooper stopped in front of an airlock while the other two remained behind Tarkin, making sure he didn't try to escape.

"Before you walk in, hold out your hand Captain." The lead trooper lowered his rifle and held out a needle like device.

Tarkin held out his hand as the clone brought the needle down, taking a sample of his blood. Just as the clone pulled the needle out of his skin Tarkin quickly reacted, grabbing the trooper's arm and pulled it forward as he swung the trooper into the two behind him and raced off.

"Get him!" Tarkin heard from behind and ducked as blaster bolts flew past his head.

He rushed around a corner and pulled out his personal blaster which he kept with him at all times and aimed it at the pursuing troopers. Despite the training the clone troopers had gone through Tarkin was able to easily shoot all three of the apparent traitors with relative ease. Once the troopers were down Tarkin stepped out, keeping his blaster trained on the downed troopers and knelt down to look at the device they used to take a sample of his blood.

"Now why would-" Tarkin stopped as a hand reached up and grabbed his.

Eyes widening as the 'dead' clone trooper let out a screech and seemed to mutate before his eyes Tarken shot it in the chest as it shed the clone armor, prompting it release him as it morphed into an alien Tarkin had never seen before. It easily towered over the human officer with dark skin and tripedal structure, long arms and large hands, strangely shaped heads with thin necks, and eyes with cross shaped pupils that seemed to flash.

Even Piell grunted as he sensed a presence on his ship, voices that echoed through his mind and images of aliens he had never seen before.

' _The weak will perish!_ '

"Sound the alarm! We have intruders onboard!"

Tarkin found out the hard way that running for his life didn't matter much to these creatures that had somehow masqueraded as clone troopers like Changelings. He shot at them with his blaster but the bolts had almost no effect no known effect on the creatures as the lead one was mere inches away from grabbing him.

Fortunately it seemed Lady Luck was looking out for Tarkin today as the three creatures were suddenly knocked by an invisible push.

Looking up ahead Tarkin saw General Piell and a group of clone troopers running towards him, with weapons drawn.

"Tarkin, what's going on?" Piell said, stopping in front of the Captain as the clones aimed their weapons at the creatures.

"Those creatures disguised themselves as clones and tried to flush me out the air lock after they took my blood." Tarkin turned around, looking at the creatures that moved slowly towards the clones. "They must infiltrated this ship after they disguised themselves."

Piell narrowed his eye at the creatures. "Identify yourselves!"

The creatures did not answer but Piell heard more words in his mind through the Force. ' _Your galaxy will be purged!_ '

"Blast them!" The clone captain shouted as the creatures charged forward.

The clones started shooting at the creatures but they didn't get much time to fire as the creatures moved with such speed they ploughed through the clones, swatting them aside with their long arms and giant hands. Screams were heard as clones were knocked into the walls, swatted away like annoying flies by the creatures as they rushed Even Piell and Tarkin who quickly went on the offensive. Leaping through the air Piell slashed at the lead creature with his lightsaber across the shoulder but to his shock when the lightsaber came in contact with creature's skin it had absolutely no effect. The creature let out a screech as it tried to swat Piell away but the nimble Jedi Master jumped out of its reach.

Piell landed back next to Tarkin, staring at his lightsaber. "By the Force…"

"What happened?" Tarkin kept his blaster leveled on the creatures, planning to stall for more time and for more clones to arrive with bigger weapons.

"My lightsaber had no effect on it." Piell explained, his hands slightly shaking. "It's immune to lightsabers and blaster fire."

The creatures let out screeches and vanished in flashes of red light right before the eyes of the Jedi Master and the Captain.

"We have to move! They have a ship!" Piell said, rushing back to the bridge with Tarkin right behind him.

Upon reaching the bridge klaxons started ringing, alerting the two that their troubles were just beginning.

"Report!" Piell shouted, stepping into the control center of the ship.

"Sir, Separatist ships have come out of hyperspace." The clone tactical officer reported as the ship shook. "They're firing on us!"

Piell looked out the window and saw two _Munificent_ Frigates and _Providence_ Destroyer, more than a match for his single ship. "Is there any other ship?"

"No…Wait! Another ship just appeared behind us!" The clone at the sensor station reported. "I'm reading a huge energy charge!"

Piell and Tarkin watched a beam of bright yellow light shot past the bridge of the _Spearpoint_ and collided with the nearest _Munificent_ , blowing it apart spectacularly. A second yellow beam hit the other _Munificent_ , destroying it instantly and by that point the remaining Separatist warship realized how dangerous the unknown enemy was to them and opened fire on the mysterious ship. Piell and Tarkin watched as another yellow beam collided with the bow of the _Providence_ , blasting through the shields and hull and drilling into the interior of the ship. The mighty Separatist warship, powerful enough power to take on a Republic Star Destroyer was slowly torn apart from the inside as the yellow beam finally ceased its attack but the damage was done as the injured ship exploded a few seconds later.

"Get us out of here! Plot the nearest course and jump immediately!" Piell shouted, knowing that the unknown ship would aim its weapons on them next.

"Inputting coordinates…" The pilot said, quickly typing down the numbers. "Jumping to hyperspace…Three…two…one!"

Just as the ship was about to jump a yellow beam shot out, clipping the read end of the ship as it shot away and damaging its hyperdrive. The bridge shook so hard it was like an earthquake as a few clones were knocked around quite literally.

"What's happening?!" Piell shouted, struggling to maintain his grip on the wall.

"We've been hit! I've lost control of the hyperdrive!" The clone pilot reported, holding onto his seat for life. "I don't know where we're going!"

Piell looked out the window, seeing the tunnel of hyperspace, trying to sense if they would emerge from this predicament alive.

 **Form** **er Romulan Neutral Zone Boarder  
USS _Friedrich_**

 _Captain's Log Supplemental:_

 _Our new guest has settled into her new surroundings quite well but is eager to return to her universe. At the moment we are working on a way to do just that by scanning the subspace rift her ship emerged from. Starfleet has elected to send a taskforce to guard the rift to make sure the conflict on the other side doesn't spill onto ours. We have enough trouble with the Klingons, the Tal'Shiar, the Borg, the Undine, the Breen, and the True Way just to name a few._

 _There is actually speculation that the Klingons and the Romulan Republic are sending ships of their own to investigate this new disturbance. I can only hope that we don't end up in the middle of another conflict._

 _End Log_

" _Lieutenant Veras to Captain Malcom._ "

Malcom tapped his comm badge. "Go ahead."

" _Senator Amidala is requesting to speak to you, sir._ "

Malcolm nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "I am in my Ready Room, Lieutenant. Could you please direct her?"

For the most part Padme was treating her stay on the _Friedrich_ as a vacation.

She spent most of her time studying up on the Federation, including the dozen species in this area of this new galaxy such as the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Betazoids, Andorians, Ferengi, Cardassians, and some of their enemies such as Tholians, Breen, Undine and the Borg but of course she knew she could only unrestricted information. She looked for information on her home galaxy but the computer had no records of her home planet, the Republic, or anything she was familiar with, proving she was indeed in another galaxy.

She had found out that a Separatist ship had arrived through the portal and it was the same ship that had chased her but the droids were left to themselves, agreeing not to cause trouble in Federation space. For the most part Padme was skeptical due the amount of destruction the droids of the Confederacy had wrought across the galaxy but decided to give them a chance since they were just as stranded as she was and without any orders from any of the higher-ups in the Separatist Alliance.

Her current dilemma right now was finding a way back to her home galaxy.

She was still needed to help the Republic end the war with the Separatists and end the suffering of trillions of innocent lives. Of course that was easier said than done since negotiations had failed at every turn and she had no idea how to get back to the galaxy. So with that in mind, she asked the nearest Starfleet officer who was passing by her in the hall (who resembled a feline) to direct her to Captain Malcolm.

Two minutes later she stood before the door to the captain's ready room with a beeping sound signaling her arrival.

"Come." The Captain's voice called out and Padme stepped forward, watching the doors open and allowing her to enter. "You wish to see me, Senator"

Padme took a chance to look around the ready room, noticing how clean and well furbished it was before looking at the captain. "Yes, Captain. I was hoping to discuss with you how I might be able to return home."

"And my people have been working on it." Malcolm set down a PADD. "To put it simply, my staff is reconfiguring the deflector dish to emit a phase shifted tachyon pulse to stabilize the rift for our ship to pass through after the proper shielding is ready. It will be tricky for it we're wrong we could end up sending you to another universe or even…a different timeline in your galaxy."

"That is possible?" Padme asked, almost not feeling herself taking a seat.

"Time travel is more possible than you might think. It's difficult and tricky and we have regulations for such an event. Obviously we'll want to send a probe to the other side to gather data. The last thing we want is to be dragged into this war your government is fighting." Malcolm answered with a small smile.

"Of course." Padme nodded, not blaming the captain and his crew for their caution.

"There is also the matter to how the portal was formed which we might know what happened." Malcolm adjusted his PADD. "It was created by a race called the Devidians, a species that exists out of phase with our reality."

"Out of phase?" Padme questioned.

"They are basically beings of energy to us that exist on a different plane of existence but can interact with our reality through the use of triolic energy. We've had a few encounters with them and they have been able to generate portals capable of traveling through time but creating a portal to possibly another universe is a new one." Malcolm explained.

"Do you know why they would do this?" Padma asked.

Malcolm handed the PADD to the senator. "Simply put, they are hungry and we have denied them their food source. They feed on neural energy which is essentially what our brains use to process thoughts and the ability to think and they do it without regard for the species or people they feed on. We destroyed two sources of energy that would have allowed them to feed on perhaps millions of people which is why they made this portal. They are looking for a new feeding ground."

Padme looked over the PADD, showing the data and log reports on the Devidians with concern. "Captain, I need to get back to my universe then and warn the Republic if these Devidians are as dangerous as you say."

"I have contacted Star Fleet Command and they are sending a small group of ships led by a special ship to open possible diplomatic relations and to guard the rift in case of hostilities on either side so you might have to be patient. The last time we encountered something like this…Things did not go well for the Federation or anyone for that matter." Malcolm said sadly at the end.

"Last time?" Padme questioned.

"I suppose you know what a wormhole is, Senator?" Malcolm asked rhetorically.

"Yes, Captain. I know enough of hyperspace travel to know what a wormhole is." Padme nodded.

"Well, twenty five years ago a natural forming wormhole in the Bajor system was found leading to the Gamma Quadrant which is on the opposite side of the galaxy and over ten thousand light years away from Federation space. Naturally we used it to explore the Gamma Quadrant and in the process we came into conflict with a group called the Dominion who reacted to our explorations with hostility by destroying ships and colonies set up near their space. Eventually tensions rose up and a war broke out that lasted for two years but it was long enough that our governments are still feeling its effects from our losses and the planets that were invaded by the Dominion and their allies. You can read all about it in our history files." Malcolm explained. "So naturally with a second rift appearing many are afraid of a repetition of the Dominion War. There is also the matter of a few other conflicts we have to deal with here so a lot of us are hoping that this war does not spill over into our galaxy."

"I can assure you, Captain that the Republic has no wish to be part of or to start a second war or cause our war to drag you or anyone here into it. Negotiations with the Separatists have failed for the most part due to Separatist Council who are made up of leaders of mega-corporations that sell their droid armies to the Separatists and Count Dooku who formed the Confederacy under the belief that the Republic is corrupt but given his numerous war crimes I believe he is actually aiming to dominate the galaxy but even they must realize we will not simply bow down to their atrocities." Padme stated.

"I understand but for now we've been ordered to remain here until the task force arrives. In the meantime I suggest you get comfortable. I can allow you a restricted tour of the ship and make sure you're comfortable until the task force gets here which won't be long from what I understand. The PADD you have has all Federation history downloaded into it along with unclassified information regarding our government and you can make your own logs to take back to your government when you return." Malcolm stood up.

Padme stood up as quickly as the captain did. "Thank you, Captain."

"Our pleasure." Malcolm said with a small smile.

 **Beta Quadrant  
Azure Sector  
Azure Nebula**

The Azure Nebula was unique nebula in the Beta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy, composed mainly of oxygen and argon with traces of theta-xenon, fluorine, and sirillium. However what truly made it unique was the series of subspace corridors that have been theorized to lead to other regions of space and even other dimensions. This nebula was generally avoided by all races except a few that either lived close to the nebula or sought to exploit it for their own ends. The xenophobic crystalline species known as the Tholians had been known to set up outposts here and even the Borg have made a few incursions into the nebula which was why it was closely monitored by Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force.

As a matter of fact a Tholian patrol had just picked up another subspace rift forming and was standing by to monitor it and see if it would be useful.

 **Republic Venator Class Star Destroyer _Spearpoint  
_ Bridge**

" _It's no good General. I can't shut down the hyperdrive_." The holographic image of the clone engineer said grimly to Evan Piell and Tarken. " _At the rate we're going we'll run out of fuel and power long before we finally drop out of hyperspace_."

"There must be something you can do, chief. We cannot simply accept our fate." Tarkin stated annoyingly.

" _The manual override was destroyed just as we entered hyperspace so it will keep on going. We're trying to repair it but we are all working to keep the engines from overloading._ " The engineer reported.

"How long do you estimate before we run out fuel, chief?" Piell asked, maintaining a calm façade.

" _Possibly half an hour, General. Maybe less. I'm more concerned about the power. Even if we make it out our power will be drained to the point we'll have no chance of getting back from wherever we end up._ "

"Hmm…" Piell frowned. "Can our astromech droids boost whatever power we have left?"

"… _Possibly, if we eliminate power in any non-vital systems._ " The engineer said, his mind racing to think of a way to save the ship.

"Our priority then will be to ensure our ship has the power and fuel needed to return to Republic space." Tarkin said, folding his arms behind his back. "See what you can do, chief engineer."

" _Yes sir._ " The clone said before his image vanished.

Piell frowned as he walked to the end of the bridge and looked out the windows. "I sense…Something out there."

His eye widened as a light appeared at the end of the tunnel and the ship shook like an earthquake.

 **Azure Nebula  
Tholian Patrol**

" _Scanners detecting anomaly._ "

" _Locate._ "

" _Ten kilometers off our bow._ "

The Tholian patrol maintained scanning the new rift as an energy surge appeared on their scanners. Watching carefully the ships watched as a large wedge shaped ship came out of the rift, drifting slightly and showing signs of battle damage.

" _Ships do not match any known design. Reading heavy damage._ "

The Tholians took extensive scans of the ship before they decided to follow standard procedure: capture the ship and crew.

" _Detain and capture the crew for questioning._ "

" _Understood._ "

* * *

"We're out!" A clone shouted in jubilation, earning a few cheers.

"Full scan. I want to know where we are." Tarkin stated, not one to forget the situation at hand.

"Scans are being distorted. It must be the nebula interference."

"Then we'll plot a course out the nebula." Tarkin replied, not missing a beat.

"General, Captain, our scopes are picking up something. Possibly ships…" The console beeped. "Incoming fire!"

The _Spearpoint_ shook as something slammed into its hull, causing the lights to flicker and consoles to spark.

"Deflector shields at full power and target whoever fired on us!" Tarkin shouted.

The _Spearpoint_ 's turbo-laser turrets aimed in the direction of the attacking ships and spewed streams of blue bolts at the ships that were attacking it. The attacking ships were greeted with a full barrage that caused their shields to buckle and they quickly broke off their attack, one ship suffering severe damage for being too slow.

"Enemy vessels seemingly breaking off. They're scattering in different directions." The clone at the helm station reported.

"How many are there?" Piell asked, looking out the window.

"Four ships, General. They don't match anything in our database."

"They must be pirates hiding out in the nebula, looking to make a quick and easy plunder." Tarken suggested.

"I'm not too sure about that." Piell mumbled.

"Sir, I'm picking up a strange energy reading come from all four ships. They're surrounding us." The helm clone reported.

"Target them and open fire." Tarkin replied.

The four ships surrounded the _Spearpoint_ and released bright streams of energy that took the form of a web that trapped the Republic cruiser.

"Sir, we can't move! Engineering is reporting critical damage!"

"They've trapped us. Open fire!" Tarkin shouted.

The turbo-lasers fired again but instead of blasting the energy web surrounding them the web seemed to completely ignore the bolts of plasma hitting them. It didn't matter for long as the power on the Republic ship started to fluctuate.

"We're losing power. We are down to fifteen percent."

"Shut down everything but the life support systems and send out a distress signal in all directions. Hopefully someone will hear us." Piell stated as he pulled out his lightsaber. "If they wanted us dead they would have killed us already."

"You believe they wish to take us prisoner?" Tarkin questioned.

"That's their most likely plan. We will have to be quick." Piell looked at the navigator clone. "Purge the nav computer of all important data except for the coordinates to the Nexus route."

"Yes sir."

"Tarkin, time to see if you have a good memory."

 **Outer Region of Azure Nebula  
I.K.S. _Kor_**

"Colonel, we are picking up a transsssmissssssion from inssssside the nebula. It appearssss to be a dissstressss ssssssignal."

The Klingon Captain, Kareth who was standing up and looking at the view screen turned and faced his Gorn helmsmen. "Who is it? What is happening? Identify."

"Transssssmissssion coming through." The Gorn reported.

An urgent voice came through the speakers. " _This is Republic Cruiser Spearpoint. We are under attack and need help! I repeat we are under attack! Can anyone hear us?!_ "

"Republic? Must be the Romulan Republic." Kareth mumbled before taking action, remembering that the Republic was on good terms with the Empire even though it was also trying to forge an alliance with the Federation. "Move to intercept. Full Impulse power. Engage the cloaking device."

The massive _Mogh_ class battlecruiser vanished as it moved into the nebula towards the source of the transmission.

It didn't take long for the cloaked ship to find the source of the transmission which by that point had ceased transmitting, meaning the crew was possibly dead or captured.

"Tholians." Kareth muttered in disgust as he watched the Tholian ships tow a large ship that was wedge-shaped with a tower that split in two at the top at the rear end, "That is no Romulan ship."

"No sir. But it is armed." The Klingon tactical officer reported with an admiring smile. "It is armed with over sixty two plasma and laser based weaponry that's different from anything in our database, six tractor beam projectors and four torpedo launchers. I also detect a large amount of fighters onboard and vehicles of unknown design. Life signs…human and one unknown. I am also reading heavy damage at the rear…It is consistent with Undine weapons fire."

The entire bridge crew perked up the mention of the Undine who had infiltrated their government and the other surrounding governments, including the Federation.

"Human? That is no Federation ship either." Kareth frowned. "…We shall find out. Move within one thousand killicams, arm weapons and drop cloak on my command."

"Yes, Captain." The tactical officer nodded, a savage grin appearing on his face. "Today is a good day to die!"

"How much time do we have left?" Piell asked, as the lights dimmed again.

"We can stretch out power with our astromech droids for another hour sir. After that, we are dead in space." The clone engineer answered sadly.

"That is if we somehow escape whoever has captured us." Tarkin grumbled, looking out the front window to glare at the lead ship.

However it seemed like the Force had answered the _Spearpoint'_ s cry for help as the lead ship that was projecting part of the energy web trapping the Republic cruiser was suddenly attacked and destroyed by a barrage of green energy bolts and by what looked a bright red fireball that destroyed the ship instantly. The energy web disappeared as the other three ships broke apart while the bridge crew of the Republic ship looked at the new arrival, seeing a large bird shaped ship that showed a predatory fierceness that sent chills up the spines of a few clones.

"Sir, we're being hailed. Audio only."

"Let us here it." Piell stated, reaching out with the Force and trying to feel the crew of that ship.

What he felt was a great amount of passion and strength that seemed to light up the entire ship and scream out a warning to all who saw it of what the consequences would be if angered.

When the crew first heard the voice of what was possibility the commanding officer speaking it was in a language no one knew before switching to Basic. " _This is Brigadier Colonel Kareth of the Klingon Empire. Who are you and why are you here?"_

Piell shared a look with Tarkin before nodding at the communications officer who opened a channel. "Brigadier Colonel Kareth, this is Jedi Master Evan Piell of the Jedi Council. We are on a mission of great importance for the Republic. I do know of any Klingon Empire but we mean you no harm. We only seek fuel and repairs to return to the planet Coruscant."

There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again. " _I know not of this planet Coruscant nor have I heard of your Republic. We are preparing to beam onto your bridge. Stand by._ "

Piell did not know what Kareth was talking about but acknowledged and waited.

"General, is this a wise course of action? We know nothing of these Klingons." Tarkin stated.

"Do you have a choice?" Piell asked sarcastically.

Tarkin scowled and would have argued more if not for the pillars of red light that appeared in the middle of the bridge. Everyone was silent in shock as beings they did not recognize were literally teleporting onto their ship.

"Stand down!" Piell shouted when he saw a clone-trooper pointing his weapon at the light that solidified into humanoids.

The clone complied and Piell finally looked at the Klingons, understanding that these Klingons didn't just build their ships to look fierce, but to reflect their own predatory appearance. They were dark skinned with ridges on their foreheads and were dressed for combat with armor, daggers, and small pistols.

Piell looked in their eyes and saw a fierce intelligence that did not belong to humanoids.

The middle one stepped forward. "I am Colonel Kareth. Which of you is Evan Piell?"

"I am." Piell stepped forward, watching as the Klingons looked down on him.

The Klingon Colonel stared down at the puny creature, not expecting something shorter than a Tellarite to be in command but Kareth could see the look of authority combined with a fierce warrior gaze in the creature's eye. "We have much to discuss, Commander. My ship will tractor yours to a safe area of the nebula."

"Agreed. Thank you." Piell nodded his head, not breaking eye contact with Colonel.

Kareth smiled dangerously. "I am looking forward to it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Serenno  
Count Dooku's Palace**

Count Dooku was a very busy man, especially in the wake of the last few days as he coordinated the war on the side of the Confederacy. In the wake of the Borg attack he had been forced to change several plans but thankfully Grievous stepped in and made it easier, in fact the new plans would take advantage of the Borg attack on the Republic fleet despite the fleets at Sullust being reinforced and the Republic having managed to hold its position, avoiding losing a major hyperspace route and leaving Republic worlds vulnerable to Confederacy forces.

But that was not the only plan that he was hatching.

"General, it has come to my attention that the Republic fleet is spreading out in a vain attempt to contain our renewed offensive. Despite the temporary loss of your flagship the Borg attack has surprisingly done very little damage to us while the Republic, more specifically Skywalker's fleet suffered heavy casualties. In fact, we have received word from Lord Sidious of a vital target." Dooku pressed down on a switch and from his console appeared the image of a planet. "The planets Duro and Kashyyyk."

"A core world and the Wookie homeworld?" Grievous asked, sounding and actually looking intrigued. "The Republic no doubt has a strong fleet to protect their inner worlds and the Wookies control a major hyperspace hub. Taking the planets and holding them will be difficult but not impossible."

"They did but with the Borg attack as well some other unknown incidents in the Southern Regions we now have an opportunity to show the Republic that no one is safe. Apparently the fleet assigned to protect Duro has been moved to the planet Rodia. With the defense fleet depleted we now have the opportunity to launch a full assault and damage the Republic permanently. As for the Wookies, Lord Sidious has ordered us to ensure the capture of the Wookie planet ahead of schedule due to the Borg attack which will benefit us in the long run." Dooku explained. "Viceroy Gunray has been negotiating with the Wookies to allow to defect to us for some time, given that the Kashyyyk system would give us an important hyperspace route. His negotiations have yet to produce any results and Lord Sidious grows impatient."

"Ha! Never trust a Nemoidian to get the job done." Grievous chuckled, well known for his dislike of Nute Gunray.

"That is why, General I have decided to make Kashyyyk a part of the operation to strike into the heart of the Republic. With their fleets scattered to contain our new offensive they will be unable to reinforce their outer worlds."Dooku continued. "I have received word from Minister Wat Tambor that the planet Foerost has been designing a new warship since the first battle of Geonosis when it was purchased by the Techno Union that should supposedly break the Republic blockade surrounding Foerost. There is also the matter of the planet Rendili has plans to defect to us, offering us their shipyards for our protection against the Republic."

"We would need a large force to take the planet Duro, given its position and defensive stations. There is also the matter of the jungles the Wookies live in which would be difficult for our forces." Grievous walked up to the image.

"Precisely why I have called on the reserve fleets and positioned them at Yag'Dul and Thyferra until the word is given." Dooku replied. "The fleets will be ready with their combat droids ready for the invasion with the fire power needed to destroy any opposition and hold position for reinforcements once we've established control of the area."

Grievous looked over the image of Duro. "Taking the planet Duro will be easy. It will be making sure it can't be taken back so easily slightly more challenging. Following the destruction of the fleet," Grievous gestured around the system. "We will have to position the fleet to cut off Republic reinforcements from Kuat or Nubia. With no reinforcements we will focus on disabling the space city in orbit."

The image zoomed in on the largest space station surrounding Duro.

"Once the station is taken it will be easy drop the planetary shields protecting the planet and we can even use it as a command center." Grievous coughed a bit before continuing. "With the shield down we can launch an invasion, starting with an aerial bombardment of their cities, of course without destroying their industrial centers."

"And of course use the population to work in the factories to ensure our forward offensive has adequate supplies." Dooku stated.

"Of course. I had already considered using the surviving population to rebuild the factories, once we've beat them into submission. The Duro and the Republic garrison will fight to drive us off but the loss of the factories would deprive them of food and supplies." Grievous answered. "With Duro in our hands we will have a base from which to attack the Republic at the heart and with the shipyards at Feorost and Rendili we can launch a full scale assault at the core worlds." He then altered the image to show Kashyyyk. "As for the Wookie planet we must take into account that the Wookies specialize in fighting in the jungles of the planet our best option would be to land our forces in an outer area where there are little to no large trees. However even if Kashyyyk becomes part of the operation to strike at the heart of the Republic the Jedi will no doubt send a large force to recapture the planet since the Wookies control a major hyperspace lane."

"I have considered the fact that the Jedi would try to liberate Kashyyyk as has Lord Sidious and we both agree that the Wookies need to be subjugated." Dooku replied.

Grievous narrowed his eyes as he stared at the image of the Wookie home planet. "First we would have to ensure the Wookies do not send out a distress signal which can be done by the invasion fleet. The next step would be to distract the Wookies from marshalling their forces to repel the invasion force. I believe that is where Viceroy Gunray can actually prove himself useful."

"Oh?" Dooku raised in eyebrow in curiosity and interest.

"Knowing the Viceroy he will be provided with a droid escort on luxury liner. It would be impossible for him to smuggle in enough droids for an advanced army…But perhaps he would only need the parts." Grievous answered.

"I seem to recall a similar tactic you used at Kamino and failed." Dooku pointed out.

"The tactic was sound. Ventress was unable to steal a simple DNA sample." Grievous waved off Dooku's comment. "We have allies on the Trandoshan home world. Gunray could simply supply them with the droids and the equipment needed to create a scouting force that would distract the Wookies from the invasion."

"And with the Wookies distracted our main fleet arrives and blocks off all contact with the Republic." Dooku surmised.

"With no chance for help the Wookies will be outnumbered with no help. Once we land we use the rivers to send our droids straight to their villages."

"Sending our droids through the rivers?" Dooku mused.

"By using droids that are capable of traveling through water along with our dropships flying low along the river, below any anti-air defenses installations and acting as carriers for infantry and weapons platforms we avoid risking heavy losses of our main force if we send them straight through the jungle and falling to the endless traps the Wookies no doubt will have ready. Our forces then can attack the Wookies directly in their villages and overwhelm them." Grievous explained.

"Would it not be simpler to bombard the villages?" Dooku questioned.

"Perhaps but as I said the Wookies specialize in fighting in jungle based eco-systems and are capable of hiding themselves and whatever weapons they would have extremely well. They would no doubt be prepared for aerial bombardment." Grievous answered with another cough. "We will of course have to expect Republic reinforcements but I propose in addition to Duro we send another fleet to assault the planet Anaxes."

Dooku raised an eyebrow. "I understand that a Republic shipyard facility is there."

"Precisely. With the Republic focused on the loss of Duro and the attack on one of their main shipyards they would not be able to launch a counter attack against us on Kashyyyk." Grievous nodded. "The Jedi would be too far spread."

"To take the planet Anaxes we would need a good tactician. That planet is too well defended for a mere tactical droid to take." Dooku mused.

"Send me once Duro is in our hands and it will be yours by the end of the month." Grievous clenched a fist.

"I'm afraid General that you would be too focused on pushing through the Core Worlds to Coruscant. The Jedi will be no doubt working to capture you and you will be too busy focus on destroying a single shipyard. But I know of someone who can secure us the planet." Dooku tapped the console and the planet was replaced by the image of a familiar Confederate admiral. "Admiral Trench."

"Is he not still recovering from his loss at Christophsis?" Grievous pointed out.

"He is but he would be perfect for securing Anaxes for us."Dooku stared at the image for over a minute in contemplation. "I approve. And General, regarding the temporary loss of the _Invisible Hand_ , I have found a new flagship for you." Dooku tapped the switch again and showed Grievous the image of a very familiar ship. "I believe the _Inferno_ will do nicely."

"Oh…Yes." Grievous stared at the image with barely contained glee. "It will do nicely."

"See to it that this one does not crash into a moon." Dooku altered the image to show a map of the galaxy. "Those ships are expensive. There is one more matter I would like to discuss. A newly appointed admiral has come forward with a proposal for linking our scattered Separatist territories together. The attack will first start with Phindar, which has a Republic base." He zoomed in on the map towards the planet in question. "At the same time he proposed we stage an attack in the eastern territories, starting with Florrum."

"I remember that planet. It is where the pirate Hondo is stationed." Grievous commented, remembering the pirate that tried to ransom Dooku off to the Republic for money.

"Yes, I believe it's time to pay our old friend a visit." Dooku said with a small grin to which Grievous chuckled. "From Florrum comes Zygerria who has expressed interest in joining us in exchange for the recreation of its slave empire. Their services will be of great use to us in the future."

"The Republic will no doubt respond to the attack Phindar. Keeping our territories separated allows them an advantage." Grievous noted.

"Which brings us to our next objective, linking the southern territories together, starting with the planet Utapau who has declared itself neutral in the war." Dooku continued.

"Ha! Neutrality is a joke made by cowards with delusions that they save by saying that they will not involve themselves." Grievous barked.

"Indeed. Utapau will be the first as we stage a series of attacks which will be led by the _Inferno_ to properly test its main weapon." Dooku turned the projector off. "Once you have secured Utapau you will lead the _Inferno_ on an attack on Eriadu, taking the hyperlane hub in that corner of the galaxy and ensure that no one is alive to report it back to the Republic. I will not tolerate a repeat of the _Malevolence_ , General."

"Yes my Lord." Grievous bowed his head. "But how will we link our southern territories with the eastern territories which run through Hutt Space? Do you wish me to conquer Hutt space? It can be done but it would take months in addition to fighting off the Republic and the Jedi who will no doubt rush to their aide."

"Our new admiral who submitted this plan claims he has agents who have located sensitive information that in the wrong hands can be extremely damaging to the Hutt clans. Once in our hands we can use them to blackmail the Hutts in expelling the Republic from their territory and with the Republic no longer having access to the route lanes controlled by the Hutts they will unable to defend their outer bases. I have thought of it and decided that we will make use of the planet Toydaria who agreed to provide the Republic with access to their territories as well as make an example of them for daring to side with the Jedi." Dooku said grimly.

Grievous chuckled. "I understand perfectly, Count. Am I to lead this attack on Toydaria?"

"No. You will destroy the Republic outpost in the Ukio system. I understand a Jedi Master is there." Dooku answered. "With the Republic scrambling to hold off our new offensive they will be too distracted to suspect our new weapon."

"Of course, Count." Grievous bowed his head and turned to leave. "I will immediately board the _Inferno_ and begin my new assignment."

Once he was gone Dooku sat back in his chair, satisfied that the coming battle would keep Grievous occupied. Right now he had another growing problem.

He reached out and activated the holo-communicator, looking at the image of a tactical droid. "Status report."

" _We have repeatedly contacted the fleet but there has been no word, Count Dooku._ " The tactical droid reported.

"Then they must have failed to capture Jedi Master Piell. Has there been any word of his ship returning to Republic space?" Dooku questioned.

" _No, my lord._ "

"Then perhaps his ship is somehow damaged...Send reinforcements to Piell's last known coordinates and investigate."

" _As you command._ "

The fact that Evan Piell has disappeared with the valuable coordinates for the Nexus Route was troubling as the route was vital to both sides. Piell was alone so capturing him should have been easy and yet Dooku sensed it wasn't due to droid incompetence that the mission failed. He needed to get to the source of this problem before it grew worse.

 **Azure Sector  
Outer Region of Azure Nebula  
I.K.S. _Kor_**

Jedi General Evan Piell could almost say he liked the interior of the _Kor_ which according to the guide was a _Mogh_ class battle cruiser. The atmosphere aboard the ship was that of a military unit much like aboard Republic ships, only the Klingons had several species aboard that looked different from anyone he had seen but looked strong. He followed the Klingon leading him and Tarkin onto the bridge where Colonel Kereth was waiting.

Kereth stood up from his chair. "General Piell, welcome aboard the _Kor_. Enjoy the transporter?"

"It was…interesting." Piell stated, glancing at Tarkin.

No doubt Tarkin was considering the military implications of the transporters for use against the Separatists. Why bother fighting when you simply teleport an entire squad of clones or a warhead onto the enemy ship from a distance? It was obvious the Klingons were a highly advanced race with unique technologies and weapons.

"Now, General, you told me you were fighting a galactic war, correct?" Kereth walked down off his command station and towards the view screen that showed the nebula.

"Yes, most call it the Clone War." Piell nodded.

"Hmm…" Kereth frowned. "I have not heard of this Clone War…Am I to understand your army is composed entirely of clones?"

"Yes. They are the Grand Army of the Republic and our main line of defense against the Separatist Droid Armies." Piell answered.

"An army of clones against an army of machines?" A Klingon crewmember raised an eyebrow. "What cowards live in your galaxy? Does no one have the bravery to fight their own battles? Do they know nothing of the glory of battle?"

"I assure you that the war is being waged by more than clones and droids." Tarkin spoke up. "Many Commanders are from the Republic Navy alongside the Jedi. The clone army was a necessary creation to counter the increasing threat of the Separatists who produce millions of battle droids that would have overwhelmed us."

"And your Republic had no military of its own?" Kereth asked.

"Unfortunately no. The Republic disbanded its original army thousands of years ago after the last war." Piell answered, feeling slightly annoyed about it.

"And yet you had time to create a clone army with all the necessary ships and equipment." Kereth pointed out, pacing slightly. "We Klingons are no strangers to war, General Piell and we never rely on clones to fight our battles for us. And then there is the matter of the supposed location of your Republic since I and my people have never heard of it."

"It is likely we are in the Unknown Regions." Tarkin pointed out.

"Really?" Kereth looked to the Gorn officer. "Bring up the map of the known galaxy from Federation and Klingon data."

A second later the view screen replaced the image of the Azure Nebula with an image of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Piell walked up to the view screen. "I…I don't recognize these systems or star formations."

"What is this trickery?" Tarkin demanded, glaring slightly at Kereth who glared back.

"Klingons do not trick." Kereth growled. "Now you say you are fighting a war that expands across your galaxy and yet you do not recognize our galaxy. So what does this say?"

"…We are in another galaxy." Piell answered.

Tarkin looked at Piell, disbelief etched across his face. "Impossible."

"They are not lying, Tarkin. I know that much. This ship is different than anything I have seen from where we are from and they would not go through such trouble to convince us we are in another galaxy without proof." Piell stated. "We must had had an accident with our hyperdrive when it was damaged and sent us here."

"And how do we get back? We have important information we must bring to the Chancellor." Tarkin stated.

"It's possible you simply go back the way you came." A green skinned woman dressed in Klingon armor yet it was obvious to Piell and Tarkin she was not a Klingon. "Our scans confirmed that a wormhole was forming in the nebula upon our arrival. It is possible it is still there and you can simply fly back through it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tarkin asked, looking at Piell.

"We cannot go yet, Tarkin. We need to repair the ship and we need to see to the injured." Piell looked at his captain. "The Separatists are bound to be searching for us. We cannot risk going back without proper repairs, especially since we exhausted fuel."

"Might I remind you, General that we have vital information to winning the war? We cannot wait." Tarkin argued.

"Perhaps…" Piell looked at Kereth. "We can ask for help from the locals."

Kereth smirked. "Perhaps you can."

 **Deep Space**

The one advantage the Confederacy Droid Army had over the Republic Clone Army was the numbers and their ability to build up their armies and ships faster. So it was easy to send out a simply scouting force of ships to investigate the loss of three Separatist ships and a Republic cruiser with valuable information. So Count Dooku made sure to send out enough ships to find out what happened and capture the Republic ship.

It was a Confederate Flight, consisting three _Munificent_ class frigates, three _Recusants_ destroyers, one _Lucrehulk_ class battleships and three _Providence_ class carriers.

A tactical droid stepped onto the bridge of the command ship. "Have we arrived at the last known coordinates?"

"We arrived three minutes ago." The command battle droid answered.

"Long range scan."

"We started scanning when we came out of hyperspace. Nothing definite to report."

"Definite?"

"We're picking up a funny gravitational reading on our scanners. We don't know what to make of it." The droid explained.

"Nothing else?"

"No." The droid shrugged.

"Continue scanning." The tactical droid stated, folding its hands behind its back. "I want to know everything about this space."

"Roger, roger."

The fleet moved forward, scanning everything in range, unknowingly triggering something.

"Sir, we're picking that funny gravitational reading again. It's coming from…Right in front of us." The drid at the scanning station said as the ship started to shake.

"What is happening?" The tactical droid demanded.

"Some kind of energy surge in front of us!"

"Reverse engines!" The tactical droid said urgently.

"No effect! We're being pulled into something! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The command droid screamed as a burst of blue light enveloped the command ship along with most of the fleet.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Palace**

Dooku heard a beeping sound that brought him out of his meditation. Fighting the urge to growl in annoyance he stood up and pressed his finger down on the beeping button, watching as a the blue holographic of a battle droid appeared before him. "This has better be important."

" _Sir, this is Commander OOM-227 of the battleship Unbreakable reporting. We arrived at the last known location of the fleet assigned to capture Jedi General Evan Piell and uh…We found something._ "

"And what did you find?" Dooku asked slightly impatiently.

" _We found some kind of wormhole that swallowed the rest of the fleet up. We only managed to survive because we were out of range._ "

Dooku raised an eyebrow. "A wormhole?"

" _Scans match it to a wormhole, sir._ " The droid nodded.

Dooku frowned. "Thank you, commander. Monitor the wormhole and then return."

" _Roger, roger._ " The droid nodded its head as the transmission ended.

Dooku put a hand to his bearded chin. "An actual wormhole? Such things are rare but no unheard of. Wormholes are usually only temporary but perhaps this one is stable…For now. It must have swallowed Master Piell's ship. He is most likely dead now."

While it was a disappointment as now the coordinates to the Nexus Route were now lost at least another Jedi had been removed. The only thing he could do now was report this incident to Lord Sidous and simply go on from here.

He tapped another switch and the holographic image of a human, dressed in a CIS uniform with the pins showing his rank as an Admiral appeared. "Admiral, I am calling to hear on your progress. Is everything ready?"

" _Yes Count Dooku. Our fleets are ready to launch the first attack on the targeted planets. Phindar will be ours in less than two days._ "

"See if there is a way to decrease your estimated time, Admiral. I am moving up the schedule for our assault into the Core Rim."

" _I will see what I can do, my lord._ " The Admiral said with a cold smile as he bowed his head as the transmission ended.

Dooku sat back in his chair, his mind running through the last series of plans and schedules of the day. With any luck now Grievous will have finished setting up his secret base on Utapau and from there he will launch an attack Eriadu with the _Inferno_ , testing the new weapon. He had checked over the progress of the projects he had started in the wake of the Borg attack and that was when he remembered he needed to begin the search for Senator Amidala. He needed someone skilled but at the same time not needed on the front lines to handle the search discreetly.

Smirking slightly at who could handle the job Dooku pressed his finger on a button, activating a signal that he used to summon people he occasionally hired to handle jobs that his usual cohorts were unable to at the moment.

 **Azura Nebula**

The location of where the Republic cruiser _Spearpoint_ had appeared lit up again with a bright light as ships slowly emerged. These ships were large and came in a formation of three smaller ships acting as escorts with three destroyers for two large cruisers. For the people of the Milky Way Galaxy these ships would be classified as unknown but in the galaxy they came from they would be identified at first glance.

On one of the _Providence_ cruisers a tactical droid marched up to the command chair. "What happened?"

"I don't know. We were scanning the area and then…We ended up here. Looks like we're in some kind of nebula." The B-1 battle droid reported from the pilot station.

"What is our status?"

"Weapons and shields are still functioning."

"Navigation is not working. I think it's because we're in this nebula."

"Scan the area." The tactical droid ordered. "I want to know where we are."

"Roger, roger."

 **Azure Nebula  
Hidden Outpost**

" _Transmit report._ "

" _We have lost three patrol ships to the Klingons. Our scan confirm the existence of an unstable rift leading to a possible alternate universe._ "

" _What is the status of the ship that came through?_ "

" _It was escorted out of the nebula by the Klingons but we detected the rift opening again, possibly the arrival of more ships._ "

" _Locate these ships, capture them, and determine their origin. Their technology could be useful._ "

" _Understood. The Klingons and the Romulans could prove bothersome. They along with the Federation constantly patrol this nebula with nearby worlds holding ties to them._ "

" _Then we will distract those mammals. If another alternate universe is appearing and it's not the Mirror Universe we must take advantage of it. Move the fleets to attack starbases belonging to the mammals to divert their attention. Use the subspace tunnels to send the fleets to attack outer mammal outposts while one fleet captures the fleet coming out of the rift._ "

" _Understood._ "

 **I.K.S. _Kor  
_ Bridge**

" _This is fascinating, Colonel Kereth. The possibility of another wormhole appeared in the Azure Nebula cannot be ignored. The Empire does not need a repetition of the Dominion War, especially with the Borg, Breen, the 'qa'meHquv' and the Federation attracting our attention. We must deal with this situation as quickly as possible._ " Klingon Intelligence Officer K'men stated.

"What orders do you have for me?" Kereth asked.

" _We have no wish to interfere in a civil war happening in another galaxy. Yet, this Republic ship possesses a form of transwarp faster than anything the Empire or the Federation uses. For now I am authorizing the Spearpoint to journey to the Ganalda Station for repairs and study this hyperdrive technology they use._ "

"And what about the Romulan Republic or the Federation?" Kereth questioned.

" _The High Council is still discussing it. The Chancellor has ordered additional Klingon ships to guard the rift from the Tholians. We do not need those scavengers pillaging the rift and causing more problems and if these Separatists come through the rift and attacks they will feel the might of the Empire._ "

"We will need to give them our start charts to bring them to the Ganalda Station. They can't be modified to use warp drive. We can give them the necessary navigational data to reach the station." Kereth pointed out.

" _Very well. Give them the necessary star charts to reach the station and nothing else. We need time to consider this new universe. The High Council wishes to speak with this General Evan Piell regarding this Clone War so expect to be ordered to take him to Qo'nos. They believe it is a chance to expand the Empire into greater regions with greater glory on the other side._ "

"Qa'pla!" Kereth saluted.

" _Qa'pla!_ " K'men returned the salute before being replaced by the symbol of the Klingon Empire once the transmission ended.

K'men tapped his console. "This is Brigadier Colonel Kereth, contact the _Spearpoint._ "

" _Yes sir._ "

A moment later Evan Piell's voice answered through the intercom. " _You asked to speak with me Colonel._ "

"Yes, General. How goes the repairs?" Kereth questioned.

" _They go well, General. Your power converters have ensured we don't run out of power any time soon. I am curious how you managed to get fuel for us so quickly._ "

Kereth grinned. After scanning the type of fuel the _Spearpoint_ used it was easy to replicate enough of the tachyon particles within a contained field and then beam it over to the Republic cruiser.

Of course Kereth had no interest in telling the guests of the Empire, yet. "We had a few spare containers."

" _Clearly._ " It didn't sound like Piell was fooled. " _We should be on our way soon._ "

"About that, the Klingon High Council demands to speak with you, regarding your galaxy and the war." Kereth stated. "We have no interest in becoming involved in your war but the idea of a new universe that can be explored is too interesting for the High Council to pass up."

" _We are pressed for time, Colonel._ "

"Of course you are. But the Azure Nebula is treacherous, residing on the edge of Klingon and Romulan space and used by the Tholian Assembly to strip captured ships. You cannot return alone without proper escort. They will want to know about the rift, your galaxy, and your war and the possible danger of it spilling into our territories."

There was a few moments of silence. " _Very well. I will come to meet with your High Council._ "

"Rest assured, General. We will not delay your return to glorious battle." Kereth said before ending the transmission.

 ** _Spearpoint  
_** **Bridge**

"He can't be serious. We can't go around playing diplomat while the Chancellor expects us to return." Tarkin said indignantly.

"We are in neutral territory, Tarkin. They have a right to be cautious. This is the first time anyone from our galaxy has come here, thus we represent the Republic in this galaxy. We have an obligation to ensure that they do not became part of our conflict, especially since they have offered to repair and refuel our ship. We owe it to them to make a…Good impression." Piell stated, looking over the reports of the repairs and saw they were going well. "Commander, establish a data link with the _Kor_ and download their star charts into the navi-computer."

"Yes sir." The clone officer nodded.

"I still believe this is waste of time." Tarkin mumbled.

"Which is precisely why you will leave the talking to me." Piell replied dryly.

That way the Klingons won't get mad and kill Tarkin, and possibly the rest of the crew


	7. Chapter 7

**Azure Nebula  
Separatist Fleet**

"Sir, we can't contact the _Confederate Hammer_ or Count Dooku. I think we ended up somewhere out of range." The command battle droid suggested.

The tactical droid processed the information it had gained from the data the scanners and its recent experience to formulate a plan. "Send out scout fighters to chart this nebula and send a fighter back through the anomaly."

"Roger, roger."

In matter of minutes droid fighters were launched and preforming regular patrols around the fleet, branching out and reporting everything back to the command ship.

"We're having trouble scanning the nebula. It's scrambling our sensors." The command battle droid reported.

"Can we backtrack back the way we came?" The tactical droid questioned.

"I…I don't know." The command droid shrugged.

"Of course." The tactical droid sarcastically muttered.

"Sir, we're picking transmissions from inside the nebula." The command droid spoke up.

"Track those transmissions to their source."

"Roger, roger."

The droid patrols continued through the nebula, following the transmission until a single droid fighter discovered a large base built into a giant asteroid and turned around to report to the fleet as it grew closer to the mysterious base.

"Sir, we are picking up a transmission from patrol eight-three. They've found some sort of station up ahead. It saw hangars inside the asteroid that can hold a lot of ships." The command droid stated.

"A perfect place to find information on our location. Prepare our weapons and fighters. We will take it by force."

The Separatist fleet moved forward at full speed, launching all fighters and bombers that assumed attack formation as they neared the base. As the droids came within range the Tholian base launched ships of their own, consisting of multiple ships smaller than the Separatist ships but a two ships were actually larger than the _Providence_ class destroyers. The fighters opened fire with blaster bolts but their weapons collided with invisible bubble like shields that collided with their targets. The Tholian frigates fired their tetyron beam weapons, blasting apart multiple droids but due to the high speed the droid fighters they made it through the first blast and some collided with a few Tholian ships.

Though the shields protected them the impact still sent them flying. The Separatist fleet opened fire on the Tholians, their forward cannons blasting away at the shields and even destroying several smaller ships. The larger Tholian ships, nicknamed _Tarantula_ class dreadnaughts were able to withstand the full barrage, their shields blocking the endless barrage of red turbo-laser fired as they returned fire with their tetryon beam arrays and banks that collided with the forward deflector shields and passed through them with ease and scorching the hulls. The shields used by both fleets both worked in different ways with the Tholian shields surrounding the ships in the shape of a bubble, capable of blocking both solid and energy projectiles and were much more powerful than the shields used by the Separatist droid fleet.

However they could be worn down by endless barrages of plasma bolts.

The shields used by the droid fleet were designed to block either energy or solid projectiles but they could only block one type with one shield, unable to use both shield types at once. The energetic and unstable nature tetryon particles showed when interacting with normal space burned through the shields and cut into the hulls of the Separatist ships as they continued firing. The _Munificents_ and the _Recusants_ were positioned at the front to take the heavy barrage while the _Providences_ maintained their heavy fire on the Tholian _Tarantulas_ , slowly wearing down the shields.

The battle was going both ways as Tholian frigates were destroyed under the endless barrage from the Separatists fleet while two _Munificents_ lost their bridges to Thermionic torpedoes before tetryon beams burned through the hull and destroyed the engine reactor of a third, destroying it instantly. Droid fighters worked to try and destroy the Tholian ships with their blasters and bombs but Tholian ships had superior targeting and destroyed many droid fighters.

"Sir, our frigate defense force is nearly destroyed." The command battle droid reported.

"Aim our ion cannons and missile launchers at the engines and shield generators." The tactical droid said as the ship shook.

"Uh…Where are the shield generators?" The command droid asked.

"I don't know. I can't find them." The pilot droid at the tactical station shrugged.

"Fire regardless." The tactical droid said, sounding annoyed.

The _Providences_ intensified their weapons fire, unleashing lasers, turbolasers, ion bolts, proton torpedoes and concussion missiles that pummeled the shields of the Tholian dreadnaughts and wore them down enough that blaster bolts actually blasted through the forward shields and caused thermal damage to the hull. The Tholians fired back as their massive ships preformed evasive actions, increasing power to their forward weapons and launching spreads of torpedoes that tore through the shields and tore through the hull, causing multiple hull breaches and reducing hull integrity greatly.

"Fires reported on decks thirteen through seventeen!"

"Hull breaches and multiple decks!"

"Hull integrity on the lower decks are down to twenty percent!"

"What is the status of the fleet?" The tactical droid asked as the ship shook even harder.

"They're all reporting heavy damage." The command droid reported just as the _Providence_ on the right side lost its bridge to a tetyron beam.

The tactical droid's electronic brain ran all possible calculations and concluded sadly that though they had dealt massive damage to the enemy fleet the Separatist fleet was lost as the enemy pressed forward with more ships.

There was only one thing left to do.

"Continue firing. We will not be taken prisoner."

"Roger, roger." The command droid said just as torpedoes impacted the bridge, destroying it instantly.

However the Tholians were not willing to destroy all Separatist ships. Six Tholian _Web Weavers_ shot around a downed _Providence_ and created their energy web to tow it back into the base. The Tholian Assembly would make use of the technology on the ship they had captured.

" _Defense Force Commander reported to High Command. We have detained a ship from a subspace rift and request permission to return to base._ "

" _Permission granted. Bring the ship and beam the surviving crew to the cells._ "

" _Scans confirm there are no organic life signs onboard the ship but a large number of artificial life signs have been confirmed._ "

" _Continue your mission and bring the ship in for detainment._ "

 **Archanis Sector  
Ganalda System**

The _Spearpoint_ emerged from hyperspace, entering the Ganalda System followed quickly by the _Kor_ as they approached the giant space station that was mostly likely the Ganalda Station.

"Looks impressive." Piell noted as the Republic cruiser approached the massive space station. "I've never seen a space station like this before. I imagine it would take an entire fleet to destroy a station this large."

"We are being hailed sir." The clone commander spoke up, earning Piell and Tarkin's attention.

" _Republic Cruiser Spearpoint, you are cleared to dock. Follow the Kor as it enters._ "

"Acknowledged." Piell nodded and ordered the helmsmen to follow the _Kor_.

The _Spearpoint_ followed the _Kor_ as a pair of massive doors opened, allowing the ships to enter the massive station where over a dozen Klingon ships of similar design to the _Kor_ were docked. Piell, Tarkin, and the clones that were capable of looking looked at the interior of the station, seeing the endless number of shuttles flying past them. Many Klingons looked at the _Resolute_ , instantly recognizing it as a warship and nodded in respect to its fierce looking design.

It resembled a sharp looking dagger which they could appreciate.

"Sir, the command station wants to know where our airlocks are. Apparently their docks weren't fully designed for our ship." The clone commander reported.

"Give them the location of the starboard and port hangars. We'll see if that helps out."

Ten minutes later airlocks clamped onto the hangars of the _Spearpoint_ , securing it and allowing the crew to disembark and welcome engineers that were ordered to aid in repairing the damage vessel. As this happened Piell and Tarkin were escorted to General Klag's office where he was waiting.

The Brigadier General stood up as the Jedi General and his Captain entered the officer, escorted by Kereth. "General Klag, I bring you General Evan Piell and Captain Tarkin of the Republic Cruiser _Spearpoint_."

"General, Captain, I must say you have a very impressive ship. I never thought humans could build warships of such…beauty." Klag grinned slightly. "I imagine things must be quite different in your galaxy."

"I imagine so, General." Piell said, noting the look and posture of Klag.

This man was a warrior with a barely controlled passion, like most Klingons he had met during his brief time in this galaxy and was not one for fancy words, something Piell could appreciate.

"So tell me about this war you are fighting. I hear it rages across your galaxy." Klag sat back down. "Leave no details out."

"Very well." Piell nodded. "It began over ten years when the Republic Senate sanctioned taxation of trade routes in the Outer Rim which was heavily protested by several mega-corporations and commerce groups that led to the Trade Federation blockading the planet Naboo in response to the dispute. The Supreme Chancellor sent two fellow Jedi to negotiate a settlement but the Trade Federation had enough power that it had purchased a droid army used it invade and subjugate the planet under the excuse that they are acting within the legal limits set by the Senate and wanted to force the Queen to sign a treaty to legitimize the invasion. The invasion was repelled when the Naboo fought back and captured the Viceroy and the Senate ordered the Trade Federation to dismantle its army though many saw it as a mere slap on the wrist."

"But they did not." Klag guessed, narrowing his eyes.

"No they did not. The Senate was largely useless during the invasion and a vote of no confidence was called when the current Chancellor was unable to solve the problem. At that point many systems began to express interest in leaving the Republic, especially after Count Dooku, a former Jedi," Tarkin spoke up, "Rallied these systems to come together and form their own government, the Confederacy of Independent System." Tarkin's voice was laced with distaste. "A mere cobbled together puppet government created by corporations like the Trade Federation, the Corporate Alliance, the Commerce Guild, the Banking Clan, and the Techno Union to sell their droid armies to the Separatists and make profit off of the war."

Klag scowled. "These Separatists use machines to fight their battles?"

"Mostly. There are organic soldiers and commanders but many of them are merchants with no experience in battle." Piell answered, glaring at Tarkin for a second before looking back at Klag. "With the number of systems leaving the Republic to join the Separatists it made it difficult for the Jedi Order to keep the peace. Eventually hostilities broke out on Geonosis and would ended badly, if not for the arrival of the clone army."

"You created these clones?" Klag questioned.

"No, we did not. A fellow Jedi ordered a clone army to be made on the planet Kamino, ten years ago without informing the Jedi Council or the Senate. We believe he had foreseen that the Republic would fall and would need an army to survive." Piell answered.

"And the Republic had no military of its own?" Klag leaned back in his chair. "I find it hard to believe that in response to this movement no one thought to build up an army beforehand."

"There was talk of the Military Creation Act but the Senate of course had to vote on it." Tarkin answered, his face frowning in distaste.

"Bah! Vote?! When a government splits apart you do not waste time with voting! If it's too weak to properly protect its people it does not deserve to be in power!" Klag stood up. "Nor does it simply _grow_ warriors to fight its battles for it!"

"We had no choice but accept the army. The Republic would have fallen." Piell stated, standing his ground.

"Yes, quite right General." Tarkin glared at Klag. "And the Republic granted the Chancellor the power to see to it that an army would be created to counter the increasing threats of the Separatists. The Republic relies on more than just clones and Jedi."

"And what are Jedi?" Klag questioned.

"I am." Piell hopped onto the desk, staring Klag in the eyes. "I am Jedi Master from the Jedi Order which has kept the peace for over a thousand years with our skills with the Force." He held up a hand and the cup on Klag's desk floated into the air. "We can do this and much more, General. Do not underestimated."

Klag stared down at the small long eared creature as the cup floated back down onto the desk. "You have courage. That much I can tell. We will see to the repairs of your ship while I confer with the High Council on this matter but in the meantime I request a copy of your database to properly understand your Republic."

"Thank you, General." Piell bowed his head and turned to leave with Tarkin as two Klingon Officers waited outside to escort them back to their ship.

Once the door closed Kereth looked at Klag. "What are your orders, General?"

"We repair their ship and monitor them." Klag chuckled. "A government too weak to be held together and relies on test tube grown humans to fight their battles for them and another split away alliance of traders using machines to fight back. Apparently they don't have many warriors in that galaxy aside from these Jedi who have…special powers. We must look into this matter."

"Yes, General." Kereth nodded, saluting his superior officer before leaving the office.

:::

"I believe we won't make many friends here, General." Tarkin said dryly to Piell as they stepped back onto the _Spearpoint_. "I daresay our use of clones…offends them."

"They are a warrior culture, Tarkin. I've seen enough to know that they believe it to be a dishonor." Piell replied as they walked through the hangar, watching as the clone mechanics and Klingon engineers repaired the fighters.

"Honor? And what use is honor in a war? What use is honor when doing what must be done? On a battle field honor is simply a weakness for the enemy to exploit." Tarkin stated. "Who allows themselves to be weakened by the foolish concept of honor?"

"Many, you fool!" The Jedi and the Captain stopped and faced a female Klingon engineer who slowly walked towards them. "Our Empire was forged by Kahless who forged the law of honor that created our civilization. We do not shy away from battle and we do not waste time with tricks and duplicity. A great many would challenge you to the death for your foolish words but I am not so foolish." She stopped in front of Tarkin and leaned in closely enough that Tarkin actually took a step back upon seeing the angry look on her face. "Tread lightly fool for the ways of Klingons do not tolerate those who know nothing of what they speak."

The engineer turned away, leaving Tarkin and Piell who were silent for a moment before Piell smirked. "I think I might like these people."

:::

"They got food."

The clones looked up as the Klingons brought foot into the café which was a great help since the food supplies has been contaminated in the last few attacks.

A clone looked over the food placed on the table. "What are they?"

The food smelled good, consisting of what looked like meat, soup, and water for the clone crew to enjoy it.

"Heart of Targ, Bregit lung and gladst." A Klingon answered with a grin. "Warrior's food."

"Smells good." A clone grinned. "Better than the rations we got."

"It's rare for a human to complement our food. They normally don't eat food that is…still alive." A female Klingon remarked as the clones sampled their food.

"Not bad!" A clone grinned, tasting the heart of Targ. "They could use more of this back at the barraks on Kamino and Coruscant."

"These humans are tougher than most." A Klingon commented.

"And what are most humans here?" A clone named Reaper asked. "You know we're only clones."

The Klingon frowned. "Perhaps, but cloned or not you are human not mindless machines. We have faced clones before and they were amongst the greatest warriors the Empire had faced."

"There are clones in this galaxy?" Another clone, Zap asked.

"Yes, the Jem'Hadar." The Klingon nodded. "Bred by the Dominion to fight its battles, subjugate its enemies and die in the name of the Changelings they revere as gods. They were fearless, even living by their code 'Victory is Life' in battle and worthy opponents. The battles the Empire and the Federation waged against them during the Dominion War is remembered through the songs of the great warriors who died with honor and now live in Sto-Vo-Kor."

"Besides…" The Klingon woman grinned as she leaned in. "At the very least you lot were not cloned from an ugly human. Around here that would be a benefit for many of you and any woman who likes what they see…Let's just hope no woman finds you soft."

The clones all shocked by the blunt statement as the Klingons shared a roar of laughter. The clones of the Galactic Republic had taken their first steps into the world of the Klingon Empire.

 **Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Dustig Sector  
Unknown Derelict**

As the Clone Wars waged across the galaxy many criminals and gangs were quick to take advantage of the damage caused by the war and the distraction the war had caused which left the Republic unable to deal with systems needing food, medicine and other resources unless the Separatists were involved. The Jedi were all pressed into the service of acting as generals of the clone armies and only dealt with criminals when it was part of the war. However criminals, outlaws, and scavengers had no problem picking apart the remains of Republic and Separatist ships in the aftermath of a battle looking for weapons or people to sell off to the highest bidder or to hold ransom off if they were of great importance.

So it came as no surprise that a pirate ship came across a strange looking ship floating lifelessly in space and the crew decided to board and see what they could find. The ship lined up with the derelict and connected with the airlock where the crew burned through the lock and stepped onto the ship.

"Search the ship. Check the cargo bay and look around for anyone who might be alive." The man in charge said. "Today we make fine profit for Hondo."

Hondo was a well-known pirate in the criminal underworld of the galaxy who had a fair share of enemies, including the infamous Count Dooku but he had many friends and acquaintances that include the late bounty hunter Jango Fett and Aurra Sing whom he had a former relationship with. He was also an acquaintance of the Jedi, though they did not hold him in high regard due to his greed and his pirate lifestyle. His gang had flourished during the Clone Wars, dealing spice and receiving ransoms through kidnapping and extortions.

"What kind of ship is this boss? Ain't no Republic or Separatist?" A pirate asked as they walked onto the ship.

"Does it matter my friend? Another ship means another day of fine profit." The captain waved off the question. "Look for spice, weapons, and anything looking expensive."

Hondo really didn't care much about the war or whose ship he plundered to make a profit. All that mattered in this life was the money.

"This doesn't even look like a hyperdrive. I can't even recognize the controls here." A Weequay pirate complained, looking over the main console in engineering and started tapping some switches. "How does this even work?"

"Don't play with it!" One of the pirates in the room snapped. "Let's just grab anything expensive looking and get out of here!"

As the pirates worked to take anything of value, including weapons off the bodies of pointy eared people that the pirates had never seen before but didn't care because they were more interested in making a profit they had no idea that they were being watched.

"Let's just take the engine apart and-" The pirate stopped talking as the room was lit up by a strange blue light. "What was that?"

"I don't know. Let's just go."

The pirate at the console turned around to argue but stopped when he saw another blue flash light and along with it appeared a strange blue floating figure floating in the middle of the room. "What the-?!"

The creature hovered above the nearest Weequay pirate and held out its hand. The pirates watched in shock as the pirate was lifted into the air as a blue light shot out of its hand and touched the Weequay's head.

"Shoot it!" The other three pirates shouted and aimed their blasters at the ghost, shooting red bolts that the ghost didn't seem to notice.

"It's a ghost!" A pirate screamed in horror as the ghost's victim dropped to the ground, seemingly dead. "Run!"

All over the ship more ghosts appeared and attacked the pirates who were caught by complete surprise and those that managed to pull out their blasters found them almost completely ineffective against the blue floating creatures.

The captain was on the bridge, looking over the bodies of pointed eared humanoids that wore uniforms he did not recognize. While he did not recognize the dead crew he was interested in the many weapons that the dead bodies had carried and decided it was not worth thinking over. "Let's get to work, boys. Lots of plundering and stealing to do."

" _Captain! Captain! We got to get off this ship!_ "

The captain flinched as he pulled out his com-link. "We're not done here yet, you nitwits."

" _Captain, there are ghosts on this ship! They've killed five of us already!_ "

"Ghosts? What are you talking about you babbling fool?" The captain grunted. "There are no ghosts on this ship!"

" _Captain! There's something crazy going on over here! The crew say they have been seeing ghosts and there were a lot of blue flashes and then there were these…ghost things that appeared out of nowhere and attack us! They've already killed three of us over here!_ "

"What?!" The captain shouted, gripping his com-link.

The bridge flashed bright blue and all around appeared blue floating things that seemed to emanate a form of hunger that almost made Captain tremble.

As soon as they appeared the entire bridge went into chaos as pirates pulled out their blasters and fired, their bolts shooting through the ghosts who retaliated with blue wisps of energy that lifted anyone they caught off the ground and hovered in the air helplessly.

This was the moment when Captain's fight or flee instinct kicked in and he along with anyone still alive chose to run for their lives. "Run you fools!"

The pirates dropped whatever they had stolen and started running back to their ship. Unfortunately hope was sometimes wasted on the hopeless as more blue flashes appeared all over the ship and the pirates were attacked, unable to fight back and slowly succumbed what some considered madness of seeing ghosts appear before they finally fell over.

* * *

They had done it.

They had found a new feeding ground and they had quickly found themselves a feast on the very ship they had stolen and used as a feeding ground and then as a way to enter a new feeding ground had been found by scavengers. This new feeding ground would attract more of their kind as they looked for sources that could sustain them in this new feeding ground. They could use the ship they had brought through to emit a pulse to strengthen their new established presence in this new feeding ground and to expand out to find more prey.

They had a taste of this new feeding ground and they wanted more. They harnessed the power of the ship they stolen after killing the original crew and released a sub-space pulse that was enhanced with their own powers that would allow them to bridge over into this new feeding ground.

And they could smell more prey approaching.


	8. Chapter 8

**Dustig Sector** **  
Republic Star Destroyer _Intrepid  
_ Bridge**

"General Secura and Master Shaaki Ti, we're coming upon the last transmitted location of Senator Amidala's ship."

A young blue skinned Twi'leck woman and a Torguta woman nodded as they walked up to the forward windows.

"Very good, Bly. Launch fighter patrols and full power to the scanners." Aayla Secura said.

"Yes General." Bly nodded.

The single _Venator_ class Star Destroyer moved in triangle formation as they proceeded slowly through the area of space where Senator Amidala's ship was last sighted. Fighters flew in a loose but ready formation as they scanned for possible debris.

"No debris detected General." Bly reported.

"What about ion trails?" Aayla asked.

"We're scanning but tracking a ship by its ion trail is extremely difficult, especially when ships usually use this route." Bly answered.

Aayla frowned in thought. She knew it would be difficult to locate the missing senator but she had intention of giving up. "Weapon's fire?"

"Our scans have picked up left-over weapon signatures matching what the Separatists use but that's nothing new." Bly stated.

"You're right. There have been other battles in this area." Shaak Ti nodded in agreement.

"Increase space between our ships and spread the fleet out enough to double our scanning range but do not split it up. I don't want us to be unprepared if a Separatist fleet tries to take us by surprise." Aayla said.

"Right away General." Bly nodded.

Aayla nodded and turned back to transparasteel window, grimacing as she and Shaak Ti sensed something out there. There was a disturbance in the Force but it wasn't the Dark Side.

It was a feeling of intense hunger.

"General, our scans are picking something up."

Aayla turned around, facing the clone officer who spoke up. "What is it?"

"A strange energy reading that's pulsing along the route we're taking." The officer reported, taking another look at the scans. "I've never seen it before."

"Can you pinpoint the origin?" Aayla asked.

"It's too far out, General. We'll have to keep moving to get a better scan."

Aayla frowned as she shared a look with Shaak Ti and nodded. "Continue forward."

"Yes General."

.

"So we're looking for this senator instead of being on the frontlines fighting the clankers? Is it really necessary for us to be looking for a single senator? Anyone else could be looking for her." A clone named Jet asked his fellow clone while walking down the hallway of the _Intrepid_.

"Orders are orders, kid." The older clone, Bomber, replied. "The Republic relies on us for the fighting while the Senators handle the other stuff."

"I just think we could be more useful taking the fight to the Seppies." Jet replied, wishing that the current mission was not looking for a missing senator.

"You wouldn't be saying if you knew the kind of trouble this senator gets into kid. She's been more fights than your usual politician." Bomber smiled slightly.

"Really? Like what?"

"Well there was that time-"Bomber stopped as the hall seemed to flash blue for a second. "Did you see that?"

"See what Bomb?"

"That flash…" Bomber looked around. "There was a flash of blue light just now."

"I didn't see anything." Jet said, taking a glance down the hall. "You sure you saw something?"

"I thought I did…" Bomber trailed off, putting a hand to his head. "Maybe I'm just seeing things. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep before our last mission."

"You should hit the rack, Bomb. We're on a scouting mission now. No one will miss you if you decide to take a few hours." Jet suggested.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Bomber nodded. "I'll see you in a few hours, Jet."

Jet nodded and continued walking while Bomber turned around and walked towards the officer's quarters. He walked for a moment, rubbing his head slightly before stopping and gasping. There was another flash of blue light and this time he thought he saw something standing in front of him. The appearance made him think of old ghost tales he used to hear and discarded those thoughts as he reached for his blaster pistol.

The ghost vanished just as he pointed his pistol at its head and the blue light was gone.

"Wha-What the…" Bomber trailed off as his image began to blue and he started staggering forward before finally collapsing on the floor.

His body was discovered five minutes later.

 **Republic Star Destroyer _Intrepid_  
Sick Bay**

"What's the status, doctor?" Aayla asked as she and Bly stepped into the sick-bay.

"He's dead, General." The doctor said sadly after running a scan of Bomber's body. "I ran almost every known scan but I couldn't find anything wrong. He died just a moment ago."

"My healing skills offered no help on the matter either." Shaaki Ti stated. "I could only sense his life fading away…As if something was taking it from him."

"Can you find anything that would have suggested what killed him?" Aayla asked, looking at Bomber's body.

"I sedated him to run a scan but his vitals kept on decreasing. I tried to revive him but nothing worked." The doctor answered, looking over the scans. "I ran over a dozen scans to figure out why he died. There was no infection so it wasn't a disease that killed him. There was something in the brain though…I used a brainwave probe when I couldn't find anything physically wrong with him." The doctor held up a pad for Aayla and Bly to see. "This man's brainwave activity came to a complete stop the instant he died. It was as if the brain stopped functioning."

"Stopped functioning?" Bly asked, looking at the scanning results. "That's impossible."

"And yet these are the results. I looked over the probe and found nothing wrong with it. I myself have found signs of decreased neurological activity in this man before he died. It was if it was slowly…being drained." Shaak Ti stated.

Aayla frowned as she silently looked through the scans while the Force seemed to scream danger from all around her. "Have there been any reports of similar sickness?"

"Nothing yet. There a few patients who complained of headaches and having trouble just working." The doctor answered. "I gave them a few stimulants to help them."

"Was Bomber one of them?" Bly asked.

The doctor frowned in thought. "Actually yes, sir. In fact I only treated Bomber for laser burn wounds. He did say he was having a headache and I gave him some painkillers. I can't believe I didn't realize what was happening."

"No one could have anticipated this, doctor. Let's just work on preventing any more deaths." Aayla stated. "Let's begin a routine examination of the crew."

"Yes sir."

Aayla walked back to her quarters, looking at the report of the crew and it seemed they were mostly fine with only a few sporting headaches. Shaak Ti volunteered to remain in the medical bay to assist the medical staff while Aayla took a few minutes to rest before returning to the matter of locating Senator Amidala.

' _FEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDD!_ '

Stopping as the Force seemed to scream out Aayla dropped her data recorder and pulled out her lightsaber as the hall around was bathed in a blue light. Aayla settled into a fighting stance as three strange beings, resembling ghosts with glowing body appeared before her. Through the Force she sensed hunger, a deep routed hunger beyond all reason and they set their sights on her. They were humanoid looking and hovered above the ground with no ears, eyes, or a nose but had a mouth like opening that was wide and seemed to grow wider.

Aayla swung her lightsaber at the creature in front of her but her lightsaber passed through as its body became transparent. The creature held out a hand and a blast of blue light sent Aayla flying back down the hall. She rolled back and jumped back onto her feet as the creatures slowly floated towards her.

' _We hunger…We hunger…We hunger…We must feed!_ ' Aayla heard the creatures chanting through the Force.

She thrust her hand out, pushing the creatures back with the Force. The creatures held up their hands and to Aayla's shock responded back with a push of their own, colliding with her attack. The three creatures working together actually overpowered her and lifted her off the ground, holding her in the air and Aayla felt herself being drained of her power.

' _We must feed…We must feed…We must feed…WE MUST FEED!_ ' The creatures screamed as they began draining Aayla of she felt was possible her life force.

"Release her!" A voice shouted just before Shaak Ti leapt over and landed in front Aayla, slashing at the creatures with her lightsaber, seemingly injuring them as they screamed and hovered away from the newly arrived Jedi Master.

"Blast them!" A clone shouted as clone troopers rushed past the Jedi, firing on the creatures as they screamed and vanished.

Aayla managed to land on her feet but she felt exhausted and was gasping for breath. "Thank you, Master Ti."

"Aayla, are you all right?" Shaak Ti asked, watching the creatures they faded and the blue light engulfing the hall vanished.

"Yes. I am all right…" Aayla managed to stand up straight. "I believe we have found what killed Bomber. These creatures…They are feeding on us."

"I can sense their hunger…It's like it is encompassing this entire ship."

' _They strike at us…_ '

Both Jedi held up their lightsabers as their heard the whispers of the creatures.

' _They shoot at us…_ '

The clones held up their blasters, on alert for anything that might attack them.

' _They hurt us…_ '

The hall flashed blue again as more creatures appeared.

' _They murder us…WE MUST FEED!_ '

The creatures seemed to scream as they lunged at the Jedi who slashed at them with their lightsabers, seemingly hurting them and lashing out with Force Pushes to keep them back. The clones fired without stop at the creatures, seemingly stunning them but it was a losing battle as the creatures lifted clones up or blasted them away with their powers. The lightsabers and blasters had an effect on the creatures but not like they did on normal beings. They either took the attacks head on or seemingly fazed through them and fought back with powers that the clones and the Jedi were not expecting.

In short it was a losing battle as the entire ship was swarming with these ghost like creatures.

"We are losing the battle!" Aayla shouted over the sound of guns shooting. "There are too many of them!"

"Agreed but how do we stop them?" Shaak Ti shouted back as she sliced at a ghost. "We can't force them off this ship and they might follow us if we evacuate!"

Aayla frowned at the good points Shaak Ti made. "…We go to hyperspace and head for somewhere remote. We won't endanger this sector with these ghosts."

"Agreed." Shaak Ti nodded.

Aayla brought her wrist communicator up. "Bly, engage the hyperdrive and set course for somewhere remote. I want us out of Republic or Separatist territory."

" _Copy, General._ "

.

"You heard her. Set course for…somewhere remote." Bly said, turning to the clone at the helm station who nodded and inputted coordinates of a place he knew was out of the way. "Where are those coordinates?"

"The Hoth system sir." The helmsmen answered.

"It's remote enough. Punch it." Bly stated.

"Yes sir."

A moment later the _Intrepid_ entered hyperspace, heading to its new destination. But when it entered hyperspace something unexpected happened.

.

Just as the ship entered hyperspace the ghosts let out screams as the blue light faded away and a second later all the ghosts faded away with their screams echoing throughout the ship, leaving the clones and the Jedi wary and confused.

"Uh…What happened?" A clone trooper asked, looking around. "Did we win?"

"No…They're dead. I felt them as they faded away. They died…Just as we entered hyperspace." Shaak Ti answered, deactivating her lightsaber. "There was something…Something about hyperspace that killed them."

"At the very least we have survived." Aayla stated as she sheathed her lightsaber too. "No one on this ship is in anymore danger."

"Still the mystery of what these creatures were and where they came from remains." Shaak Ti closed her eyes in deep thought. "We have to inform the Jedi Council of this matter immediately."

 **Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

Yoda frowned as he, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, and Anakin listened to the report from Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura. "Hm…These creatures…Disappeared they did?"

" _Yes Master Yoda. They seemed to die the moment we entered hyperspace for reasons we cannot understand. At the very least our casualties are minimal but a few clones had to be admitted for overnight examination due to severe headaches. They will recover but the fact is these creatures seemed to literally feed on the brains of the crew._ " Shaak Ti explained. " _We are still in hyperspace for the moment and we'll arrive in the Hoth System in a matter of hours. We will make sure these creatures do not appear again before returning to our search._ "

"Do you need help? Given what you went through it would be best if you have additional help." Anakin stated.

" _I would not recommend it. If these creatures appear again we would be needlessly putting people at risk of dying._ " Shaaki Ti stated.

"And yet these creatures appeared along the last known coordinates of Senator Amidala. Could there be a connection?" Windu wondered.

" _We have found no trace of the senator's ship. She could have gone to hyperspace like we did to escape those creatures and emerged in a remote location. Taking into the account of possible damage she or the ship sustained it is possible she us unable to return or call for help._ " Aayla spoke up. " _While we're waiting to return we can calculate every known trajectory along her last known position and work from their but some of those routes lead into Separatist territory._ "

Anakin's fist clenched but he quickly hit it out of sight of the other Jedi as he looked away in worried thought.

"Meaning it's possible that the Separatists could have already captured her." Obi-Wan frowned, having noticed Anakin's reaction. "Though it is possible I don't believe that has happened. I should also point out that several local ships have all reported similar attacks."

"It is very likely then that only way to defeat or escape these creatures is to enter hyperspace but that is only a temporary solution." Mace Windu stated.

"Do what you can, Master Ti and Knight Secura. Investigate that possibility we will." Yoda said.

" _Yes Master._ " Shaak Ti and Aayla bowed as the transmission ended.

"Too many changes happening there are. So many uncertainties." Yoda sighed sadly. "The appearance of new threats, disturbing it is."

"I agree. First the Borg attack and now these creatures. If that is not enough I've just received word that Master Piell's ship has disappeared as well." Windu stated.

"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Master Piell was assigned to chart a secret hyperspace route known as the Nexus Route that would allow us to sneak ships past enemy lines and directly assault the Separatist homeworlds. We believed he was attacked by a Separatist fleet and his ship is presumed destroyed." Windu answered. "If he was captured the Separatist have gained access to a hidden route they would gain a tremendous advantage."

"Where would they take him?" Anakin asked, trying to stay focused and not appear worried for Padme.

"The Citadel." Windu answered grimly.

"The Separatist's most remote prison." Obi-Wan stated grimly. "Designed to hold rogue Jedi. Can we even afford a rescue mission under our current circumstance?"

"We will wait until we received confirmation that Master Piell has been taken to the Citadel." Mace Windu stated. "In the meantime we need to focus on our current offense onto Mygeeto. It's a major holding of the Banking Clan and provides the Separatists resources and income for their droid armies. In addition to that we are sending reinforcements to Lianna to reinforce the starfighter factories there."

Anakin and Obi-Wan shared a look before changing the subject of the meeting.

 **Anoat Sector  
Hoth System**

The _Intrepid_ came out of hyperspace, entering the Hoth system which was expected to be completely devoid of all form of life. No one, not even the Republic or the Separatists would set up shop here because it was too remote to be any strategic value.

"Commander, we have emerged from hyperspace. Has there been sightings of those creatures?" Aayla asked into the wrist communicator.

" _Negative General. We're preforming our seventh sweep of the ship and so far nothing. None of the men have reported any headaches or feeling strange._ " Bly answered.

"Copy that. Keep up the good work, Bly. We'll be returning to Republic space shortly but in the meantime I want round the clock checks for another hour or so and we'll stand down but maintain vigilance for at least until we dock." Aayla said.

" _Roger, General._ "

"Plot a course back to Coruscant. We'll regroup and start fresh. We may have uncovered a vital clue into the whereabouts of Senator Amidala." Shaak Ti advised.

"Generals, our scans are picking up something in orbit of the sixth planet of the Hoth System. Some kind of signal…It looks like a distress signal." A clone reported from the scanning station.

"A distress signal? Who would be all the way out here?" Aayla wondered as she walked towards the transparasteel windows. "Plot an intercept course."

"Yes General."

The _Intrepid_ moved forward, coming into orbit of the planet above the northern region and the source of signal soon came into view.

"It appears to be some sort of satellite." Shaak Ti stated, though it wasn't the shape of any satellite she or Aayla had seen before. "Can we decode the transmission?"

"On it, General." A clone officer said from the communication station. "Running a scan…Now."

That seemed to cause a reaction as the satellite released an energy beam at the _Intrepid_ , spreading across the hull until the ship was completely covered.

"Generals, we're losing power! We're losing main power! Shields, weapons, engines, they're all offline! We're losing life support!" A clone shouted as all the controls dimed and shut down.

"Evacuate the ship!" Aayla shouted as the lights blinked on and off. "To the escape pods!"

However neither the Jedi or the clones would reach any of the escape pods as they all vanished in pillars of light, leaving a dead Republic cruiser that remained in orbit in the satellite's grip until the power was completely drained and left the ship to fall towards the planet.

* * *

For what felt like a long time Aayla's vision was world of dark blurriness until she finally regained her senses and felt herself on what felt like dirt. Opening her eyes she looked down, seeing a dirty ground and looked up to see she was in some sort of metal cage.

"Where am I?" Aayla whispered as she stood up.

"I see you are awake."

Aayla looked to her right and saw Shaak Ti in a cage next to hers. "Shaak Ti. Do you know where we are?"

"No. But I know we are not alone." Shaaki Ti answered, gesturing to other cages where the clone crew of the _Intrepid_ were held in but they were not the only ones.

Looking around Aayla could see cages holding Rodians, Twi'leks, Mon Calamari, Quarrens, Zabraks, Duros, even a Hutt and a few more to say the least. "Could we be in some sort of slave auction?"

"I don't know. My lightsaber is gone and I cannot use the Force for some reason. It feels…absent in this place." Shaak Ti looked around, seeing the place they were in was some sort of cave. "I last remember being on the bridge of the _Intrepid_ and then I awoke here, wherever here is."

"The same for me." Aayla frowned as she looked at the cage. "That satellite…It was meant to lure us in and then disable us. Leaving us open for capture but who? The Separatists?"

"Ain't no Separatists behind this." The two Jedi looked at their left seeing cage where a Trandoshan sat with a grin. "No one came but they like messing with us. They'll let you out and then you'll have to fight…And die."

"Fight?" Aayla questioned.

"I ended up here in the middle of a hunt when I was somehow captured. They put me and my Wookie prey in this place." The Trandoshan explained.

A roar was heard and the Jedi looked on the other side of the room, seeing a Wookie growling at the Trandoshan.

"Go ahead and growl, Wookie. I was this close to skinning you alive." The Trandoshan snapped and laughed. "Maybe they'll make us fight next and I'll get the chance."

The Wookie snarled in response.

"Does anyone know who is holding us?" Shaak Ti asked.

"No." The answer came from a Nemodian who wore the armor worn by Nemodian soldiers affiliated with the Trade Federation but he looked worn and tired. "We never saw anyone. We've only even been let out of these cages to fight in the arena."

"Arena?" Aayla and Shaak Ti asked at the same time.

As if to answer their questions both Aayla and Shaak Ti's cages opened, allowing the Jedi to walk out. Sharing a concerned look both Jedi stepped out of the cages, looking around carefully for anything that might attack them. Just as they stepped out force fields appeared around them, leaving only the doorway leading out of the room the only path they could take, unable to free the prisoners still in the cages.

"What does this mean?" Aayla asked.

"It means you fight…and die." The Trandoshan answered with a grin. "You might want to pick a weapon before you go out there."

"A weapon?" Shaak Ti raised an eyebrow.

"He means there is a weapon's locker up ahead." The two Jedi looked to the left and saw a man with blue skin, dark hair, and red glowing eyes who spoke up.

Both Jedi knew what species he was from: the Chiss.

An isolated species located in the Unknown Regions that had only a handful of contacts with the Republic that were not completely good but the Chiss were content to remain in their territory without interacting with the rest of the galaxy.

"Tell me, Master Jedi, how goes the war?" The Chiss asked politely.

"You know of the war?" Aayla asked.

"My people maintain a constant watch of all possible threats to us and we've known about your war since its beginning. At the very least we are pleased it never spilled into our territory. Before I was captured I heard that it was going badly for your Republic and somehow I ended up here with little to no explanation." The Chiss answered, tilting his head.

"Do you have any idea who is behind this?" Aayla asked.

"They move in the shadows, unseen by all." The Chiss stepped back, leaning against the back of his cage. "Do not try to pierce the darkness."

Aayla and Shaak Ti shared a look before walking out of the holding room, moving down the hall which resembled a cave with artificial lights, stopping to look at the weapons locker, seeing only swords of all types. They spent a moment looking to see if their lightsabers were amongst the weapons but upon seeing they were not the Jedi continued walking through cave until coming upon a large pair of doors that opened to reveal a crudely constructed coliseum with large turrets aiming at them from the top of large pillars attached to three other pairs of doors which informed the Jedi there were more holding areas with perhaps over a dozen prisoners. On the ground the Jedi could see skeletons of those who no doubt died in the arena with patches of dried blood splattered across the ground and the walls.

"I don't see anyone. Those turrets must be automated." Aayla whispered.

"The security is light and yet they are able to keep perhaps thousands of innocents hostage." Shaak Ti frowned.

" _Commencing test one._ "

Both Jedi looked around in alert, trying to see if source of the voice was nearby.

" _Hoth creatures entering the testing area._ "

In a flash of red light appeared three large snow white Wampas that let out loud roars upon appearing the arena and upon spotting the two Jedi they rushed forward with their clawed arms stretched out to slash their prey. Shaak Ti and Aayla raised their hands to push the Wampas back with the Force but to their shock they couldn't do anything and had to jumped out of the way as the Wampas jumped at where they had been.

" _Subspace Psionic Dampening Field success_."

"They've blocked our ability to use the Force." Shaak Ti narrowed her eyes, remaining calm despite the disadvantage she and Aayla now shared. "They do not want us to have any advantage."

Aayla grunted, ducking as a Wampa swung its arm out at her and jumped between its legs and then leapt onto its back. The snow furred predator roared as it tried to her off, clawing at her with its arms but dodged the arms and pulled at the back of its head. It started running to shake her off but she held on tight until it ran towards a wall. Kicking her legs off its back she jumped off, somersaulting through the air and landing on her feet as the creature slammed headfirst into the wall, groaning in pain as it walked around in a staggered daze.

It turned around, glaring at Aayla as it roared in rage and rushed at her again. Aayla jumped over the arm it swing and delivered a kick to its face, knocking it down as she angled her body down and delivered a downward kick to its skill, earning a cracking sound as the creature groaned and fell back down. Aayla stared down at the unconscious creature before rushing to help Shaak Ti moved with quick speed, rushing in between the other two Wampas and ducking under the first swing, rolling in front of the second Wampa who tried to grab her but she jumped back, pressing her back against the first Wampa who turned around just as the second one charged forward. Shaak Ti dove between the first one's legs as the second one collided with it, knocking both themselves down and starting a fight between them.

"Are you all right?" Aayla asked as she rushed up to Shaak Ti.

"I'm fine. At the very least we have survived." Shaak Ti stated, watching as the two Wampas clawed and bit at each other.

Suddenly they along with the knocked out Wampa disappeared in a flash of red light.

"The way they disappear…Could it be a form of teleportation?" Aayla asked. "I never thought such technology was possible."

"And yet it appears to exist." Shaak Ti looked around the arena, seeing the weapons now trained on them. "Have we passed your test?"

" _Return to your cell._ "

"We are Jedi Knights of the Republic and we demand to speak with whoever is in charge of this place." Aayla called out.

" _Return to your cell or the prisoners in the holding area will die._ "

Aayla stiffened but Shaak Ti quickly put a calming hand on her shoulder. "We should go. We do not know enough to escape."

Aayla scowled but nodded as she and Shaak Ti left the arena and went back through the cave to the holding area with the force fields still in place to keep them from going anywhere but their cage. Seeing they had no choice they walked into the cage and the doors quickly closed themselves.

"Have some fun out there, Jedi?" The Trandoshan asked with a grin.

"The creatures appeared before us in a flash of light. Has it always been that way?" Shaak Ti questioned.

"Yep." This time, a Zabrak female dressed like a smuggler or a bounty hunter answered. "Always a light and then something that would kill you if you are not fast enough."

"But why? What's the point of all this?" Aayla asked. "There is no one in the stands of that arena for our fights to entertain."

"To test us." The Chiss from before answered. "They are studying us. Learning our strengths and our weaknesses. They are careful, hiding in remote systems and lured us in with false information and then disabled our ships before teleporting us here. I had a crew…Now I am the last of them."

"You were a captain?" Shaak Ti asked.

"I was Commander Mitth 'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Defense Force but it is known that Chiss names are hard for non-Chiss species to pronounce you may simply refer to me as Thrawn. I have heard stories of ships passing through systems, hearing distress signals only to find a satellite that shortly disables the ships that come into range."

"The satellite in the Hoth system..." Aayla muttered. "How long have they been doing this?"

"Too long." A weary and tired human answered.

"There must be a way to get out of here." Shaak Ti whispered.

"We're all ears, Jedi." The Trade Federation officer stated.

"We simply must disable the force fields to escape." Shaak Ti stated. "Is there a way to contact other fighters out there?"

"No. We can here the other fights up there so we know we're the only ones here. We have no way to contact them. We are kept in these cages unless we are out there fighting." The Zabrak female answered. "I was out on a job when I somehow ended up here."

"You are a bounty hunter?" Aayla questioned.

"Name's Sugi and yes, I am a bounty hunter. All I heard was a robotic voice speaking when I first came here and got locked up with everyone else." Sugi answered.

"So whoever is in charge wishes to keep their identity secret." Aayla frowned. "We just need a way to disable the security system."

"Perhaps I can assist with that." Thrawn reached into his boat and pulled out what looked like a fang. "In the time I spent here I discovered several creatures with a rather interesting effect."

"What will this do?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Simply put, it will paralyze you to the point that without aid you will die if exposed to too much when it slows your heartbeat down and stops it completely but a small amount will simply leave you comatose. I noticed several bodies that were teleported away when they were killed by the various creatures our host sent out to fight us. If they believe you died they will teleport you away to wherever they send the bodies, perhaps to even somewhere outside our prison." Thrawn explained.

"How will we be able to move when we are paralyzed?" Aayla pointed out, not liking the plan.

"If I am teleported outside of whatever they are using to block our ability to use the Force I can slow my metabolism down and destroy the poison." Shaak Ti answered. "It is an unconventional plan but we are not in a normal situation. It is our only plan and we have little time."

"Then this plan is approved?" Thrawn asked.

"It is the only way."

"Very well." Thrawn threw the fang at the Jedi cage and watched as it passed through the bars and landed in Shaak Ti's hands before vanishing under her robes. "Good luck, Master Jedi."

"To us all." Shaak Ti replied.


	9. Chapter 9

**Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

"My contacts have informed me that Master Piell is not in the Citadel and there has been no word from him since his last transmission." Jedi Master Plo Koon stated, looking at the holographic image of the Citadel. "There has been nothing to prove he has been captured by the Separatists."

"There is another pressing matter. Masters Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura have not reported in since their last transmission." Mace Windu spoke up. "They were supposed to report back once their ship was underway."

"You believe something has happened?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Given their encounter with those creatures it is possible they returned when they jumped out of hyperspace and were killed." Mace Windu said grimly.

"What do we do?" Anakin asked.

"We have done a search on the creatures that attack them." Luminara brought up the image of the ghosts that attacked Shaak Ti and Aayla that was taken from the holo-recordings. "I have checked the archives and I have found no match. Whatever these creatures are, they have never been encountered by the Jedi."

"Many ships are reporting similar attacks it's causing a great scare with planets screaming for protection. It's affecting our ability to deploy our fleets in that sector." Obi-Wan said. "If we do not do something soon we'll lose a major lane that'll cost us."

"Agreed. Defeat these creatures, we must." Yoda stated. "Perhaps defeat them like Master Shaak Ti and Secura did we can."

"It would be risky as frequent uses of hyperspace would drain fuel which we need badly." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"We'll have to figure out something and quick." Anakin said, trying to keep the anxiety he was feeling down.

He desperately wanted to go out and find Padme but he had to stay and coordinate the effort to try defeat these creatures.

But if these creatures killed her he swore he would…

"Anakin?"

Anakin slightly jumped and looked over at his former master. "Yes Master?"

"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I'm fine, Master." Anakin smiled to try and reassure everyone. "I'm fine."

 **Location Unknown  
Coliseum Prison**

It didn't take too long for Aayla and Shaak Ti to be summoned back out into the arena where this time they were greeted with the sight of an Acklay that let out screeching roars as it appeared in the arena.

" _Test scenario two activated. Acklay released._ "

"This will not be easy." Aayla whispered as the Acklay spotted them and charged forward, its hunger and six legs allowing it to move very fast.

"But we will do what we must." Shaak Ti replied.

The Acklay lunged forward with its two front clawed feet, spearing the ground where the two Jedi had been. Luckily they were fast on their feet as they rushed around the six legged predator turned around, chasing after Shaak Ti who led it across the arena. Aayla looked up at the turrets that remained aimed at her and were moved to keep Shaak Ti in their sight. She turned and rushed at the Acklay who let out a screech as it tried to spear her with its legs again but she dodged each strike until she was under its belly.

"I hope this works." Shaak Ti whispered as she took out the fang and quickly stabbed it in the Acklay's belly.

The Acklay screamed and quickly shook Shaak Ti off and growled at the Jedi Master who stood up to face it. It rushed forward, stabbing its front leg at Shaak Ti who waited until the right second and allowed the speared leg the tear through her robes and cut into body. Gritting her teeth Shaak Ti moved quickly to avoid any vitals getting hit and fell to the ground. She took out the fang and quickly stabbed herself in the stomach with fang but not as deeply as she did with the Acklay.

'It will be up to you, Aayla.' Shaak Ti whispered in her mind as the paralyzing effect of the poison in the fang started to take effect.

The Acklay was beginning to move slowly as the poison was slowing it down as well as Aayla rushed forward and leapt up, delivering a kick to its face, knocking it down onto the ground. It would have got back up had it not been for the poison paralyzing its body and slowing its heartbeat down. Eventually both Shaak Ti and the Acklay were losing consciousness as the poison seeped through their bodies.

'Please work. Please work.' Aayla chanted quietly in her mind.

Eventually they stopped moving completely and for a moment there was silence. Then they both disappeared in flashes of light.

" _Return to your cell, Jedi._ "

Aayla slowly walked out of the arena, looking over her shoulder as the doors closed. 'May the Force be with you, Master Shaak Ti.'

()

She could hear it again.

She could feel the Force again just as she was on the mere edge of falling into the misty darkness of unconsciousness. She called upon it, using it to heal her wound and destroy the poison in her body. Taking deep breaths she waited, her mind only focused on the healing no matter how hazy it was. Slowly she returned to the world of the living…

And felt the cold that made her really want to shiver.

Slowly opening her eyes Shaak Ti looked around, seeing bodies of various creatures and people of other races that lied about what could only be described as a combination of a morgue and a meat locker.

'I'm here…' Shaak Ti put a hand to her stomach region where she had been cut, feeling it healing faster than usual as she regained her connection to the Force. 'They must dump these bodies here to keep the arena from getting crowded.'

Looking around Shaak Ti saw a sealed door on the far end of the room and slowly walked over to it, feeling the pain from her wound disappearing. Pressing a hand against the door Shaak Ti closed her eyes and concentrated on the inner mechanisms of the door. Reaching out with the Force she slowly forced the door open, mindful to keep as quiet as possible to not alert anyone who might be nearby. She stepped out into a white hall with power cables and lights lining the walls and ceiling.

Taking a note to look around and upon seeing no one was nearby Shaak Ti started walking, her feet making no sound as she slowly walked through the complex of where her fellow Jedi and so many others were being held prisoner. It was possible that no one believed there was any reason to guard this section as she didn't encounter any guards during her three minute walk that was uneventful until she came upon a large door that was strange looking. Stopping in front she watched as the door opened and showed a large room that was more spacious with metallic walls and floors colored with bright colors that were easy on the eyes and in the center were several consoles in a circular pattern next to a large structure that resembled some kind of gate.

Frowning Shaak Ti walked over to the consoles, looking them over and trying to find a communications console. She didn't find anything resembling the known communication systems used by the Republic but she didn't step, reaching out with her senses, and tapped a few commands.

 _Our masters grow impatient. We have provided as much species data as we could but there are still many more to study. It is remarkably easy to acquire subjects in the Outer Rim of this galaxy, especially in systems were there is minimal form of government but we are still too slow. We have considered the possibility of acquiring a small colony, somewhere that is of no value to the Republic or the Separatists._

 _Why our masters are interested in galaxy is suspect as we have detected large amounts of chronoton radiation throughout this galaxy which would explain why our masters have refused to enter this galaxy. Their gateway systems allows for instant travel between galaxies and even other dimensions once properly established so our masters would have been in this galaxy at one point. Though we lack the technology to properly scan these time fluxes we can detect large amounts of this radiation and from there we will track them, places and people. Perhaps our masters have a scientific curiosity in this galaxy that they once explored or they wish to cultivate it, find out which species they can use for their return to the Milky Way._

 _We will continue our mission as well as establishing the fighting force we need to retake Cardassia._

Shaak Ti frowned as she listened to the recording. 'Test subjects? So the Separatists are not behind this. Still that does not answer many questions.'

She brushed the controls again, accessing the recorded logs to find out more about this place.

 **Transport Log**

 **Accessing last five destinations**

 **Hoth**

 **Dantooine**

 **Tatooine**

 **Yavin IV**

 **Manaan**

"So they have been moving through the Outer Rim under our noses. We have been so occupied with the war that we couldn't have noticed." Shaak Ti frowned, wondering how many abductions had taken place without her and the Jedi knowing and accessed another set of controls.

 **Biometric signature mismatch**

 **Access denied**

Shaak Ti had no idea what that meant but obviously she was not about to get any answer so she moved on.

 _Project Dark Storm:_

 _New Subjects: Jedi Knights Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti; captured in orbit._

 _Initial Analysis: Subjects threat level has been elevated to level three with a subspace dampening field blocking their telekinetic abilities and telepathy. Further Observation required._

 _Goal: Though the known galaxy is already at war it is mainly consisting of man and machines with only outer and mid-rim planets directly affected and several algorithms based on the behavior of the clone army and the battle droids have already been made. This project's goal is develop a proper understanding of how all species will react under the threat of violence with each other. A matrix of the Republic and Separatist governments has been developed but investigations suggest that the current form of government does not present a proper demonstration of the behavior of sentient species in this galaxy._

 _Observations:_

 _Like the Milky Way Galaxy Humanoid species show the greatest provocation to fighting when there is no chance of victory._

 _Hutts show absolutely no physical ability, instead relying on mercenaries and pets to fight their battles for them._

 _Togruta remain together, showing an aversion to isolation but show hunter characteristics as demonstrated from repeated observations_

 _Neimoidians show a strong aptitude towards being greedy and cowardly with their only possible skills being in the area of deceit but a handful show aggression and are able to fight._

 _Duros have shown to be brave and adventurous but their bodies are just as frail as a regular humanoid_

 _Geonosians show almost no creativity with almost no sense of individualism and very few showing ambition_

 _Wookies are highly aggressive like Klingons when provoked with great strength but how also show high levels of intelligence that is often overlooked_

 _Trandoshans are aggressive and possible candidates for allies should negotiations be attempted with the promise of payment and slaves. They have sensitive eyes and are able to regenerate lost limbs, albeit slowly, and are stronger than most humanoid species_

 _Skakoans need pressure suits to survive outside of their native atmosphere, maintaining a cold logic to all none-Skakoan species and so with the exception of their relations with the Techno Union they are largely isolated_

 _Muuns have a longer life span that most humanoids due to having three hearts and are highly competitive but just as frail as humanoids_

 _Gossams are generally roughly only 1.25 meters tall with thin bodies are generally selfish, working in commerce which is perhaps why they lead the Commerce Guild but do have a military that has been shown to be effective against humanoids as shown in the arena_

 _A possible wedge to break the Republic is the non-human sentiment growing from the fact that so-called aliens are on the side of the Separatists. As talks break down along with the resources being spent for their war it is likely that the Republic will eventually fracture._

 _The Confederacy of Independent Systems shows a heavy reliance on artificial life forms with few capable tacticians enough to prolong the war for an unknown amount of time. These droids can be reprogrammed to turn on their makers through the simply use of hacking their network and altering their programming._

 _The so called peacekeepers of the galaxy known as Jedi have shown to be powerful and skilled but they show heavy reliance on their so-called powers and work to suppress their emotions like the Vulcans. It is logical to assume that they have no ability to process these emotions should their control be broken._

 _Chiss maintain a well-trained military force, similar in many ways to the Breen with the difference being the Chiss do not actively launch slave raids. They are content to remain in their territory, only making contact to learn about potential enemies. It is concluded that their isolation can be used against them._

 _Clone troopers can perhaps be useful through the use of holographic conditioning while battle droids can simply be reprogrammed._

Shaak Ti scowled as she finished reading the logs. "They are cultivating people for military purposes and are plotting to possibly take advantage of the war. Thrawn was right, they are studying us for the possibility of trying to understand us…and to conquer us. But who are they? Are they from the Unknown Regions? Are they the Sith?"

She looked at the last entry, seeing it was the personal log of a 'Gul Manak'.

 _We have been contacted and given new orders to set up outposts and shipyards in systems that are abandoned or far out of the range of the local governments. As I input this log hatcheries for producing Jem'Hadar have been constructed in the Yavin system but with limited amounts of ketrecal white it has been decided by our masters that these Jem'Hadar will not be made addicted to the substance. Though many are concerned that this will lead to a Jem'Hadar revolt but there are assurances that the loss of white will not cause a revolt, especially since the masters have introduced several methods of assuring loyalty to the New Dominion. The gate was useful in liberating Amar Singh from Facility 4028 and has proven useful in creating Jem'Hadar that are even superior to the Alpha Jem'Hadar in strength and aggressiveness._

 _The Changeling known as Laas was liberated through the use of gateway technology shortly after Taris was rescued and has agreed to rally the Jem'Hadar to prepare for the liberation of Cardassia._

 _Research Outpost Arctic One has been established in the Hoth system for the intent of gathering data on all known species, including ones that are reclusive and primitive. We have also stolen a sample of the mineral known as Phrik and are looking for ways to create a new form of ablative armor in starship construction. Amar Singh is wishing to gain a sample of the DNA used to create the Republic Clone Army, possibly to create his own race of super humans but we have declined that offer for now. He will have to be closely monitored for if he uses the gate without authorization he will have to be terminated._

 _We are to search for strengths, weaknesses, and how to best exploit them. Our scouts report that the Borg are maintaining position in the black hole cluster known as the Maw as they build up their forces. Our masters have ordered us to maintain a watch on the sector surrounding the Maw and monitor Borg activity. If the Borg become too powerful intervention will become necessary. We have located the gate in the Manaan system and easily acquired it, monitoring the war from inside the Republic from a planet with no strategical value._

 _Our masters have also ordered us to infiltrate the Republic and Confederacy military which was done following the proper surgery to blend in and manipulate the war to our favor. Our agents have already submitted a proposal that will allow the Confederacy to link all of its scattered territories together following a planned offensive into the Core Worlds, aiming to link the territory on planets in the far reaches of the Outer Rim. With the Confederacy's territories linked they will be able to better coordinate their resources and thus force the Republic to continue fighting and spread their forces throughout the Outer Rim._

 _In the meantime we have reports of Devidians appearing in the Dustig Sector, attacking Republic and civilian ships which is good as it will weaken the Republic forces in that sector while the Separatists pay no attention to that system anymore. With the Devidians weakening the Republic presence in the southern regions of this galaxy our Dominion will be allowed to grow in numbers and strength until the time is right to take back Cardassia._

Shaak Ti closed the last log, contemplating what she had learned. "These Devidians…They must be the creatures that attacked our ship. They want to weaken us in the Outer Rim so they can build up their strength…It's possible they have a clone army like the Republic from these logs say. I must free the others and warn the Jedi Council of this threat."

"I'm afraid that will not be possible, Jedi."

Spinning around Shaak Ti glared as the doors opened and in walked a group of humanoids resembling no species she had seen before. They were grey skinned with unusually wide necks and spoon shaped bone ridges on their foreheads. They resembled reptilians somewhat with unusual ridges across their faces but had hair like normal humans.

The middle man, obviously the leader stepped forward with a smile. "I see you managed to fake your death. Truly impressive to fool our scanners but we left in safe measures that let us know whenever our consoles are activated."

"Who are you?" Shaak Ti asked, stepped away from the consoles. Reaching out with the Force she tried to probe these beings but to her shock she could not feel them through the Force. They were alive, they were standing in front of her. Then the Force seemed to dim like before in the arena and she knew that they had activated the device that disrupted her connection with the Force.

"I am Gul Manak of the New Dominion, representing my people, the Cardassians." The leader, Gul Manak bowed his head in greeting. "And you are a Jedi, a warrior that access a special power known as the Force. I am not one for religion and all I see of this Force is just another ability, no different from how one species telepathic and the other is able to change shape. Of course it might be because of those special psychic symbiotic cells you call medi-chlorians. I admit I am fascinated by them."

"Why are you doing this?" Shaak Ti asked, staring the man in the eyes. "You are holding innocent people against their will and forcing them to fight and die. What do you gain from this?"

"The rebirth of my people as the strongest in the universe…Or rather any universe." Gul Manak answered as if it was obvious. "We will bow before no one but we will become the single power in this or any other universe."

"You will fail." Shaak Ti stated.

"Not likely." Gul Manak gestured to his guards who pointed their rifles at Shaak Ti. "We'll preserve what's left for experimentation."

Shaak Ti narrowed her eyes as the Cardassians aimed and fired, beams of orange light shooting at her but she was already moving. Jumping to the sigh she ran at speed, dodging the orange beams by jumping, twirling and ducking as she made her way to the Cardassisians and fell upon them as a tornado of punches and kicks. The Cardassians were well trained as they fought back but her enhanced senses allowed her to know an attack was coming and act accordingly. Gul Manak fell back, pressing a device to his belt and in a flash of light more Cardassians appeared and aimed their rifles at Shaak Ti as she kicked the last Cardassian she was fighting down.

Spinning around Shaak Ti bolted behind a pile of crates as the Cardassians fired, orange beams scorching the crates and slowly starting to burn through. Shaak Ti leapt up and delivered a kick to the top crate, sending it flying at the Cardassians and causing them to scatter. Seeing her chance to attack Shaak Ti jumped through the air and landed perfectly on the ground just as the Cardassians were getting back up to attack her. She punched out the nearest one and ducked as another one fired at her, the beam flying over her head as she rushed forward and delivered an uppercut.

"Fire in the hole!" A Cardassian shouted, throwing what looked like a grenade at her.

Taking a second to note that the Cardassians had no qualms about killing on their own she grabbed the Cardassian she just punched spun him through the air before throwing him at the Cardassian that threw the grenade and jumped back just as it exploded. Seeing most of the guards were down she made a run for Gul Manak who fired at her but she spun to the side, not wasting any time as the beam shot past her and rushed forward to deliver a heavy blow to Gul Manak's torso, causing him to bend over and Shaak Ti followed up with a blow to the head that knocked the Cardassian down. Panting slightly as she looked around and noticed the Cardassians were all knocked out Shaak Ti leaned down and pulled the device that was attached to Manak's belt and looked it over carefully. She had never seen it before but she knew which button summoned more guards apparently so she simply smashed it.

With the Cardassians down she walked back to the consoles, looking for anything else she might have missed and skimmed through the data until she found what she hoped was a way to free the others. The monitor showed all the prisoners along with Secura who was back in her cell. She tapped at few commands and skimmed through the data, seeing that the prisoners were all categorized as numbers.

 _All prisoners accounted for_

 _Number of prisoners: 400_

 _State number of cells to open for next test:_

Shaak Ti typed in the number. ' _400._ '

 **Holding Area**

One by one the cages opened up and the prisoners perked up before rushing out, yelling and screaming in jubilation as they ran towards the exit and freedom.

Aayla smiled as she stepped out the cage she and Shaak Ti had been placed in. "Well done, Master Ti."

()

Shaak Ti closed her eyes, feeling relief as the prisoners escape their cells and quickly worked on ensuring their escape.

 _Security System Deactivated_

 _Automated Doors and Force Fields Deactivated_

"Now to send a distress signal." Shaak Ti said, looking over the consoles for anything that resembled communications.

"I don't think so."

Shaak Ti turned around, seeing Gul Manak pointing his weapon at her. "Step away from the console."

"There's nowhere you can run, Manak." Shaak Ti stated.

"There are procedures in place if this base is taken. It doesn't matter if you send for help. By the time a Republic fleet gets here this whole base will be gone." Manak slowly walked over to the other side of the gate structure while keeping his rifle trained on Shaak Ti.

"And you along with it." Shaak Ti pointed out.

"You think it's that easy, Jedi?" Manak smirked. "I should tell you something… Even if this base is lost it's a minor setback. We've tested almost all the required subjects in the arena we made. Our masters will be happy when they hear my report."

"Who are your masters? The Sith?" Shaak Ti questioned.

"Please. The universe does not revolve around you religious conflicts." Manak rolled his eyes as he brought another device. "You know you Jedi claim to know the future. Tell me, did your vision show you this?"

He pressed the button and the gate like structure hummed as the lights in the room dimmed.

"What is-" Shaak Ti stopped speaking as the gate showed the image of multiple places.

Then to add more shock Manak aimed his rifle at the knocked out Cardassians and fired, disintegrating their bodies instantly, shocking Shaak Ti who was not expected him to kill his own men.

"Follow me if you dare, Jedi!" Manak laughed as he ran into the gate and vanished.

Shaak Ti's eyes widened as she felt Manak's presence disappear completely.

He wasn't dead.

He had teleported away.

This gate could teleport people away which would explain how she and the other prisoners ended up here. If it brought her here it could also send her and the others back. She tried to access the console for the gateway again but it had the same results.

 **Biometric signature mismatch**

 **Access denied**

Shaak Ti scowled, realizing it would not give her access and the Cardassians left behind were all likely dead now.

 **Gateway System Shutting Down In Ten Seconds**

Shaak Ti actually banged the console in frustration but could do nothing as the gate shut down, leaving her and the other prisoners stranded. "Stang!"

"So we are indeed stranded."

Shaak Ti nodded grimly at Thrawn's questions. Upon their escape the prisoners took control of the underground base but found no exists, confirming Gul Manak's statement. "I tried to access the communications but when the gate shut down so did everything except basic life support. It does not matter as we have over four hundred prisoners here along with various animals."

"Can you rewire the system to reactivate?" Aayla asked, only for Shaak Ti to shake her head.

"I tried but the controls are different from anything I have seen. It would take some time and our first priority is survival."

"Agreed." Thrawn stated. "We will have time to learn about this base later. Perhaps if we learn a bit more we can use it as a temporary shelter."

"We will have to keep the escaped prisoners calm and work on forming a community while we work to escape. We cannot go to the surface because this planet is too cold for any to survive." Shaak Ti pointed out.

"Perhaps but the Cardassians must have had some way to survive down here. They must have used the gate to send food and material through." Thrawn looked at the gate. "Provided we can plan accordingly we can survive depending how long the supplies last."

"We will still have to work on escaping. The Cardassian logs state they are behind or connected to the recent crises in the galaxy, including the Borg attack and these Devidians that attacked our ship. They are working for someone who is preying on this galaxy." Shaak Ti said, closing her eyes. "I fear the galaxy is in great danger."

No one said anything but they agreed with her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Outer-Rim  
Location Unknown**

A single ship emerged from hyperspace, approaching an asteroid that for the most part looked like an asteroid. The only difference was the glass dome surrounding what looked like a small base that was lit up and allowed the ships to land on the platforms surrounding the base. Upon landing the being piloting the ship exited their ship and walked through the hangars and into a dark room with a single light shining in the center of a table.

"Well, what a merry gathering we have here." The being said from the darkness of the room. "Must be a big pay for such a big party."

Any further discussion was cut off as in the center of the table appeared a blue holographic image of someone known quite well throughout the galaxy. "Greetings and welcome, old friend."

"Count Dooku. Why am I not surprised?"

"I understand that you are curious by my invitation. Let me assure you that the award for the assignment I offer you comes with a high reward. It is quite simple and yet is it very important." Dooku looked around the room. "The assignment is the tracking and capture of a single target and brought to me alive at all costs."

"You offer a big price for a job as simple as that?"

"The target is high valuable, not only to me but also to the Republic and the Jedi." Dooku's image was replaced by the image of the target. "The target is young Senator Amidala of Naboo. She has recently disappeared with important information that I want retrieved at all cost before the Republic. In exchange for helping locate our wayward senator a ship has been sent and it will be at your disposal with all information regarding the senator's disappearance and the firepower needed should the Republic interfere."

"What about the price, Dooku? You're asking a lot from me." The hunter said, his hidden eyes glaring at the image.

"You will be rewarded equally for your efforts so as long as you produce adequate results." Dooku stated as his image replaced Senator Amidala's image. "So, do we have an arrangement?"

With the award Dooku was offering one would have to be a fool to say no.

"You can count on me, Count Dooku." The being chuckled. "It'll be a good chance to stretch my legs a bit, even I was hoping for more than a mere search for a missing senator."

"Complete this mission to the letter and I might find more use for you, Durge." Dooku said before his image faded.

 **Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

Yoda frowned as the Jedi Council gathered in the council chamber, discussing the latest events about the war and other subjects that were just as important, to both the survival of the Jedi Order and the Republic. "Missing, Masters Secura and Shaak Ti are."

"They arrived in the Hoth System following an attack on their cruiser by strange creatures and that was the last we heard of them." Mace Windu continued. "They were on a mission to find Senator Amidala who disappeared during a mission to her homeworld Naboo. We believe they might have been killed but we have no way to verify it."

"What exactly attacked them?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"Unknown. They were reported as strange ghost like creatures that appeared out of nowhere and killed several clones by draining their neural patterns." Obi-Wan answered. "They also appeared to have some sort of Force-Sensitivity based on Master Shaak Ti's report but nothing conformed. They seemingly died when the ship entered hyperspace."

"Discover this new threat, we must." Yoda stated.

"Masters, I believe the clue to this riddle is Senator Amidala. This all started with her disappearance." Obi-Wan commented. "Just as she disappeared Anakin's fleet was attacked by those Borg creatures and now these mysterious creatures attacking ships in the south regions. There is a connection between them."

"You suggest we continue trying to find Senator Amidala?" Mace Windu questioned.

"I believe if we find Senator Amidala we will find our answers." Obi-Wan answered.

Yoda closed his eyes. "Agree with Master Kenobi, I do. Find Senator Amidala and have answers to our questions, we will."

"If I may, Councilors, Anakin's fleet has refueled and repaired from the Borg attack. His fleet is already ready for a new mission." Obi-Wan suggested.

"You believe Skywalker will be able to find the senator?" Mace Windu asked.

"Without a doubt." Obi-Wan nodded.

Yoda nodded. "Agree with Master Kenobi I do. Charged with finding Senator Amidala, Skywalker will be."

 **Dustig Sector** **  
Providence Class Destroyer C.S.S. _Bloodhound  
_ Bridge**

The giant cybernetic bounty hunter Durge supposed he should be feeling lucky.

After all it wasn't everyday a bounty hunter was given a small taskforce of Separatist ships for the purpose of hunting down one measly senator. Well, he had to work with other bounty hunters that were on the ship but the offered price made it worth it and if they ran into any Republic forces ran into them and a few bounty hunters were killed then it simply meant more money for him.

It was annoying to be given a single ship but Count Dooku wanted to keep this mission secret from the Republic at all cost and with the amount of money was offering no one was foolish enough to argue with him. For the most part Durge was simply brooding on the bridge and let the droids do their work.

So as long as they act like professionals Durge didn't care what they did but he was hoping for some action.

It had been too long since he had gotten the chance to face any opponents since his defeat on Muunilist. The only reason he was working for Dooku was that he had the chance to kill clones who were made from the DNA of the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett.

Durge had a deep hatred of Mandarlorians that had not faded with time.

He enjoyed killing clones and had gone on several missions for Count Dooku just for the opportunity to kill more clones. Of course he was hoping for a far better mission, one that could even involve him going up against Obi-Wan Kenobi and get a chance for blasting him apart on Muunilist. Perhaps he will have his chance, after this one little mission.

"Are we there yet?" Durge stood in front of the command chair, finding it easier to stand and stay alert for anything.

"We're coming upon the last known location of the droid ship that was chasing the Naboo ship." The command droid reported.

"Scanners." Durge ordered.

"We started scanning when we came out of hyperspace. Nothing definite to report."

"Definite?" Durge narrowed his eyes.

"We're picking up a funny energy pulse reading on our scanners. We don't know what to make of it." The droid explained.

"Nothing else?"

"No." The droid shrugged.

Durge scowled. "Launch a fighter patrol to check things out and find out what that pulse is."

"Roger, roger." The droid nodded. "Shall I inform Count Dooku we have arrived?"

Durge snorted. "Why bother? Nothing to report yet."

Just because the count wanted daily reports on the mission it didn't mean Durge would call him up and ask for instructions every minute of the mission. Durge was perfectly capable of running a simple search and capture mission and all the droids and extra hunters were just along as muscles or meat shields to deal with Republic dogs, Jedi, or anyone else foolish enough to get in his way. From the hangar of the _Bloodhound_ launched Vulture Droids and Tri-Fighters, flying in standard formation as they circled the fleet, moving out to patrol and scan the surrounding area. The droids constantly scanned space to the limit of their range and reported back to the mothership where the droids on the bridge reviewed and looked over for anything their programming considered out of the ordinary.

So far their search turned up with nothing but the droids continued on, directed by their programming to continue until they found something or needing to return to the mothership to refuel and then continue the mission.

()

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _As the Clone Wars slowly entered the third year things begun to spiral out of control for almost everyone. Following the Borg attack the 501st, led by General Skywalker, Commander Tano, and Admiral Yularen was sent to investigate reports of strange creatures appearing like ghosts along the Outer Rim, near the last known coordinates of Senator Amidala. General Skywalker wanted us ready at a second's notice so almost every hour of our down time was spent in the simulator, practicing drills and keeping the ship battle ready for almost anything that might appear. Of course when we finally found what was causing all the trouble, I don't even General Skywalker was prepared for what would happen._

()

 **Republic _Venator_ Class Star Destroyer _Protector  
_ Bridge**

Anakin could honestly kiss Obi-Wan for allowing him the chance to finally go out and find his missing wife as the Jedi Council gave him his latest mission.

" _Here is all the data Masters Secura and Shaak Ti submitted before they were forced to leave._ " Obi-Wan said as the data was uplinked into the nav-computer. " _Be careful, Anakin, there is a danger out there and you might be in for more trouble. You will be going alone because we need all the ships we can to reinforce the lanes along Sullust._ "

"Don't worry, Master. I'll be careful. Just look after my men." Anakin replied with a small smile.

" _Oh don't worry. I'll do my best._ " Obi-Wan smiled as his image vanished.

"Rex, set course for these coordinates and make sure we're battle ready." Anakin said as he stepped onto the forward bridge.

"Yes sir." Rex quickly went to work.

"Where are we going, Master?" Ahsoka asked as she followed Anakin up to the windows.

"To find Padme." Anakin said as the ship entered hyperspace.

The search had begun.

 **Separatist Scout Fleet  
Providence Class Destroyer C.S.S. _Bloodhound  
_ Bridge**

"Sir, we've picked up something on the scanner." The droid at the tactical station reported. "It looks like the remains of a ship."

"A Naboo ship?" Durge questioned, remembering the description of the ship the senator was in when she disappeared.

"No…It doesn't match any known ship. It's emitting that pulse we detected earlier." The droid answered.

Durge frowned, disappointed that it wasn't the senator's ship but also relieved because if the senator was dead there was a chance he would not be paid. "Get us in close. I want a better look at that ship."

"Roger, roger."

The droid fighters altered course, following their mothership as it came upon a green colored bird like ship that floated lifelessly in the voice of space.

"No life forms, sir." The pilot droid reported.

Durge scoffed. "Leave it then and continue looking for any sign of the senator's ship."

"Roger, roger."

Durge briefly fought the urge to shoot the droid for saying that stupid phrase over and over again.

 **Federation/Romulan Republic Border  
USS Friedrich  
Bridge**

"Sensors are picking up warp signatures, closing rapidly." Rako spoke up. "Scans confirm Federation and Romulan Republic."

"It's no surprise Starfleet would inform the Republic of a wormhole in their backyard." Malcolm mumbled. "How long?"

"Estimated fifteen minutes."

"Computer, where is Senator Amidala?" Malcolm asked.

" _Senator Amidala is in her quarters._ "

 **Padme's Quarters**

" _First Log: Senator Amidala recording. I have only been on this ship for a short time but I have worked to make the most of it. Captain Malcolm acts like a competent, if casual captain, but his crew act as much professionals as any other ship crew I have seen for the Republic or on a Naboo ship. I studied up on their galaxy maps and I was surprised to see that Federation territory lies on what I guess is the Mid and most of the Outer Rim of this side of their galaxy with the planet New Romulus sharing the same position as Naboo which we are less than a parsec from. I suppose it could be found amusing from both sides if first contact is ever made. End Log._ "

" _Senator Amidala, please report to the bridge._ "

"On my way." Padme put the PADD down and exited her quarters.

It didn't take her long to reach the bridge where she was greeted with the sight of ships emerging possibly from warp space. The taskforce had finally arrived consisting of Federation ships similar in style to the _Friedrich_ but came in different sizes.

'They look almost Nubian. 'Senator Amidala mused as she watched the taskforce approach on the bridge of the _Friedrich_.

With the Federation ships were green colored bird like ships that must be from the Romulan Republic she had read about. They seemed more focused on appearance, making a statement of their power but Padme did not doubt they were armed and dangerous. Of course there was a ship much larger that stood out amongst the bird like ships and was even larger than a Republic Star Destroyer. According to the science officer T'Vrell it was the flagship of the Romulan Republic, the _Tulwar_ class dreadnaught R.R.W. _Lleiset_

And leading the Federation part of the taskforce was a large ship with its name proudly seen on the saucer shaped hull: **USS-ENTERPRISE NCC 1701-F**

Any doubts she had before about these people and their claim that she was in another galaxy vanished as the ships were too different from anything she had ever seen to be a fabrication.

'I can only imagine the changes this will bring to my own galaxy.' Padme thought.

"Captain, we're being hailed by the _Enterprise._ " T'Vrell stated.

"On screen."

The view screen split to show the image of a blue skinned man that Padme noted to be similar to Duros and Twi'leks but with snow white hair and two antenna sprouting from above his forehead and a woman who had pointed ears like T'Vrell and wore a green uniform.

" _Captain Malcolm, good to see you again._ " The blue skinned man spoke.

"Good to see you too, Captain Shon." Kurt nodded with a smile. "I somehow knew that the _Enterprise_ would be the ship representing the Federation in this discovery. And it's good to see you as well, Captain Jarok."

" _Likewise, Captain. The Romulan Republic has not forgotten your contribution for assisting us before in discovering the truth behind the destruction of Romulus or for protecting New Romulus from Sela's fleet._ " Jarok replied with a smile. " _The Republic is interested in this rift that has appeared and is also concerned. We have enough trouble with Tal Shiar and the remnants of the Empire as it is. I read up on your reports and the last thing the Republic needs is another war in our backyard._ "

" _Starfleet Command wanted Enterprise at the forefront just to be safe and I have offered Jarock to follow to represent the Romulan Republic on the other side. Our primary shields will at one hundred percent as enter the portal._ " Captain Va'kel Shon answered.

"While we're on the subject I would like to introduce Senator Amidala of the Galactic Republic on the other side of the wormhole." Malcolm gestured to Padma who stepped forward, bowing her head slightly.

" _A pleasure to meet you, Senator._ " Shon greeted with a smile and returned Padme's bow. " _I understand your government is currently at war._ "

"Yes, Captain." Padma nodded.

" _Starfleet and the Romulan Republic are concerned of this war being waged in your galaxy possibly spilling into our galaxy. As such we've been ordered to make contact with Republic and this Confederacy to avoid that outcome._ " Shon stated.

"The Republic will see to it that the war does not spill into your territory but I cannot speak on behalf of the Separatists." Padma replied.

" _Well let us hope that they agree at least not to provoke us. We have enough trouble with the threat of the Iconians and diverting ships to stop another fight is the last thing we need._ " Jarok said. " _I received word that the Klingons will be sending ships of their own to investigate this wormhole so we'll hold back. The last thing we need is for them accusing us of trying to leave them out of this…rare venture._ "

"By that you mean glory to be found on the other side." Malcolm commented with a small smirk.

Shon decided to change the subject. " _We've determined that the triolic energy emitting from the portal could be harmful to any ship without the proper shielding. The Confederacy ship Winds of Mygeeto could pass through due to its crew being artificial but from the ship that the senator came in would not protect her from being exposed to triolic energy and a second trip through it could be lethal so it's best she remains on the Friedrich until we determine the passage safe. The Enterprise will be the first ship through the portal once the probe transmits what might be on the other side and then the Friedrich will follow._ "

"Understood, Captain." Malcolm nodded. "

" _We'll be sending a live feed as we're on the other side. Enterprise out._ " Shon said before the live screen switched back to the image of space.

"Well Senator, you get a front seat to something that might change things in your universe forever. Let's hope it's a good change." Malcolm sat back in his seat.

"I hope so, Captain." Padme stood by the science station, staring at the view-screen as the _Enterprise_ slowly moved forward. "But what was that about glory and this threat? And what was Captain Jarok talking about with an empire and this…Tal Shiar?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later." Malcolm directed his attention to the _Enterprise_.

A beam of blue light shot from its deflector dish and apparently collided with the portal as Padme looked on to see what looked like a vortex of blue and light that slowly expanded outwards.

"The rift appears to be stabilizing, Captain." T'Vrell reported. "The distortion is intense but the _Enterprise_ and the _Lleiset_ 's shields are adjusting to handle the portal."

"The _Enterprise_ and the _Lleiset_ are entering the portal." Rako spoke up.

The giant ship that held the legendary name moved on into the portal, followed by the flagship of the Romulan Republic.

 **Other Side of the portal  
Providence Class Destroyer C.S.S. _Bloodhound  
_ Bridge**

"Sir, we're picking up a strange energy reading." The droid at the scanner station reported. "It's just up ahead."

"What is it?" Durge narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before." The droid answered.

"Well what can you tell me?" Durge asked impatiently.

Before the droid could answer a Republic ship came out of hyperspace just several hundred kilometers away.

Durge suppressed the urge to scowl. "Order the fighters to attack that ship."

 ** _Protector  
_** **Bridge**

"Sir, a Separatist dreadnaught has been spotted off the port bow!"

Anakin turned his head, seeing the familiar capital ship of the Separatist Navy already launching fighters and bombers. "Get our shields up and open fire."

The _Protector_ aimed its turrets at the Confederate dreadnaught and fired as the fighters made strafing runs, launching missiles and bombs that shook the ship.

"Angle our ship away and put full power to the port shields. I want our fighters launched." Anakin said as he rushed out of the bridge, followed quickly by Ahsoka.

Yularen took command as the _Protector_ turned so its port side was facing the _Providence_ dreadnaught with all available power rerouted to the port shields. "Keep steady and move us out of range of their main cannons."

()

Meanwhile the docking bay slowly opened up as the clone pilots rushed to their fighters.

"V-Wings squadrons stay and protect the ship. ACR squadrons one through three, stay with the V-Wings to help protect the ship. The rest are with me, protecting the Y-Wings as we make strafing runs on the ship. They are our best chance to take it out." Anakin said as his Eta-2-Actis-class interceptor slowly lifted out of the hangar, smiling as he heard affirmative replies. "Let's go to work."

A second later space around him was littered with blue and red laser fire as he flew towards the Confederate Dreadnaught as it continued to pound away at the _Protector_.

"Master, we're a little outnumbered here." Ahsoka said from her own interceptor.

"Just make things more fun." Anakin said with a small grin as he led the squadron towards the dreadnaught.

As the two ships continued to fire on each other the laser bolts suddenly started hitting something as small patches of white energy ripped into open space.

"Master?!" Ahsoka screamed as white light blasted space in front of the Republic fighters.

"Pull up!" Anakin said, almost ripping the throttle out as his fighter flew up, followed by his squadron that narrowly avoided flying into the light.

 **C.S.S. _Bloodhound  
_ Bridge**

"Sir, we're picking up something up ahead…Another strange energy reading." The droid at the pilot station reported.

"What is it this time?" Durge grumbled.

"It's-" The droid never truly had a chance to answer as in front of the fleet came a burst of white light, releasing streams of blue energy that looked hyperspace leaking into normal space. "Whoa!"

"Droid, tell me what that is!" Durge said to the pilot droid who was working on the instruments.

"Uh…I don't know. Scans don't know what to make of it. It looks like a hyperspace portal of some kind." The droid answered.

"Hyperspace? That's impossible." Durge grunted.

"Sir, something is coming out." The droid spoke up.

Out of the vortex came a very big ship, different from anything the bounty hunters on the bridge had even seen. It looked like a giant saucer attached to long engines with what looked like a dish underneath the saucer, attached to the secondary hull. A second just after it came out another ship appeared of the vortex, this one a giant black winged ship that looked more predatory looking that slowly came to a stop next to the saucer shaped ship.

Durge narrowed his eyes. "Scan those ships."

"I can't. Scans are being scattered by…whatever it is that's out there." The pilot droid replied.

' _Shoot them._ '

Durge narrowed his eyes as he pulled out his pistol. "Who said that?"

"Who said what?" A droid asked.

' _Destroy them._ '

Durge stiffened as the bridge flashed blue. "What is going on?"

' _Kill them._ '

' _Terminate._ '

' _Obliterate._ '

' _They hurt us._ '

' _They starve us._ '

' _They murder us!_ '

' _THEY HAVE TO DIE!_ '

The bridge flashed blue as electricity coursed through the consoles, overloading any droids who unfortunate to be touching the controls as they overloaded.

"What's happening?!" Durge shouted as the bridge was engulfed in a blue light and the ship seemingly started to act on its own.

 ** _Protector  
_** **Bridge**

"Can you identify those ships?" Yularen asked, watching as the two large ships came out of the vortex of light.

"They don't match anything in our records, Admiral." A clone officer reported. "Scans are almost scattered."

"What's General Skywalker's status?"

"He's holding station."

"Contact him immediately." Yularen said, stepping away from the windows.

' _Shoot them._ '

Yularen stopped as he heard what he thought was a whisper but shook it off when he saw no one was talking to him.

' _Destroy them._ '

"Did you say something?" He asked a nearby clone who shook his head.

' _Kill them._ '

"Sir, I thought I heard something…" One of the clone pilots spoke up.

' _Terminate._ '

Yularen looked around the bridge as it flashed blue. "Did anyone see that?"

' _Obliterate._ '

"What was that?"

' _They hurt us._ '

The clone crew started noticing a blue light that was flashing across the bridge every few seconds.

' _They starve us._ '

' _They murder us!_ '

' _THEY HAVE TO DIE!_ '

"Sir, we're losing control of the ship!" A clone shouted as the consoles started to short circuit.

"Get me General Skywalker now!"

()

Anakin and Ahsoka both sensed a presence of great hunger and anger that grew stronger each and every second.

"Master, what's-" Ahsoka stopped as both the Separatist dreadnaught and the _Protector_ opened fire on the new ships. "What's going on?!"

"I don't know!" Anakin quickly opened a channel. "Admiral Yularen, what's going on?! Why are you firing?!"

" _The ship is not responding to our commands anymore, General. We're trying to override but we're failing!_ "

Anakin watched as his new command ship attacked the strange new ships without restraint, sensing something with angered determination aimed at the ships. "We have to stop them. Aim for the turrets and take them out."

The Republic fighter squadron quickly regrouped and short towards the _Protector_

 **Other Side of the portal  
USS _Friedrich  
_ Bridge**

"The _Enterprise_ is transmitting a life feed now. They might be boosting their subspace transmitter to help send the feed through the wormhole." T'Vrell reported.

The screen was covered in static for a moment before clearing up and showing what the _Enterprise_ was seeing.

"A Separatist dreadnaught!" Padme gasped, shocked at seeing the large Confederacy ship right on the other side of the portal. "It's attacking a Republic cruiser!"

Whatever anyone else was going to say was cut off as the Confederate dreadnaught and the Republic cruiser opened fire on the _Enterprise_.

"And now they're attacking both the _Enterprise_ and _Lleiset_." Rako said, working to remain calm despite the fact that the _Friedrich_ was not the ship being attacked.

"That's impossible!" Padme whispered in shock, unable to believe what was happening but she could it was happening right before her eyes.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Hail them. Let's see if we can avoid a fight." Shon said upon seeing the ships that apparently were waiting for them.

However the large fish shaped ship and the wedge shaped ship both opened fire, peppering the _Enterprise_ 's forward shields that flared brightly.

"They are firing on us. Shields are holding at ninety five percent but dropping. I am diverting emergency power to compensate. " Lieutenant Kyona, chief of security and tactical officer reported.

"The _Friedrich'_ s logs reported that the main weapons on the Confederacy ship are a form of plasma-laser hybrid based weaponry." Chief Science Officer Tem Inasi stated. "Our forward shields are capable of blocking for a short time but the kinetic force will wear them down eventually, especially since we're outnumbered."

Shon nodded as he remembered Malcolm's report. For a brief moment he wondered if anyone in this galaxy had considered using a nadion-based particle core to replace the laser core in these 'turbo-lasers'. At best the main ship weapons from this galaxy were considered primitive version of the disruptors from around the Earth-Romulan war two centuries ago but greater in power. It was hard to believe that a galaxy with a Galactic government didn't seem to be advanced in some areas as many powers in the Milky Way Galaxy but Shon theorized that was because the races in this galaxy didn't have to explore as much as the Federation did because they could use their hyperdrive for instant travel. Why bother advancing when the entire galaxy could be traveled by simply inputting the coordinates of your destination?

Sure they had periods of conflict like any other government but they had no need to advance themselves with no mysteries on the horizon. The Republic was apparently a money based economy drawn from the alliance of thousands of star systems that had led to the corruption brought by bureaucracy and trading companies throughout the galaxy. The hyperdrive was a wonderful invention but it possibly hastened the development of most cultures too quickly with no reason to explore or look beyond the horizon the Republic had become complacent, stagnant, and now it was splitting apart which had possibly led to this civil war but Shon's instincts told him there was more to it than that.

The _Enterprise_ shook even harder as the Confederate Dreadnaught fired all of its forward weapons, bring their shields down to eighty percent.

"Captain, the _Lleiset_ is cloaking!" Kyona reported as the Romulan ship started to vanish.

()

"A cloaked ship." Durge stood up as the black winged ship vanished from visual sight and scanners.

The _Bloodhound's_ multiple laser cannons fired at where the ship had been but they hit nothing, letting Durge know that the ship had already moved out of the way.

()

"They have cloaking devices." Anakin whispered, watching the mysterious ships come under fire by the Confederate Dreadnaught. "I never seen a ship that large equipped with a cloaking device before."

His fighters were already making strafing runs on the _Protector_ which was ignoring them as they fired on the large saucer shaped ship and quickly dropped bombs on the heavy turrets, blowing them to bits.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

The Separatist Dreadnaught turned their attention to the Federation ship due the fact that the _Lleiset_ was now cloaked.

"Evasive action." Shon ordered, narrowing his eyes. "I want those ships disabled, not destroyed. Find me a weakness."

"Their shields can only block one type of weaponry, kinetic or energy. They are not designed to block phased particle beam weaponry. A well placed hit will disable their forward cannons while surgical hits on the lead ship will disable their weapons." Inasi reported as the _Enterprise_ dodged the turbo-laser fire.

"Do it."

The _Enterprise_ 's forward phaser arrays released phaser beams that passed through the forward deflector shields like they didn't exist, connecting with the forward cannons on the _Bloodhound_ , disabling its main heavy turbo-laser cannons with well-placed surgical strikes. The phaser arrays were much more accurate than the turbo-laser cannons on the Separatist and Republic ships and their deflector shields stood no chance against the phaser beams that easily disabled the forward cannons but the two large warships were armed to the teeth with multiple plasma based turrets that started firing on the Federation ship. However luckily for the _Enterprise_ help came in the form of multiple plasma bolts from behind the native ships, a single photon torpedo coming out of nowhere that hit the rear engines where the reactant tanks were located, igniting them and setting off an explosion that engulfed the ship in blinding explosion.

"We're being hailed." Kyona reported and answered.

Jarok's smiling face appeared on the screen. " _I hope you didn't think we left you to have all the fun, Captain._ "

"Not a chance." Shon replied with a smile. "Now let's get to work. Let's work on disabling this fleet to avoid a war."

" _Understood._ "

The _Enterprise_ fired its forward phasers again, surgically destroying the weapons on the Separatist ship while making sure to reduce their power since a full phaser hit would have cut through the hull, especially if they had been locked onto the bridge. Programmed to defend their command ship the _Bloodhound_ 's fighters and bombers to attack the _Enterprise_ , moving at full speed towards the Federation ship and firing their laser cannons that bounced harmlessly off the shields. The bombers attempted to preform strafing runs as the _Enterprise_ fired its phaser arrays, disabling any droid fighters that were hit but two bombers slipped by to launcher their bombs. But the difference between the shields of both universes was that one had shields that was projected over the hull like a second skin while the other was projected from the ship in the form of a bubble that blocked attacks away from the hull.

So when the droid bombers came too close they actually rammed into the shields, exploding harmlessly away from the hull. The droids did not expect the large ship to move as fast as it did and thus they had trouble locking onto it and it got even harder as the Federation ship rolled under it, hiding away from the main weaponry.

()

"Target their engines but only disable them." Jarock ordered.

"Yes Commander."

()

The _Lleiset_ remained cloaked behind the _Bloodhound_ and as its forward phase cannons fired on the ion engines with only enough power to damage them, disabling the ship's main method of propulsion.

"It can fire while cloaked?!" Ahsoka exclaimed in shock, seeing energy weapons fired at the rear of the dreadnaught no sign of the ship that was firing. "I thought that was impossible!"

"Apparently not." Anakin said as the dreadnaught started to float helplessly with its engines destroyed. "I hope these people are up for talking."

By now the _Protector_ 's main anti-ship weapons were destroyed but its smaller weapons such as the smaller laser cannons, proton torpedo and missile launchers were still firing.

()

Durge grunted as the Separatist ship shook from another hit. "Where are they?"

"Behind us, sir. Boy they move fast." The droid commented. "Our engines have been damaged. We can't move. What are you going to do now?"

Durge narrowed his eyes. "The only thing we can do. Set the ship for self-destruct." Durge turned to the door. "We leave no trace left."

"Roger, roger."

()

"Captain, scans are picking up waves of triolic energy from both ships. And I am picking up a pulse of triolic energy being emitted on a low level sub space pulse from a derelict ship that's over four thousand kilometers away. It matches a Romulan _T'Liss_ Light Warbird." Inasi spoke up, looking through her scanners. "The amount of energy suggest-"

"Devidians." Shon frowned. "They must have hijacked those ships to take us out. Can we force them out?"

"Possibly…" Inasi said thoughtfully. "If we use the scanners to emit a low-leveled phased modulated pulse it'll effect the Devidians on those ships and force them to retreat or be killed by the pulse."

"And the crews onboard?" Shon asked.

"Depending on the power of the pulse the crew should be fine." Inasi answered.

Shon nodded. "Do it."

The _Enterprise_ emitted a pulse from its dish that reached out and engulfed both ships.

 ** _Protector  
_** **Bridge**

Yularen and the clone crew were still struggling to regain control of the _Protector_ as an energy wave passed through the ship and the blue light faded away, leaving ghost like creatures who screamed as they appeared on the bridge.

"What the kriff?!"

"Blast them!"

Any clones that were armed pulled out their weapons and shot at the ghosts who screamed as the blaster bolts singed their skins and seemingly faded away. Yularen watched as the ghosts slowly faded, screaming as they vanished from his bridge.

"Sir?"

"Check the controls and see to it that we are back in control." Yularen said, looking across the bridge. "And contact General Skywalker."

"Yes sir."

()

Anakin in the meantime was keeping his fighters close to his ship, glad that it was no longer firing on the two ships that had showed to be advanced and really powerful. The ship with the saucer shaped hull emitted some kind of energy pulse and as it passed through the Republic ships, thankfully not killing him or his men, the feeling of hunger he had sensed died away.

" _General Skywalker, this is the Protector._ " Yularen's voice spoke over the earpiece.

"Yularen, what happened? Why did you start firing on those ships?" Anakin asked, getting straight to the point.

" _We were attacked by strange creatures that appeared out of nowhere following a flash of blue light. We were fighting to take back control when they suddenly vanished._ " Yularen explained.

"Blue light?" Anakin frowned. "I remember the report from Masters Shaaki TI and Secura stating something about a blue light and ghost like creatures attacking them."

" _I believe they were the same creatures, General. I still have no idea what made them vanish._ "

"I might." Anakin looked at the two ships that remained stationary. "I'm opening a channel to both of them. Time to find out what's going on."

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _When we were assigned a mission to investigate rumors of ghosts appearing we didn't think much of it, thinking it was the ravings of people who had been driven crazy by the war. Needless to say we were wrong when not only did we face off against creatures that appeared out of nowhere like ghosts but ships that appeared out of a vortex, taking down a CIS dreadnaught and nearly us in the process. Whether we understood what was happening or not, the entire galaxy was about to be changed in ways we didn't see coming._


	11. Chapter 11

**USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Sir, we're being hailed by one of the fighters, audio only."

Shon faced the screen. "Let's hear it."

"… _Unknown vessels, this is General Anakin Skywalker of the Galactic Republic. Identify yourselves._ "

"This is Captain Va'kel Shon of the Federation starship _Enterprise_. I believe we have much to talk about, General Skywalker." Shon said with a small smile.

" _I believe so too, Captain. With your permission I would like to come aboard and speak with you._ "

"Of course. Proceed to the rear hangar bay. You will see it easily and cut your engines and deploy your landing gear as you approach. Our tractor beam will guide you in." Shon said before the channel was closed.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ahsoka asked as she and her master's fighters slowly approached the rear docking bay of the _Enterprise_.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained Snips." Anakin said, cutting his engines like Captain Shon said and deploying his landing gear.

As soon as both fighters powered their engines down a bright beam of light caught both ships and slowly pulled them into the hangar.

"This is new." Ahsoka commented as the ships were slowly lowered down softly onto the floor. "I've never experienced a landing as soft as this."

"Guess things are a little different from where they are from." Anakin said as his cockpit opened and he stepped out. "R2, stay with the ship."

"You too, R7." Ahsoka said as she stepped onto the floor.

Waiting for them were three officers dressed in what were obviously uniforms that were mostly black with red stripes at the shoulders and black boots.

"General Skywalker," The middle officer, a feline looking female stepped forward. "I am Lieutenant Kyona, here to escort you."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Anakin bowed his head and gestured to Ahsoka who copied his action. "This is my apprentice, Ahsoka Tano."

"Greetings." Kyona said and gestured for them to follow her, taking them to an elevator. "Bridge."

Both Anakin and Ahsoka briefly wondered how an elevator would take them up to the bridge unless it was at the very rear end but then they saw the bridge was moving sideways they realized that this ship was more different than they first thought. The elevator stopped and opened, revealing the bridge which was more spacious but with less people and consoles than expected of a ship this large.

In the center was a blue skinned man with antennae sprouting from his forehead, short white hair, and wore the same kind of uniform as Kyona and the other crew but the shoulders were white who stood up when he saw them step out of the lift and held out his hand. "General Skywalker, I'm Captain Shon. Welcome aboard the _Enterprise._ "

"Thank you, Captain." Anakin shook Shon's hand. "I got to say you have a fine looking ship."

Shon smirked and gestured to the woman who had pointed ears and wore a green uniform. "She's the flagship of the Federation fleet and the most advanced one as well. We are quite proud of her. And may I introduce Commander Jarok of the Romulan Republic Warbird _Lleiset_."

"A pleasure, General." Jarok said with a smile. "I am pretty sure you have a lot of questions."

"A few come to mind. We've never seen ships like yours or heard of a Romulan Republic and the only Federation I know of is the Trade Federation." Anakin stated.

"It's a bit complicated but to explain it simply a Federation starship monitored the creation of an anomaly in a region between Federation and Romulan space which actually turned out to be a spatial rift that led to this area of space. Two ships came out that we guessed came from this side of the portal." Shon explained. "I believe you might know one of the people." He turned to Kyona. "Can we establish contact with the other side?"

"We can now, Captain. The rift has properly been stabilized." Kyona nodded.

 **Other Side of the portal  
USS _Friedrich  
_ Bridge**

Padme remained silent as the battle ended, shocked that two ships that she admittedly knew were different managed to defeat a Separatist Dreadnaught with very little damage by the looks of it and was relieved as the Republic ship stopped firing its remaining weapons. She was surprised to see the Romulan ship vanish and somehow attack while still cloaked. She never knew it was possible for ships to attack while cloaked like the Romulan ship had done and wondered if she should consider herself lucky that no one in her galaxy had managed to come up with a way. The Separatists would have no doubt invested a lot into finding to attack while cloaked.

"So much for making a good impression." Malcolm sighed as he sat back in his chair. "They might not be so open to talking after they find out our ships just defeat a small taskforce by the looks of it, even if it was provoked. Has the _Enterprise_ reported any damage?"

"No sir." Surla answered. "They've reported a minor decrease in shields before compensating and the _Lleiset_ cloaked immediately upon being attacked. Both vessels are operating fully without any damage."

"That's nice to hear. Still, this-" Malcolm stopped in the middle of his sentence as multiple ships and escape pods launched from the hangar bay of the lead Separatist ship and it exploded a moment later. The ships that launched quickly went to what Malcolm believed to be hyperspace before anyone could do anything. "That was…unexpected. Did the _Lleiset_ inflict critical damage?"

" _Enterprise_ scanned negative." T'Vrell reported. "They must have self-destructed."

"That's odd…" Malcolm looked at Padme. "Is this normal procedure? Destroy a ship to prevent capture?"

"No, Captain but from the looks of the ship that just escaped I think that ship was crewed by bounty hunters or pirates." Padme answered.

"Bounty Hunters?" Malcolm asked in confusion. "You believe these ships were hijacked?"

"Actually…No. Though the Separatists will deny it they have handed out ships to Bounty Hunters for important missions and they will claim they were stolen." Padme answered.

"A low grade but effective move to ensure that the government faces no legal repercussions." T'Vrell commented. "Such tactics have been used by the old Romulan Empire when they made incursions into the Neutral Zone."

"There's always something." Malcolm shook his head. "Well at the very least the portal has been deemed safe to use and we can get started. Contact the _Enterprise_ and inform them we will be entering the portal shortly."

"Don't have to. They're hailing us." Surla reported.

"On screen."

Padme gasped as the view screen showed the bridge of the _Enterprise_ and there two familiar faces who were just as surprised to see her as she was to see them. "Anakin?! Ahsoka?!"

" _Padme?!_ "

Malcolm raised an eyebrow the slack jawed guests on both Federation ships. "You know each other?"

* * *

After a moment of heartfelt relief that his wife was alive Anakin insisted on going to the other side to see her personally. The _Enterprise_ , the _Lleiset_ and the _Protector_ moved into the rift with the _Protector_ being towed by a tractor beam from the _Enterprise_ and the Federation ship extended it shields over the damaged Republic cruiser to better protect it. Captains Shon and Jarok were both preparing detailed reports to submit to Starfleet and New Romulus Command based on the information submitted by Anakin and Ahsoka along with what Padme had already told the crew of the _Friedrich_ regarding the Galactic Republic and the Clone Wars. It was decided all ships would arrive at New Romulus for a proper debriefing and for a chance to properly repair the _Protector_.

The _Lleiset_ however left for a ten minutes, finding a derelict Romulan ship and destroyed it before returning to the group, ready to go through the portal.

"We are entering the wormhole, Captain." Kav said as the view screen showed the blue glowing tunnel that existed inside the portal.

"Very well, let me know when we emerge and keep me informed on the _Protector_ 's status." Shon said, turning in the direction of his ready room. "General Skywalker if you'll follow me. I believe we have much to speak about."

Anakin and Ahsoka followed Shon into his ready room, taking a moment to look around the nicely styled room before following Shon to his desk.

"Any of you need a drink or something to eat? It might be a long trip." Shon said once he sat down.

"We're fine, Captain. If I may ask how did Senator Amidala end up in your galaxy?" Anakin asked, still sorting through everything he had learned in the last half hour.

"Our best guess is that she wandered into it just as the Devidians created the portal and came through in the Romulan ship they stole." Shon answered, tapping his desk computer. "The Devidians must have used the artificial singularity aboard to create the portal."

"And these Devidians are the creatures that have been harassing ships in this area of space?" Anakin questioned.

"The Devidians are natives to the planet Devidia but for the lack of a better explanation they appear as ghosts to us because they live out of phase with our reality. They feed on neural energy and possibly formed a portal to this galaxy to find a new feeding ground." Shon answered.

"And that's why the _Lleiset_ found and destroyed that ship, isn't it?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes but even if the ship is destroyed it's possible the Devidians are able to still manifest in this galaxy. We only stopped them from using a power source to continue manifesting across this area of the galaxy." Shon nodded.

"Is there a permanent solution? The lanes that have been attacked are very important to the war effort." Anakin said, knowing that the Devidians would be a major threat to the Republic and could critically damage their ability to deploy ships in the sectors surrounding the portal.

"I'm afraid it might not be possible. Earlier this year we destroyed another source of power that would have allowed the Devidians to steal an entire sector but they still roam a station in that sector and there have been a few sources of triolic energy that they can use to board ships but most governments have shields installed to keep them from getting aboard." Shon answered. "Senator Amidala's ship and another ship belonging to the Separatists came out the other side of the portal and they've been there ever as we've been trying to figure what was happening."

"A Separatist ship?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes, the droid crew was disabled by the triolic energy from the portal but they reactivated. Fortunately they were not programmed to kill anyone who could figure out how to turn them off. They've been behaving since then and waiting for the chance to go back." Shon explained. "But first we've been asked to stop at New Romulus and give a proper debriefing. A lot has happened and we want to make sure the war you are part of doesn't extend through the portal and drag the Federation and the Romulan Republic into it. We have problems of our own without an invasion from another galaxy."

"We appreciate you saving Senator Amidala and I promise we won't let the war spill over into your territory." Anakin stated, grateful that his wife was alive and not in the least bit hurt.

"And we appreciate your honesty." Shon stood up. "Let's just hope the rest of your galaxy is as understanding."

 **Other Side of the portal  
USS _Friedrich  
_ Bridge**

"Well, that went smoother than I thought. Seems like Captain Shon has everything under control." Malcolm sighed in relief. "They should be through the portal in about five minutes. We'll meet them at New Romulus, I imagine they want to know what's going on ASAP. Set course for the New Romulus, maximum warp."

"Captain, long range scanners are picking up Klingon ships approaching. Estimated one point two hours before they arrive." T'Vrell spoke up.

"Belay that last order. I want us here when the Klingons arrive." Malcolm stood up and looked at Padme. "We will have to wait a little longer, Senator. I don't want the Klingons to push their way through the rift. I know the Romulans will try to keep the peace between us but our fight with them has left everyone a little hot headed."

"I see…" Padme said with sigh but understanding Malcolm's position.

"In the meantime why don't you join me in my ready room? I believe you had a few questions." Malcolm offered and led Padme to his ready room where he quickly walked over to his desk. "Now when we were talking out there with Captain Jarok she was speaking of the old Romulan Star Empire which was originally the Romulan government before their home planet was destroyed by a super nova, killing billions of people of fracturing the Romulan race into a dozen factions that fought for control. The Romulan Republic was formed by a splinter group of Romulans that grew tired of the old oppressive and deceptive regime that the old empire enforced through their secret intelligence agency the Tal Shiar which led to try and provoking races to declare war on them so that the Romulans could use it as a way to justify conquering their enemies."

Padme's eyes widened when she heard Malcolm's explanation. "That's awful!"

"Yes and a great deal in the Republic are not proud of the past for those reasons. They've been trying to end a conflict between us and the Klingon Empire for some time but it's not easy. Klingons are a warrior race, one of the best in the galaxy which makes them very prideful and stubborn but they are guided by a code of honor that keeps them from fighting for the sheer glory of it. The problem is the conflict has produced a few glory seeking warmongers who believe the only way the Empire can survive without threatening itself with civil war is an opponent they can fight. Unfortunately in this case it's us but at the same time they believe they are saving the Alpha Quadrant from a dangerous threat." Malcolm continued.

"What threat?" Padme questioned, listening carefully.

"We discovered a race of shapeshifters called the Undine that have infiltrated us and many other governments in the quadrant, the Klingons and over a dozen other governments with the intent of wiping us out from within. The Klingons discovered this plot first and acted quickly, killing any agents they found in their government and then invaded any neighboring species that they knew was infiltrated. The problem was they didn't inform the Federation Council which led the Council condemning the Klingons and after a few disagreements the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council broke off relations and renewed their fight with us even after we discovered they were right." Malcolm walked over the replicator. "Water, cold please."

" _Specify temperature._ "

"I want it bloody cold but not enough that it's not frozen." Malcolm answered, getting annoyed by how the computer couldn't figure things out on its own.

Padme watched as a glass of water appeared in a flash of light. "What is that?"

"A replicator. It can create almost anything asked of it so as long it is in the computer's memory banks." Malcolm answered with a smile as he took a sip. "Care for a drink?"

"No thank you, Captain. I'm all right for now." Padme politely declined. "So these Undine? Have you found them all? Why are they attacking you?"

"Not all of them because they are extremely hard to detect. We have a few contacts with them and we thought we had reached an understanding with them but they don't trust outsiders and we have evidence that someone attacked them while framing us at the same time. That was the threat Jarok was talking about. We found out that an ancient race known as the Iconians has been working behind the scenes to trick us in fighting each other so they can reestablish their empire which was defeated over two hundred thousand years ago when their home planet was bombarded to complete extinction. However the Iconians escaped through a special portal they designed that allows for instant transport from one place to another and have been planning their return ever since." Malcolm explained, finishing his water. "The Klingons know this as well and while they are not allied with us again we are not keen on killing each as we were before. We don't know much about the Iconians themselves other than they had a galaxy spanning empire and the myths surrounding them that labelled them as the Demons of Air and Darkness. A few had suggested this myths were passed down the victorious races that feared the Iconians for their gateway technology and that the Iconians were actually explorers instead of conquerors but there is little information aside from the fact that they are responsible for a great deal of destruction and loss recently."

"I see…" Padme sighed sadly at the fact that even in another galaxy there was still war and death. "Captain, do you have any plans once you return me to my home galaxy?"

"Well, we have no interest in joining this war you spoke of so at the very least we will want to inform the Republic and the Separatists of this so they don't wander through the portal and into our territory. If either government asks we are willing to mediate and attempt to end the war peacefully." Malcolm said thoughtfully as he put his glass back in the replicator and Padme watched as it vanished.

"That would generous, Captain." Padme said with a small smile. "The war has been going on for nearly three years and there is almost no end in sight."

" _Captain, the Klingon fleet is hailing us._ " T'Vrell's voice spoke through the intercom.

"On my way." Malcolm straightened himself up. "Let's see what they want now."

Once back on the bridge Malcolm gave a nod to Surla who opened communications and on the screen appeared a Klingon Commander, looking very stern but that was actually the norm amongst Malcolm's dealings with Klingons.

" _This is Brigadier Colonel Kereth of the Klingon Empire. I hear you and the Romulan Republic have come upon a rift leading to another galaxy._ "

"This is Captain Kurt Malcolm of the Federation starship _Friedrich_ and yes we came upon a rift. The Federation starship _Enterprise_ and the Republic Warbird _Lleiset_ are returning with locals from the other side to meet with us at New Romulus. If you are coming to take the rift I should warn you that its protected by Federation and Romulan ships."

" _You misunderstand, Captain. We do come to take this rift when we have already discovered another rift possibly leading to the same galaxy you speak of._ " Kereth answered with a small grin forming on his face.

"Another rift?" Malcolm questioned.

" _Yes, in the Azure Nebula. If you don't believe me perhaps the young woman on your bridge can clarify for you._ " Kereth made a gesture with his head and he stepped aside to reveal a short long eared being with a scar across his left eye and a human in a military uniform Malcolm did not recognize but heard Padme gasp. " _Was I right?_ "

" _Senator Amidala? What are you doing here?_ " The uniformed man asked.

"I…I don't believe it." Padme stuttered slightly. "Captain, they are from my galaxy. The man is a Republic officer and the one next to him is a Jedi General."

" _It seems the Federation and the Romulan Republic are not the only ones to reap the benefits of this discovery._ " Kereth was now grinning. " _A whole new galaxy just within reach of all our governments. I imagine the Federation will be hoping to use this opportunity to explore the new worlds on the other side._ "

"And what of the Klingons, Colonel?" Malcolm asked carefully.

Kereth laughed. " _Are you afraid we will go with the intention of conquering this new galaxy? Though many dream of the glory it would bring and possibly a new enemy for the Empire to face we have other matters to deal with, Captain. One matter would be ensuring the Tholians do not exploit the rift in the Azure Nebula for their own benefit any further due to the fleet of ships they destroyed and are possibly scavenging._ "

"A fleet of ships from the rift?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.

" _Yes, a Separatist fleet I imagine that followed these two through. I imagine the Tholians are hoping to find anything useful from the remains of the fleet that they destroyed. The High Chancellor has ordered us to represent the Empire at your meeting on New Romulus._ "

"Very well." Malcolm said as the transmission ended. "This is getting complicated."

"Another rift and the Separatists have already sent a fleet through it. They could be planning an invasion right now." Padme stated.

"They'll have to deal with the Klingons, the Romulans, and maybe the Tholians then. In the meantime I need to inform Starfleet of this. If there is another rift we need to make sure no one tries to take advantage of it and if the Tholians have ships from the other side in their custody they could use it to their advantage." Malcolm turned to walk back to his ready room but stopped when he was at the door. "T'Vrell, I hope you don't mind helping Senator Amidala read up on all the important aspects of our galaxy, namely the local governments and such while asking a few questions about the Republic. We can exchange some important information on the way to New Romulus."

"Aye Captain." T'Vrell stood up from her station and walked over to the Senator Amidala before gesturing to the turbo lift. "We can take this to your quarters, Senator. It is logical to assume we have a lot to talk about."

Padme nodded. "I agree."

"Set course for New Romulus and activate the Quantum Slipstream Drive." Malcolm said to Rako who nodded.

Padme watched as the ship entered a blue tunnel that looked similar to hyperspace as Rako entered the coordinates. "Estimated time to arrival, fifteen minutes."

"Good, sent to New Romulus High Command that we have made first contact with species on the other side of the rift and are arriving with diplomats and of a potential threat from the rift and that the Klingons are coming with representatives from the same galaxy from another rift." Malcolm requested. "And T'Vrell, I believe you can help Senator Amidala in studying up on the Romulan Republic so she knows what to expect as she represents her government."

"Aye sir."

 **Padme's Quarters**

"So your people and the Romulans are distant relatives?" Padma asked, sitting at the table and looking a PADD containing basic Romulan history.

"Yes. In ancient times our home planet Vulcan was ravaged by war due to the fact that we Vulcans possess intense emotions with the capability of great violence. It wasn't until a Vulcan named Surak began teaching others to suppress their emotions in favor of pure logic but there were many who disagreed. Eventually these Vulcans left our homeworld and settled on the planet Romulus which for many centuries became an Empire that was rife with paranoia and the belief that the entire universe was against them that often tried to provoke conflict with others to declare war on them to justify their beliefs." T'Vrell explained. "A small splinter group formed in the Empire thanks to the efforts of Ambassador Spock of Romulans who had grown tired of ways of the Empire and wished to reconnect with their Vulcan relatives. This group eventually split away and formed the Republic in the aftermath of Romulus's destruction."

"I see…How was Romulus destroyed?" Padme asked.

"The star in the Hobus system was artificially accelerated into a supernova that destroyed the planets Romulus and Remus, effectively killing over billions of Romulans and left the Empire crippled without leadership. Many leaders fought for control of the Empire and the Republic was formed amongst the conflict despite the objections of the Star Empire, most notably from Empress Sela who denounced the Republic as terrorists before her disappearance. The Republic now works to end the war between the Federation and Klingon Empire and there has been some progress as of late." T'Vrell answered. "The Empire is fractured now that its Empress has vanished and the Tal Shiar, the main intelligence division of the Empire now serves the Iconians who we suspect were the ones responsible for the super nova in the beginning."

"They caused a super nova?" Padma asked, shocked and appalled that someone would wipe out entire planets even though it's happened before in her universe.

In fact it almost happened to her world during the war.

"Yes, the Iconians have been discovered of manipulating events in our galaxy and we are working to find out why. Logic dictates that they wish to see the powers here fractured since it was an alliance of races from two hundred thousand years ago that defeated their empire and drove them off their home planet. We are hoping that the appearance of these rifts leading your galaxy might help in ending our wars and focus on the main threats." T'Vrell stated.

"I see. Perhaps news of your galaxy might help end the war in my galaxy. The Clone Wars were started nearly two years ago and it doesn't appear to be ending any time soon. All attempts at peace have failed." Padme said sadly.

"If I may ask, Senator, why did your Republic sanction the use of a clone army when it was discovered that it did not order the army?" T'Vrell questioned.

"We had no choice. The Separatist droid armies would have overwhelmed the Jedi." Padme answered.

"Jedi?" T'Vrell tilted her head.

"Oh right, you don't know about the Jedi. I keep forgetting this is a new universe. Basically the Jedi are peacekeepers in the Republic have been for a thousand years. The Jedi are basically scholars, healers, diplomats, and when there is no other choice, warriors. They use the Force, which is basically an energy field that is said to a power that gives life to the galaxy and allows the Jedi to wield extraordinary such as telekinesis, the ability to read minds and see the future, and heal wounds that would be fatal."

T'Vrell raised an eyebrow. "And these 'Jedi' are commanders of the clone army?"

"Yes. Though powerful the droids outnumbered the Jedi greatly and we had no choice but to accept the army." Padme nodded.

"Fascinating…Senator, I should point out to you that genetic engineering such as cloning are forbidden in the Federation and even the Romulan Republic and the Klingon Empire do not endorse it." T'Vrell commented.

"Really? Why?" Padme asked.

"During the twentieth century on Earth a band of genetically engineered humans led by a man named Kahn Noonien Singh ruled over a quarter of the planet with tyranny and oppression due to their belief of being superior to ordinary humans. The rest of the world fought against them in the Eugenics Wars, leading to the death of over thirty seven million people and led to World War Three that ended in the year 2053 with an estimated death toll of six hundred million. Fortunately the human race discovered FTL ten years later and made contact with my people who helped rebuild the Earth, removing war, famine, and disease." T'Vrell explained. "There is also the matter of the Dominion War thirty five years ago. The Dominion controls a large part of the Gamma Quadrant in this galaxy and uses a genetically engineered army, basically clones called the Jem'Hadar which fight on behalf of the Founders, a race of shape-shifters that the Jem'Hadar are genetically designed to revere as Gods. Millions died in the Dominion War and we were fortunate enough that we did not face the full might of Jem'Hadar due to the reinforcements in the Bajoran Wormhole disappearing, cutting the Dominion off and leaving them alone in the Alpha Quadrant."

"I heard a bit about the Dominion War. I've never heard of genetic engineering that caused so much destruction and death." Padme replied, her mind taking in all this history.

Remembering what Captain Malcolm had told her about many being afraid a repeat of this war she now understood that if the Dominion War had led to millions of deaths by an army of clones it would make sense for them to be possibly biased against the Republic for approving the use of the clone army created on Kamino for use against the Separatists. She herself had pointed out that millions of clones died each day to protect the Republic but many Senators could not care less for as far as they were concerned fighting and dying were what the clones were bred for. The death of thirty seven million people on Earth because of genetic engineering along with the additional six hundred million was horrifying to Padme for even though she was no stranger to war the idea of so many deaths on a single planet after going through two wars fought by its own people was not common in her galaxy. Sure there were feuds on multiple planets that even descended into civil war but the Republic and the Jedi always intervened before it got too serious.

But this galaxy had no Galactic Republic or Jedi, forcing it and its people solve things on their own.

Perhaps it was the harsh lessons of war that led to Earth forming the Federation just as the years of oppression had turned a colony of exiled Romulans into their own free government.

"Yes. Though you say the Republic is not like the Dominion and will not seek war with us there are many out there who will possibly see similarities between the Jem'Hadar and your clone army." T'Vrell continued.

"The clones are created to serve the Republic but they have their own minds and are living beings." Padme pointed out, slightly defensive.

"I know and no one here is judging you and your government. I am merely explaining what you are to possibly expect." T'Vrell stated, remaining calm at Padme's slight outburst.

"Of course." Padme nodded, calming down, knowing T'Vrell meant no offence. "I understand and thank you for being truthful, T'Vrell."

"You are welcome, Senator." T'Vrell did not seem to be offended. "Now then, onto other matters. What can you tell me about the Separatists?"

"Well, they formerly call themselves the Confederacy of Independent Systems and broke away from the Republic under the belief that the Republic has become too corrupted. Their leader is Count Dooku and the Separatist Council is composed of Trade Federation, the Commerce Guilds, the Techno Union, and the Corporate Alliance, all of them are major mega-corporations that broke away because the Republic imposed taxations on the trade routes." Padme answered. "They supply the Separatists with their droid armies in order to make a profit."

"And the Separatists have approved these mega-corporations acting as their political heads?" T'Vrell asked.

"As far as I know no one has spoken up against it." Padme shrugged.

T'Vrell raised an eyebrow. "Strange. The Separatist believe your Republic is corrupt but they allow mega-corporations to politically act on their behalf. Logic suggests that corporations acting politically on behalf of any government could influence the government to act in their own interests instead of the people they represent."

"I've had the same thoughts myself. What about your Federation? How does it deal with corporations?" Padme asked. "It must be expensive to build an entire fleet of exploration ships."

"The Federation does not utilize money in its economy. It was decided that corporations would not play a vital role in Federation development. We do have a form of currency such as energy credits along with gold pressed latinum however it is mostly used for dealing with colonies, corporate entities and species not part of the Federation such as the Ferengi." T'Vrell told the Senator who looked shocked. "You seem surprised?"

"I-I am just a little surprised. I've never met anyone whose government didn't rely on any form of income." Padme stated, herself surprised by the idea of an economy that spanned one a hundred and sixty member worlds with hundreds of colonies and dozens of races even serving in the Federaion could function without any form of currency.

"You will find that most governments here use their own form of credits but they are mainly used in home systems, even ones part of the Federation. Even the Klingons don't use money in their fleet, believing concepts of money to be wasteful and a path leading to dishonor but many Klingon Houses each maintain their own share of influence over land and fleets in the Klingon Empire that help maintain the Klingon economy. We are capable of producing various forms of currency including values such as diamonds with our replicators so the need for money was considered redundant and wasteful." T'Vrell stated.

Padme smiled. "I think a lot of people from where I come from could learn a thing or two from the people of this galaxy."

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Emerging from the Rift**

Anakin had to admit, the _Enterprise_ was truly a unique ship. It resembled a luxury cruise liner but was powerful enough to take on a Separatist Dreadnaught and a Republic cruiser. The shape of it possibly was meant to account for speed and maneuverability despite its size. Personally Anakin was fonder of the way the _Lleiset_ was made, appreciating its predator like design.

He briefly wondered if he could convince the Kuat Yards to build a similar design to the warbird as the Federation and Romulan people had called it. Scans detected over twenty seven torpedo tubes and fifty two energy weapons during the battle and there was the fact it could cloak and attack at the same time. They might not get a cloaking device but with a ship like the _Lleiset_ the Republic would probably have a better chance at winning the war.

He and Ahsoka were given separate quarters, even though he would have preferred Ahsoka being with him and he could sense his Padawan was in her room, possibly dong the same thing he was. There was a shift in the Force and suddenly everything was quiet. He could still sense Ahsoka but the Force was suddenly more silent. Strangely he felt something else in the Force, centering around the _Enterprise_ , as if it was a living being itself which was strange. Anakin closed his eyes and his mind was suddenly overtaken with images.

 _A fleet of ships, numbering in thousands of different shapes, sizes, and designs that he had never seen before._

 _Cube shaped ships that he recognized instantly, fighting the ships along with Republic and Separatist ships. "Resistance is futile."_

 _Aliens he had never seen before appearing before him, some holding axe like weapons while others had rifles while a puddle sprouted from the ground in front of them, forming into a humanoid. "All solids will fall."_

 _He watched as clones changed into large aliens that glared at him with yellow eyes. "The weak will perish!"_

 _A swirling vortex of darkness appearing and out of it stepped a creature, its body made of darkness with yellow eyes and a glowing core where the heart possibly was. "You chase our shadows and you will fall. You cannot pierce the darkness."_

 _"You were my brother, Anakin!" Obi-Wan's voice shouted from all around him._

 _"MASTER!" Ahsoka shouted and screamed but he couldn't see her._

 _And in the swirling mist of visions one stood out, a figure as tall as a Wookie, dressed head to toe in black armor and a cape with a black face resembling a machine, staring at him with black empty lenses that sent shivers through him. "It is your destiny."_

 _"ANAKIN!" His wife's voice screamed in the darkness._

Anakin gasped as he stepped back, falling onto the floor as he grasped his head. That vision…It felt so real. What had it meant? Was something going to happen?

He remembered the cube shaped ships he had seen, fighting against ships similar to the _Enterprise_ along with Republic and Separatist ships fighting together. Did that mean the Borg were coming back?

He looked at the computer and decided to see if there was any way to find out what his vision meant. "Computer, look for any possible records regarding a species called the Borg."

" _Records found._ " The computed replied and showed a shocked Anakin all of its logs.

Anakin was stunned as he read them over, realizing what it all meant: the Borg had come from this galaxy.

Getting up he left his quarters and walked up to the nearest crewman. "I need to speak to Captain Shon immediately."

 **Ahsoka's Quarters**

Ahsoka was lounging in the guest quarters, absently tapping with the computer as she studied up on the Federation but for the most part she was bored. She felt the Force come alive as the _Enterprise_ entered the rift, the sound and soul of the Force washing over her as the ship traveled to the other side, pulsing and singing as the _Enterprise_ simply rode the waves. The _Enterprise_ itself seemed to be as alive even though it was impossible as no form of technology was capable of containing or able to wield the Force. She could literally hear the song echoing through the ship that was so warm and comforting it was as strange as it was riveting to the young Padawan.

It was like the _Enterprise_ actually had a soul and the crew onboard was filling it, making it whole and complete.

She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself as she took in the sensation as the Force pulsed again…

And her mind was swept away in a torrent of visions.

 _Men, woman, and so many beings wearing the same uniform as Captain Shon and Jarock along with other beings wearing armor standing together as multiple ships emerged tunnels of darkness._

 _An explosion in the Jedi Temple and a cloaked figure stepped through the fire. "The Republic is falling. It's only a matter of time."_

 _"Good soldiers follow orders."_

 _She saw Jedi dying, unable to see who was killing them._

 _People from her galaxy wearing the Federation, Romulan Republic, and other kinds of uniforms, standing together on countless ships._

 _The Clone Wars expanding, Jedi and clones fighting together on multiple planets, Separatist droid armies conquering just as many planets as the Republic tries to push them back._

 _A giant sphere shaped space station, sitting in space, surrounded by Federation ships that came under attack by a massive Separatist fleet, releasing landing ships onto the station._

 _She saw herself in front of the Jedi Temple as it burned, standing in front of her Master and legions of clones as they marched forward._

 _Her Master's eyes turned yellow, full of anger and hate. His face slowly morphed into a black mask with black soulless lenses and a triangular shaped orifice that emitted a strange and ominous breathing sound._

 _"Join me and together we can rule the galaxy."_

 _"Ahsoka…" A flash of light burned away the darkness and Ahsoka watched as it formed into a familiar figure from Mortis._

 _"You." Ahsoka whispered as the Force Being known as the Daughter appeared. "But you are dead."_

 _"But am I with you, Ahsoka and I have been since Mortis. A small bit of my power remains with you and now I can truly communicate with you with no shroud of the Dark Side blocking me."_

 _"Shroud of the Dark Side?" Ahsoka questioned._

 _"Ahsoka, you must listen to what I say. The Sith have been able to cloud the Jedi's vision but traveling too this new universe has lifted that cloud for you. Though my brother and I perished with our Father the Sith have still gained strength from my death and if something is not done they will prevail."_

 _"But the Jedi Order, the Republic, my Master…" Ahsoka trailed off._

 _The Daughter sadly shook her head. "I do not wish to hurt you Ahsoka but the Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen much greater than you can imagine. It may be too late to save it."_

 _Ahsoka gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "That…That can't be."_

 _"It is." The Daughter sadly nodded. "You cannot grasp how far it has fallen and what great changes are about to occur."_

 _"Great changes?" Ahsoka asked._

 _"Yes for you see not even my Father could have predicted the emergence of this new universe. Though it is likely the Force anticipated such a notion no one Sith or Jedi could have predicted this. This could lead to the salvation or destruction of the galaxy." The Daughter explained with a small smile. "It is different from our galaxy and yet it sings bright with the Force with tunes that are altering the several possible futures that I have envisioned."_

 _"Can it help us?" Ahsoka asked._

 _The Daughter closed her eyes in contemplation. "Possibly but they will need help from others in our galaxy, from people like you."_

 _"Me?" Ahsoka questioned. "Why me?"_

 _"You play a greater role than you think, Ahsoka. Watch the people of this new galaxy and listen to the Force without the disturbance of the Dark Side." The Daughter held a hand to Ahsoka's cheek. "You will see new places, new worlds, and new people just as this new world will explore our galaxy. Help them understand and learn about them."_

 _Ahsoka was about to ask more but the Daughter stepped back and vanished in a blast of light._

Ahsoka blinked as the visions ended, finding herself back in her guest quarters. She was gasping slightly, feeling like she had just been through a battle and looked ready to collapse from sheer exhaustion. Those visions were more powerful than any she had ever experienced before.

" _Bridge to General Skywalker and Commander Tano. We are emerging from the rift and setting course for New Romulus._ "


	12. Chapter 12

**New Romulus Orbit  
USS _Friedrich_**

The capital of the Romulan Republic was a hub of activity from what Padme has seen when the _Friedrich_ arrived in orbit of the planet. There was something about New Romulus that reminded her of her home planet, Naboo. Only it had two moons with one of them broken and twin suns and was located close to the Azure Nebula. Ships that looked Federation, Klingon, Romulan and other kinds of ships of a design she did not recognize were in orbit of the planet.

T'Vrell mentioned that the Republic was allying itself with both the Federation and the Klingon Empire and was working to try and end the fighting. It was slow as it had participated on either side during the skirmishes but the Republic also had problems of its own. T'Vrell hadn't been able to go into details but she mentioned the Republic made enemies with the warring factions in the old Romulan Empire that denounced the Republic as traitors and terrorists. Then was apparently other problems with other spacefaring nations looking to take advantage of the power vacuum left by the old empire's deterioration.

"Assuming standard orbit, Captain." Rako reported.

"Good. T'Vrell, you're with me, Zohn, you have the bridge." Malcolm said, looking at the Bolian who nodded. "Senator, if you'll follow us to the transporter room."

Nodding silently Padme followed Malcolm and T'Vrell through the halls until they stopped at a room with a large pad set into alcoves into one side of the room with a console on the other side.

"What is this?" Padme asked, stopping in front of the pad.

"The transporter." Malcolm answered with a small grin. "The most efficient method of leaving the ship, safer than even shuttle transport."

"What do you mean?" Padme questioned.

"It is a matter-transporter. It breaks down your structure at the quantum level, beams it to another location and reassembles your molecules at the destined location." T'Vrell stated as she stepped onto the pad. "It is actually quite safe and has been used for over the past two hundred years."

Padme herself felt overwhelmed by the explanation as the idea of devices that could teleport people was overwhelming but the explanation slightly frightened her. "And this…Is a normal method of travel that works all the time?"

"It's perfectly safe plus it saves time and less likely to give you turbulence." Malcolm stated with a smile that was a little too cheerful.

"Very well." Padme slowly stepped onto the pad, taking a deep breath.

"Energize." Malcolm called out and the landing party disappeared in a flash of light.

 **New Romulus  
New Romulus Command**

Padma didn't even blink as she looked around, suddenly realizing she was on a planet and not on a ship. Not even a second had passed and she barely had a chance to consider what she was doing before it was already done. She looked around and saw herself in what looked a building, a large round interior long pillars with ivy growing around them, flags hanging in between the pillars, showing a bird with its wings spread out and above a sun with a stone balcony that showed a beautiful view of two cliffs and a river in between.

"Welcome to New Romulus command." Malcolm said, drawing Padme out of her daze. "We better hurry. I don't want to keep Admiral Kererek waiting."

Padme followed the Starfleet officers to the Admiral's Office, taking the chance to look around, seeing the numerous Romulans and Remans and other races she did not recognize.

"That transporter of yours, it's different than anything I've ever seen before." Padme commented, trying to imagine what would happen if these transporters existed in her galaxy.

"Almost all known space faring races in the Milky Way Galaxy have transporters." Malcolm replied. "It's almost unheard of that no one has tried inventing them or even theorized that it was possible."

"I can't remember a time when teleportation or transporters like yours was ever theorized." Padme stated, looking away for second. "Perhaps it is a good thing."

They entered the officer where Admiral Kererek and an aid were waiting for them.

"Captain Kurt Malcolm." Kererek stood up, offering the traditional Romulan salute by bringing his right hand to his chest, closing it into a fist. "Good to finally meet you. A great many of my people owe you for helping us before."

"My pleasure, Admiral." Malcolm returned the salute. "We have a lot to talk about but first I'd like to introduce our visitor from another galaxy, Senator Padme Amidala of Naboo."

Padme stepped forward, copying the salute she saw from both officers as a sign of respect. "Admiral."

"Senator." Kererek greeted. "News of another galaxy being only a jump away close to our territory has spread like wild fire through the Republic. What is concerning to us is the civil war, this Clone War that was mentioned in the reports and the possibility of it spreading. I understand there has already been a few skirmishes already between our flagship, the _Enterprise_ , and ships from both your factions."

"Yes. A Republic cruiser and Separatist dreadnaught but I know there were extenuating circumstances." Padme answered.

"I know. The _Friedrich_ already sent its report on the Devidians entering your galaxy and I must say it's a good thing we arrived when we did. The Devidians have been a major threat to everyone in the Beta Quadrant once before. In the meantime we'll have to divert ships to the rift to make sure there's no more incidents. I also know the Klingons will be here with their own visitors and that a rift is forming in the Azure Nebula." Kererek stated. "We are more concerned about that rift, especially since the Tholian Assembly have been known to use the rifts there as a secret base to deploy their ships and capture ships from all over the quadrant. And there is the matter of a possible invasion from that rift with New Romulus positioned at the very boarder of the nebula. Therefore when the _Lleiset_ arrives I will be authorizing a mission to your Republic to ensure this war does not spread into our galaxy."

"Of course, Admiral." Padme nodded in understanding.

"In the meantime I hope you will enjoy our hospitality here on New Romulus." Kererek gestured to his window. "It's not every day we can say welcome to people from another galaxy. Perhaps this rift will be a great opportunity for both sides. If there is nothing else to discuss."

Malcolm saluted the admiral again. "Jolan Tru."

"Jolan Tru, Captain Malcolm." Kererek returned the salute before the group left the officer.

"That went as well as I expected." Malcolm commented once they were back out in the hall.

"Indeed." T'Vrell agreed.

"I just hope the Separatists don't try anything that could lead to war between two galaxies." Padme said somberly. "War in a single galaxy is bad enough."

" _Friedrich to Captain Malcolm. The Enterprise and Lleiset have arrived with the Klingon and Republic ships._ "

"Well, now we can get to the bottom of this." Malcolm said with a small sigh.

 **New Romulus Orbit  
USS _Enterprise_**

"I got to admit, it's a nice looking planet." Ahsoka commented as she and her master stood on the bridge of the _Enterprise,_ looking over the planet New Romulus.

Anakin nodded in agreement as the _Spearpoint_ and the _Protector_ moved with the Federation and Klingon ships into orbit of the planet. He had to admit he had admired the design of the Klingon ships the instant he laid his eyes on them. The _B'rell_ class Birds of Prey were smaller but moved like fighters, both fast and lethal while the larger ships could possibly be considered the Klingon version of a Star Destroyer, though most were actually smaller than the capital ships used by the Republic and the Separatists. He considered asking the Klingons if he could get a closer look at their ships for the sake of curiosity and for the possibility of seeing if they could help in the war.

The obvious differences between Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ship designs became more apparent as Anakin looked over the numerous ships orbiting the planet. Federation ships seemed to incorporate beauty and elegance into their design, similar to Naboo Nubian and possibly Mon Calamari design which made them look like luxury liners instead of actual warships. They also appeared to be more maneuverable which was possibly accounted for in the design and was capable of high speed maneuvers as the _Enterprise_ had shown. Klingon ships leaned more in the direction of being true warships, their appearance giving them the impression of fierce predators that would make anyone opponent feel hesitant to engage them in combat. Romulan ships were similar to Klingon ships but they looked like they were designed to give off appearance of overwhelming power in addition to size for the larger ships like the _Lleiset_ but no less powerful as the Romulan ship had proven when fighting a Separatist Dreadnaught.

"We have established orbit, Captain. New Romulus Command is giving us coordinates to beam down." Inasi reported.

"Good, let's not keep them waiting." Shon stood up from his command chair. "General Skywalker, Commander Tano with me."

Anakin and Ahsoka followed Shon and Kyona off the bridge, believing he was leading them back to the hangar bay but instead he led them into a room with a large pad on one side of the room.

"What is this?" Ahsoka asked, watching as Shon and Kyona stepped onto the pad.

"The transporter." Shon answered. "Our main method of leaving the ship instead of using shuttles. Come, it will not harm you."

Anakin and Ahsoka shared a look before slowly stepping onto the pad.

"Energize." Shon said to the Tellarite at the controls who nodded.

Anakin and Ahsoka watched as he tapped the console and a second later their vision was engulfed by a world of light.

:::

Padme watched as the landing part from the newly arrived ships appeared in the New Romulus Command, smiling at the sight of Anakin and Ahsoka appearing and looking disorientated from the experience. The surprised look on her husband's face was very amusing and to be honest she would treasure this moment before returning to their home galaxy and the war. In addition to Anakin and Ahsoka the Klingon Colonel had beamed down with Master Piell and Tarkin and a few Klingon guards.

"Welcome to New Romulus Command." Commander Jarock said once everyone regained their bearings. "I hope you enjoy your brief stay."

"Thank you, Commander." Anakin sent a small smile at Padme which she returned but this action did not go unnoticed by a few of the people around them.

"I know some of you are anxious to return to your galaxy but I'd ask that you'd wait at least until we are all agreed on how we'd like to proceed." Jarock said. "You're welcome to see more of New Romulus as we finish our de-briefing."

* * *

Admiral Kererek waited patiently as the Federation, Romulan, and Klingon representatives presented what they knew of the new galaxy. "So it's confirmed that another rift into this new galaxy has appeared in the Azure Nebula."

"Yes and there have already been a few skirmishes." Jarock nodded. "General Skywalker gave us a brief outline of the war and the political parties that represent the two parties currently leading the war. The Republic which has the clone army and these warrior monks called Jedi that act as the Generals and the Confederacy of Independent Systems that uses an army of primitive AIs called battle droids. The leading commander of the droid army is a cyborg named General Grievous with other commanders being mostly made of merchants and bankers with little to no combat experience."

"During their stay in our space our doctors treated injured clones and we discovered something." Colonel Kerath spoke up, placing a PADD on Kererek's desk. "These clones have shown signs of modifications, specifically in the region that controls the process of cellular decay and repair. These clones were created in five to ten years and they have already reached young adulthood."

"They must have accelerated the aging process. The Dominion modified the Jem'Hadar to reach adult age in less than two weeks." Malcolm stated.

"Yes and these clones were obviously made to grow as fast as reasonable possible to be ready for combat." Shon agreed.

"There's more to it than that. My doctors reported to me of finding something else when they scanned clones that possibly showed symptoms of head trauma." Kerath tapped the PADD and showed everyone. "A neurological implant of some form, possibly a bio-chip embedded in the brain, specifically in the area that controls emotional reactions. Scans confirmed it was installed into them at birth or at least in the early stages of their creation."

"Any theories why they would have a bio-chip installed in their brains?" Kererek questioned, his mind racing and drawing unpleasant conclusions that came from his experience with the Tal Shiar.

"Most likely to ensure obedience much like the Dominion ensured the obedience of the Jem'Hadar through the use of ketrecal white." Kerath stated disdainfully. "If ordered to do something they would personally dislike the bio-chip possibly ensures no emotions that would cause them to hesitate."

"So we have one army of machines led by corporates with almost no experience commanders and another is an army of genetically modified humans led by warrior monks with psionic abilities." Malcolm remarked. "This is unique situation. Senator Amidala told me she along with several senators have tried to negotiate a cease fire but the peace talks always break down due to some unforeseen attack and the Republic's banks are almost completely aimed at producing more clones. The Senate seems more focused on actually winning the war despite her concerns that the Republic will be bankrupt before the war is over. She is especially worried for the lack of funding for schools and basic needs along with the tax increase which is putting possibly thousands of people in debt."

"And the Republic offers no solution to this?" Kererek questioned.

"Not to her knowledge. The most they did was open a new line of credit but it was only done to increase spending on their army." Malcolm answered.

"Skywalker and his student Tano are both veterans of this war. Skywalker completely believes that the Separatists are corrupted traitors and their claims of the Republic being corrupt is nothing but lies and his student seems more or less to agree but she's more hesitant in believing all Separatists are evil." Shon stated.

"They put a child on the front lines?" Kererek asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's a Jedi student and apparently the Jedi are more or less military commanders that have taken heavy losses in the war." Shon stated, though he personally disagreed with sending someone Ahsoka's age out into war, no matter how skilled she was or what her abilities were.

"This is becoming more complicated than I thought." Kererek rubbed his head. "Can we even afford to investigate this matter in light of our own conflicts?"

"The High Council has decided to investigate this matter especially in light of the matter of the Undine appearing in this new galaxy." Kerath replied, earning all attention to him.

"The Undine?" Shon asked, partially afraid.

"One appeared on General Piell's ship and is mostly responsible for their presence here. The High Council believes this is an opportunity to shift our attention away from the war with the Federation." Kerath answered.

"Away from the war? Are you implying the High Council is open to ending the war with the Federation?" Malcolm asked carefully.

"Not all agree with the Chancellor's decision to declare war on the Federation especially since it brought us great dishonor for our failure to hold up our commitment of the alliance when we did not inform the Federation Council before we invaded the Gorn. Many believe the only way the Empire can survive is through constant war with the Federation, the Borg, or whoever can present us a challenge." Kerath explained sternly. "If the Undine are in a new galaxy the High Council and the Chancellor sees as an opportunity and possibly a new challenge they will immediately move that we establish a presence on the other side of the rift."

"What about the Iconians? Could they have a connection to this?" Jarock questioned. "They tricked the Undine into infiltrating the Alpha and Beta Quadrants to weaken us and they engineered the Hobus supernova through the Tal Shiar to destroy Romulus. Perhaps this new galaxy is another plan of theirs."

"Why would they be interested in another galaxy? They ruled this galaxy before being driven away centuries ago." Malcolm asked.

"We can't rule out the possibility of the Iconians manipulating events in this other galaxy. So in the event that they have an agenda we need to find out what." Shon stated, looking at everyone in the room. "And the Undine aren't the only threat."

"What do you mean, Captain?" Kererek asked.

"General Skywalker came to me on the way to New Romulus with an unsettling discovery. Almost a week ago his fleet encountered a Borg Cube." Shon answered.

That earned the undivided attention of everyone in the room.

"The Borg?" Malcolm asked, now feeling very uneasy.

"In another galaxy somehow. General Skywalker managed to defeat the Cube and stop a boarding party at considerable cost but the fact remains that the Borg have found a way into this new galaxy." Shon grimly explained.

"This changes everything." Kererek said, frowning at the news. "We can't ignore a galaxy where the Borg are running loose even if they have been repelled. They will be back. And I believe this requires all of our attention."

No one looked ready to argue.

"But we also have another matter." Kererek stood up. "As you are all aware an Iconian gateway was found during our colonization of this planet. The gateway discovered beneath the surface of New Romulus is prepared and ready for activation. Because the Romulan Republic is dedicated to sharing the gateway and all we learn from it with our allies, we are inviting representatives of the Romulan Republic, the Federation, and the Klingon Defense Force to join us for the first trip through the gateway. D'Tan would be honored if you call could join us."

* * *

The small Romulan village surrounding the New Romulus Command was peaceful and a beautiful place much like Naboo which was something Padme could appreciate as she wandered through the village with her husband, Ahsoka, Piell and Tarkin as they waited for the debriefing to end.

"So the Romulans lost their homeworld to a super nova and now this is their new home?" Ahsoka asked as they walked through the village.

"It's the gist of it, Ahsoka." Padme remarked as they stopped in front of what appeared to be a restaurant or a bar.

The bartender was not a Romulan which was an obvious fact by his grey skin, pointed ears, and fang like teeth which all made him look like a vampire. "Can I help you? I understand you are visitors from another galaxy."

"I see word travels fast." Tarkin raised an eyebrow at the creature which frowned at him.

"Indeed it does and I'm a Reman, not a vampire." The bartender answered.

Tarkin seemed taken back. "I didn't-"

"You were thinking it." The Reman bartender sharply cut him off.

"You are telepathic?" Anakin asked.

"It is rare but many species are capable of telepathy. My people have been capable of telepathy and other powers for centuries, which was perhaps one of the only things the old empire tolerated about us." The Reman looked at the rest of the group. "Do you wish for some refreshments?"

"Oh, thank you." Padme quickly said as they walked into the café which was a little dark. "Is it always-"

"Dark? I apologize for my people are not used to the light. I will light some candles immediately." The bartender answered. "I am Zobarr by the way."

"Thank you, Zobarr." Padme said as they sat down at one of the few tables. "I take it your people were not willing members of the old Romulan Empire?"

"You are correct. In fact we were the first after the Romulan settled on Romulus and soon enough colonized the twin planet Remus." Zobarr answered as he looked at everyone at the table. "First off is there any kind of food you usually prefer? I speak to you two mostly." He glanced at Piell and Ahsoka. "I would not want there to be incident because I served you the wrong food that caused any form of distress."

"Uh, it's all right. My kind usually eats meat but I won't say no to any vegetables." Ahsoka awkwardly answered.

"I'm fine with whatever." Piell answered.

"Good. Is there anything specific you want?" Zobarr asked.

"We'll just take any recommended food that humans can eat." Anakin answered politely.

Zobarr nodded and walked over to a device and spoke in a language the group did not understand but watched as food and glasses of water appeared in flashes of light.

"Wow." Ahsoka marveled as Zobarr brought their lunch over. "You can just make food like that?"

"I saw a bit of this in the _Friedrich_. They're replicators and they're like transporters but they can make almost anything out of nothing." Padme said with a small smile.

"Intriguing." Tarkin stated as Zobarr put the food on the table.

"Since humanoids are omnivores I decided to try a well-known dish back on Earth. What you see is a steak made at the appropriate temperature with hot mashed potatoes and corn on the cob." Zobarr answered. "The drinks are pure water at two degrees."

"Thank you." Padme nodded in appreciation, smelling the meal as the group started eating but as Zobarr turned away she could not help but speak up. "Zobarr, can you answer a few questions?"

"Hm?" Zobarr looked back at Padme.

"You're people, you said you are from Remus, Romulus's twin planet. Does that mean that-"

"It is gone like Romulus. Yes." Zobarr solemnly nodded. "It was destroyed by the supernova created by the Hobus star."

"I'm sorry." Padme bowed her head in apology. "I didn't mean to-"

"It is nothing. It is a pain that both our people have been forced to endure." Zobarr stated. "At the very least the Reman and Romulan people are attempting to start over and leave the old ways behind."

"You were slaves?" Anakin asked, taking a bite out of the stake.

"My people were always considered an undesirable part of the old empire and were forced to work in the mines of Remus. It was uninhabitable to the Romulans and they decided that we would earn our place in the empire by doing mining our home to aid their empire in its destiny as the future ruler of the galaxy. The planets were destroyed and our people scattered but a group led by the Romulan D'Tan who gathered others like him, sick of the oppressive and deceptive regime of the old empire and led us here." Zobarr explained. "Things have improved over the last few years but many of us are still scattered amongst the stars."

"I'm sorry that you've had to endure all that pain." Padme said, saddened by the cruel fate the Remans had endured.

"Think nothing of it. We are improving now." Zobarr waved it off. "Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

"Yes, about the meeting. What exactly will they all do?" Anakin asked. "They all say they don't want to be involved in the war but they can't ignore these rifts appearing."

"The Federation will not involve itself, at least not directly as its Prime Directive forbids it from meddling into the internal affairs of others, including civil wars. The Romulan Republic is no condition to intervene as we are still working to unify many colonies that were cut off once the homeworlds were destroyed. The Klingons…It will be difficult to predict what their plan will be." Zobarr answered after a moment of contemplation. "I have served many Klingons here before and I know many tire of the stalemate between them and the Federation. Some believe that they can only survive through constant battle with the Federation while others either want a weapon that will end the war with the Federation or an enemy that the Empire can fight to forget its animosity with the Federation."

"Why don't the Klingons simply negotiate with the Federation? It was done before from what I have learned." Padme commented.

"The Klingons know that the Undine have still infiltrated many governments, including the Federation so to them negotiation would be out of the question. Though many do not agree with the Chancellor's decision to break off the Khitomer Accords with the Federation as it goes against their honor towards their allies Klingons do not question the word of their Chancellor unless he has proven to be a dishonorable coward who would lead the Empire to ruin. J'mpec has channeled the Empire's passion for battle into fighting these unseen enemies, the Undine, the Iconians and many other threats that have appeared since the destruction of Romulus and Remus." Zobarr explained. "The Klingons have a passion for battle beyond almost all known reason but they will not go to war with these Separatists of yours for they have not done anything to provoke the Empire. Though many might see them as warmongering brutes they are at least barely kept in check by their honor and egos."

"I see." Piell nodded. "Thank you."

Zobarr nodded and walked to the back of the café.

"It's a shame they won't aid us. This transporter technology of theirs would have been useful." Tarkin mused. "Perhaps they could be persuaded to trade technology with us."

"And what if it falls into the hands of the Separatists?" Ahsoka asked, having finished her steak which she actually enjoyed. "Can you imagine what Dooku or Grievous would do with it?"

"And if we used it first we could capture them or send a bomb to their ships, destroying the Separatist leadership in one fell swoop." Tarkin calmly retorted. "A simple use of this technology could win the war."

"And what would we do with it after? We have no idea how this technology works or the possible consequences of it. The Federation has used it over the last two hundred years but it took a great deal of work to perfect it." Padme pointed out. "And it could drag this galaxy into the war. We cannot guarantee that these transporters could end the war."

"It would make it easier though." Anakin pointed out.

"But we can't force them to hand it over." Padme shook her head. "They have their own wars here. We can't depend on them to solve our problems for us."

"Perhaps then we can help end their wars." Tarkin smoothly answered. "I believe myself to be a fair person, Senator. An exchange in ending wars in both galaxies is not out of the question."

"And how we can end any wars in this galaxy? This isn't the Republic." Ahsoka commented. "We do not have the jurisdiction here."

"And here I thought Jedi were peacekeepers. Does it matter if these governments are part of the Republic or not?" Tarkin retorted.

Ahsoka scowled at the man's attitude. "I am saying since they are not Republic and never heard of us they probably don't want our help or won't accept so quickly."

"Hm, then perhaps an offer should be made." Tarkin said calmly. "A simple bargain to benefit both parties. It is not that complicated, you are just making it complicated."

" _I'm_ making it complicated?" Ahsoka repeated, now starting to become annoyed.

"The Romulans need help to create a new government, the Klingons and the Federation are fighting because of a race of shapeshifters who have appeared in our galaxy. An alliance against these creatures is simply the logical conclusion." Tarkin explained. "We protect each other from all known threats, these Undine, the Borg, and the Separatists. The fact of the matter is we must consider all possible ideas to defeat the Separatists to end the war and an alliance with the powers could aid us in that matter and help us learn of possible threats in this galaxy."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Tarkin. They have to figure out what they will do. And with our ships repaired we can return through the rife to submit our reports to the Council and the Chancellor." Piell spoke up. "And bear in mind that the Klingons were not impressed by us relying on the use of clones."

"They weren't?" Anakin asked.

"Yes. The Klingons are a warrior race and they believe that the Republic is cowardly for creating an army to fight their battles for them and consider the clones to be slaves, slaves that have made an impression on them for their bravery that matches a true warriors in their eyes but a race of slaves none the less." Piell explained.

"Clones are not slaves." Padme and Anakin stated at the same time, both of them having deep views on slavery.

"I said the same thing but the Klingon colonel pointed out that a race grown to fight a war that they had no reason to join except to protect a government that paid for their creation and to follow orders to the letter given to them by their leaders is essentially the same as ensuring no room for free will." Piell said, himself having had to think deeply on that conversation.

"Did you tell them that neither the Republic nor the Jedi Order ordered the clones to be created?" Anakin asked.

"That only made it worse. Accepting an army whose origins are unknown or at the very least suspicious at the very start of a war that the Republic failed to stop because it was unable to keep itself together and fell apart." Piell shook his head. "I'm afraid the Klingons believe the Republic to be weak and cowardly for not being able to handle this crisis on its own and for using slaves grown to fight for it."

Anakin frowned. "They are _not_ slaves."

"Yes, it's a baseless accusation. The Republic needed an army to defend it. We should not have to make excuses for that." Tarkin stated, frowning at the memory of that conversation. "The Klingons have no right to criticize us for that."

"Do that?" Padme asked, earning surprised looks from everyone at the table. "Clones are fighting and dying each and every day for the Republic. Whether they were created to be an army for the Republic or not the Klingons might not be wrong. We didn't ask for this war and neither did the clones. How can we say they are not slaves when they have been treated as cannon fodder or what kind of lives they live after the war?"

"None of the Jedi treat the clones as slaves." Anakin stated sternly.

"But not everyone treats them the same as the Jedi. I've seen plenty behavior in the Senate to know that." Padme replied, standing her ground against her secret husband.

"She does have a point, Master. I've been at enough Senate meetings to know that some Senators don't treat Rex and the others as friends like we do." Ahsoka stated, unable to stay silent.

"Pardon me?" The group at the table perked up as a young Romulan stopped in front of them. "Admiral Kererek has asked me to escort you all back to New Romulus Command."

"Have they made a decision?" Padme asked as the group stood up, happy to have a distraction from the argument.

"I believe so. But they had to move their meeting down into the caves for a special excavation. I can bring you there to speak with them to save time." The Romulan offered.

"Thank you." Anakin nodded as they followed him through the city.

"There is no need for thanks. Many of our people are excited and yet concerned about this excavation." The Romulan answered.

"Why is that?" Ahsoka asked, following the Romulan back to the embassy.

"This planet has become a beacon of hope for our people but it is still very mysterious. Ruins scattered across this world speak of an ancient civilization that once lived here but died out in a worldwide cataclysmic event based on the radiation and seismic activity. We now know that the original inhabitants of this world, the Dewans had discovered a gateway device meaning this world was a colony of the Iconian Empire." The Romulan said as they walked up the stairs, past the statue of Ambassador Spock.

"The Iconians?" Padme stopped shortly but continued on.

"Something wrong Padme?" Anakin asked.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just remember Captain Malcolm telling me a little about the Iconians. He said they were an ancient advanced race that had been supposedly bombed to extinction centuries ago but recent evidence suggested they survived and have been planning to reestablish their empire." Padme said as the doors to the embassy opened.

"You are right, Senator. Not much is known about the Iconians during the time of their prime. We only have records of civilizations that have been passed down, labelling them as 'Demons of Air and Darkness.' The Dewans tried to activate the gate on this world but it triggered a massive earthquake and volcanic eruptions that and bathed the planet in a nuclear winter wiped out most of the population. The survivors retreated into caves to survive but unfortunately their resources ran out and they died out." The Romulan guide said as he led them through the embassy. "My people believe they have corrected the problem and want to use the gateway as a political boon, especially in light of the evidence that the Iconians are returning."

"Sounds dangerous." Anakin commented.

"It possibly is but we have little choice at the time." The guide stopped at the transporter. "This will shorten our time since the entrance to the caverns is up in the mountains. The coordinates have already been set. Simply step onto the transporter and you will be in the cavern."

"Thank you." Padme nodded as she stepped onto the pad with the others.

With a simple switch they disappeared in flashes of light, leaving the Romulan to walk away. His work for his masters now complete.


	13. Chapter 13

**New Romulus Cavern**

Kurt Malcolm had to admit that despite the seriousness of the situation he was somewhat honored to be here. None the least bit was because among the Klingon representatives here was none other than Ambassador Worf himself. Son of Mogh, the first Klingon to serve in Starfleet and had served aboard both the _Enterprise_ -D and _Enterprise_ -E while at the same time had served on Deep Space Nine under Benjamin Sisko during the Dominion War. A Reman guided him through the caverns along Kerath, Shon and Jarock to the chamber the Iconian gateway had been found.

He had just finished placing charges on the gate just in case something went wrong when five pillars of light appeared on the ramp leading up the platform.

"What?" Malcom mumbled as the visitors from the new galaxy appeared.

"Whoa." Ahsoka commented, suddenly feeling the heat of the chamber. "What's with the heat?"

"Why are you here?" Kerath stated, walking up to them with Kererek.

"We were brought down here by a Romulan that stated your debriefing was over." Padme answered.

"It was finished but no orders were made to bring you down here." Kererek stated with a frown. "We're about to activate the gateway and we were going to wait until this was done to state our plans."

"Initiating final power transfer." A technician spoke up.

"Power output rising…Levels are within expected parameters."

"Activating gateway."

A humming sound cut off any further talk as the Iconian gateway activated as a pillar of energy appeared between the two large pylons that must have been the gate. Just a second after it activated the cavern began to shake.

"We've got a spike!" One of the scientists shouted. "Attempting to compensate…No good!"

"Abort! Abort the mission!" Kererek shouted.

People started to clear out of the room as it started to collapse. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Piell quickly used the Force to pull a few out of the way before they were killed.

"Shut it down!" Ambassador Worf shouted, pointing at Shon who nodded.

"Detonating charges." The captain of the _Enterprise_ pulled out the detonator and activated the charges and the gate seemingly exploded but after the smoke appeared the gate appeared unharmed.

"No effect." Worf stated grimly. "Get everyone out of the chamber!"

Only a few made it out before a giant boulder fell onto the bridge, trapping the remaining people inside the chamber which had now become a deathtrap.

"We're trapped!" Padme called out.

"Now what?" Kurt asked.

Worf looked at the gate. "Into the gateway, now!"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Ahsoka muttered as she along with everyone rushed into the gate.

 **Hoth System**

It had been less than a few days since the Jedi Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti had woken up in a base and managed to liberate the prisoners from their cages. Since then they had been working on finding a way to call for help but the Hoth System was one of the most remote systems in the known galaxy. Enough of the equipment in the underground base was still operating and easy enough to understand that they managed detect the wreckage of the Republic Star Destroyer _Intrepid_ a day's journey away from the base. But on a planet like the one they were on to be left out in the cold was literally a death sentence and there was little arctic equipment to protect anyone from the cold.

While both Jedi meditated on a way to call for help the Chiss known as Thrawn and a Wookie named Chewbacca were stationed at the console next to the gate like mechanism that the leader Gul Manak had escaped through. They believed they could reactivate it if they spent enough time studying the equipment and use it as a way to escape from the desolate ice world they were stuck on.

"This technology is different than anything I have ever seen before. A gate that can beings to completely different locations is almost unheard of." Thrawn muttered as he and Chewbacca opened the console and tried to override the security lock. "I cannot help but wonder who is responsible for this."

Chewbacca said something but Thrawn had no experience speaking Wookie language but he made a note to study it when he returned to Chiss space. He decided to simply nod and begin their work.

Unfortunately their work seemed to catch the wrong attention.

The gateway started humming, seemingly activating by itself and created the image of a place that looked too dark to clearly make out.

"It has activated on its own." Thrawn whispered as he and Chewbacca slowly walked out in front of the gateway.

The doors opened and in walked Shaak Ti and Aayla, both having sensed something and noticed the gateway was now active.

"What happened?" Aayla asked.

"The gate activated. Possibly by someone else." Thrawn answered.

They knew the gate had been activated by something but they were not ready for what came through the gate.

 **Other Side of the Gateway  
Location Unknown**

When everyone emerged from the other side of the gate was darkness but once the shock wore off they looked around, seeing a dark room with purple lighting that gave off a sinister intent. There were people who were injured from the evacuation and many of them asking questions.

"I knew that gateway be trouble." Worf stated as he looked around with a tri-corder in his hand. "We can't get a reading on where we are or how far we've travelled. The best we can figure out is that we're not in normal space anymore. And we are trapped."

"What do you mean we're not in normal space?" Tarkin questioned, warily looking around for possible threats.

"The scientists have been able to get a few readings from New Romulus but the gateway was damaged. We cannot use it to return. A few people managed to grab some supplies on their way through the gateway. They might have something useful. Check the crates. Assist with the wounded. Once we have seen to the immediate problems then we can worry about getting out of here." Worf replied.

"Yes, Ambassador." Kurt nodded and walked off with Kerath to check the crates.

"Ahsoka, go and help them out." Anakin said to his Padawan who nodded.

"Right, Master." Ahsoka nodded.

"I can scout ahead and see where we are." Anakin offered.

"That might not be wise. If this place has hostiles we would need to stick together to have a better chance against the odds." Tarkin objected.

"We don't even know if anyone is here." Padme pointed out.

"Perhaps but if this is an Iconian base there is bound to be security here." Worf said. "We do not know enough yet to make a decision."

Kurt and Kerath saw the wounded quickly, picking up some tri-corders from the crates that Ahsoka had no idea how to use but had basic training in being a field medic after spending so much time on the front lines.

In the meantime Worf had been at the door, scanning the mechanisms. "I believe I have found a way to open this door but it will take two of us to override the controls."

"Why not cut through it?" Anakin asked, pulling out his lightsaber.

Worf shook his head. "That may not be wise. It may alert whoever is here to us."

Anakin frowned but followed Worf's advice. "All right, we'll play it your way."

"Good. I think I can open this door but I will need your assistance. Once I override the security protocols you will need to rewire the primary motivator to release the locking clamps. Are you ready?" Worf explained.

Anakin looked at the console and nodded. "At least I can look over the equipment here."

It took him a moment to figure out how to work the console and he began rewiring it, following Worf's instructions. It's a good thing Anakin had been tinkering with machines since he was a boy or he might have wished he had brought R2 with him.

The door opened, showing a larger room that was just as a dark as the room they were in.

"Now to see what lies beyond." Worf put his tri-corder away.

Once Kurt and Kerath were done treating the wounded as best as they could the group slowly moved through the door and into the next room that had multiple doors. Circular purple lights shined down from the ceiling that didn't make the group feel any safer in knowing they could actually see. Three pillars rested in the middle of the chamber which was considered odd to the group that entered but they had no time for wondering about the décor of the base.

"Master this place…I sense something." Ahsoka whispered to Anakin. "It's almost the same as that feeling on Mustafar."

"I know." Anakin nodded in agreement. "The Force feels darker here."

"Interesting. Does anyone with a tri-corder detect high trace levels of tetryon radiation?" Worf asked out loud.

"Tetryon radiation?" Ahsoka asked in confusion.

"The ambassador is referring subatomic particles that only exist in subspace." Shon explained as he looked at his own tri-corder. "And he's right. There are large amounts of tetryon radiation present here."

"That means we are in sup-space." The Captain of the Klingon Flagship _Bortasqu_ and Worf's escort Koren stated.

"How can you be sure?" Anakin asked.

"Tetryon particles become highly unstable in normal space to the point." Kurt answered, looking at his own tri-corder. "We are in some kind of complex and there is large room down the hall from this room."

"I am picking something behind that door." Worf gestured to the door on the far right side of the room. "As much as I hate to say this, we will cover more ground if we split up."

"Agreed. We should keep in contact as we search." Shon stated.

"Commander Nen'yen will accompany me. If there is a way home we will find it." Koren said.

"I'd like to check the large room up ahead." Anakin said.

"I will accompany you." Worf said to Kurt who nodded.

"I'll organize a security detail to remain here." Kurt said.

"Padme, stay with the wounded." Anakin said to his wife who frowned, looking ready to argue but thankfully she didn't. "Ahsoka, stay here and keep an eye on the wounded."

Ahsoka nodded reluctantly.

"I'll go with Captain Koren." Piell said. "No sense in being precautious here."

Once everyone in agreement Kurt and Anakin followed Worf to the far door that opened up into a dark purple hued all. Anakin made sure to be ready to summon his lightsaber at a second's notice due to sensing a dark intent ever since he and the others arrived here. He wasn't sure what it was but he didn't like it. The door at the end of the hall opened and showed a larger room with an alien looking computer console in the center and giant spheres near the walls at the ends of the room, looking like large purple eyes staring at the intruders.

Kurt and Worf pulled out their tri-corders, scanning the equipment as Anakin took a look around the room.

"These seem to be environmental and life support controls. The data logs indicate the environment was recently adjusted from settings non-compatible with humanoid life." Worf stated.

"That's not all. I'm detecting more tetryon radiation." Kurt said, now feeling uneasy. "This multi-adaptive life support system is beyond anything used by known Alpha and Beta Quadrant species but there are wear and tears signs usually seen from decades of use."

"So whoever is here must have known we were coming." Anakin surmised looking at one of the 'eyes'.

"I will contact the others." Worf stated and tapped his wrist. "Worf to exploration teams."

" _Koren here. I'm picking up some odd amounts of tetryon readings and we've been able to confirm we are in subspace, but there's nothing conclusive yet. I think we're in a medical facility, although it's not like any sick bay I've seen before._ " Koren replied.

"What about Shon?" Kurt asked.

" _I am here, Captain. This facility is mostly automated. That doesn't mean it's abandoned. We're keeping watch for automated security. Nothing we can't handle yet, but we've found something interesting in this room. It looks like some sort of targeting array. I'm going to try and find out more about it._ " Shon answered.

"Perhaps it's a way out." Anakin suggested.

" _Maybe it's a way to open a gateway to a location without a corresponding one on the other end. I'll check in when we know more. Shon out._ "

"Ambassador, I think we should take a look at that larger console." Kurt suggested, looking at the larger alien computer in the center of the room.

"Good idea. If there is a targeting system and a medical bay we may find the equivalent of a shuttle bay as well." Worf nodded.

"Agreed." Anakin nodded and followed them to the center console. "This is more alien than anything I've seen."

"Well we know it's the main environmental control console for the base that include environment settings for humanoid and non-humanoid. We know it's set for breathable oxygen and nitrogen but I don't know how long ago it was set." Kurt replied.

"We haven't heard from the security detail. We need to check in with them." Worf said but when he tried to contact the security team all he got was static. "Security detail, answer…Nothing. Are you sure there is not something blocking our communicators?"

"No sign of any known jamming fields." Kurt answered.

"This is suspicious. We should check in with Koren and Shon's teams." Worf stated.

"You do that. I'm going back for the others." Anakin said, rushing out of the room to back where Padme and Ahsoka were.

"Skywalker, wait a…second." Kurt stopped when he saw Anakin was gone. "He moves fast."

"Captain Koren, please come in." Worf said, contacting Koren first.

" _Koren here. We haven't found anything this direction yet. I'll return to our starting location and find out what's happened._ " Koren answered.

"Good luck. Captain Shon?" Worf said, hoping that Shon would answer.

" _I've found what appears to be some sort of targeting system. Huh, that's strange…_ " Shon trailed off.

"Captain Shon, what is it?" Kurt asked.

" _Did you hear that? We should-Ensign look out!_ " Shon shouted before his voice was overtaken by static.

"Captain Shon's team is in trouble! Hurry!" Worf rushed out of the chamber, followed quickly by Kurt.

They followed the transmission of Shon's last known location into a chamber with a circular console emitting some sort electrical current from a blue energy sphere above the console.

Worf quickly scanned for any clues to help find the missing captain and his team.

Kurt looked around on the floor, quickly finding a tri-corder. "Shon's tri-corder. It's still recording but there's a four minute gap in the file." Looking forward Kurt found something else a few feet away. "A phaser…" He picked it up. "It's been adjusted several times for maximum effect."

Worf found a few clues himself. "I have found a standard tool kit. The ensign with Captain Shon was carrying one and there is smashed com-badge near what I know to be blood. No sign of Shon's team. We are not alone here."

Kurt turned back to the console and looked it over. "Captain Shon was right. This does appear to be some sort of targeting console. It shares some characteristics with a transporter but it's beyond anything I've seen before."

"This does not bode well. We should rendezvous with Koren and the others." Worf said, wishing to check up on the others as soon as possible.

"Agreed." Kurt nodded and walked out the door that according to their tri-corders would take them back the refugees faster than the way they came.

But this time they were not alone.

What appeared to be a security drone hovered in the hall and once it spotted them it fired beams of dark red light. The ambassador and the Starfleet Captain took cover and fired back, their phaser and disruptor colliding with the drone's shields. The drone fired back, not hitting them and not seeing the man behind it slash it with a blue energy sword.

"Skywalker!" Kurt called out, seeing Anakin standing over the destroyed drone. "We were just on our way back to you."

"I couldn't find the others." Anakin deactivated his lightsaber. "I heard shooting and followed the sound."

"We think the others were abducted by a transporter. We found the targeting array Captain Shon was talking about and it was similar to a transporter but I could not hope to operate it." Kurt replied.

"We must find Koren and the others then." Worf said.

The three rushed back down the hall, running through the room where the refugees had been and found the door that Koren and her team had taken. They came upon a dark room with what looked a surgical table in the center under a purple light.

"Wait." Worf stopped, looking at the table. "I know this place. I've been here before."

"Ambassador?" Kurt asked as Worf walked up to the table.

"This table…I saw one just like it when I served on the _Enterprise_." Worf muttered.

Anakin knelt down on the floor, seeing what looked like blood. "There was a fight here."

"Blood. Klingon and Feresan. Koren put up a fight."

"Master Piell wouldn't have let himself be captured so easily." Anakin stood up. "What is this place? Who lives here?"

Kurt looked at the computer console at the other end of the room. "Let's find out."

He and Anakin walked over to the computer and accessed the data. "There are data entries here that correspond to our missing people."

"We must move. They will be taken for examination soon." Worf said darkly.

"What do you mean?" Anakin looked at Worf.

"It was a solanogen based race…I have seen this before. When I served on the _Enterprise_ , we attracted the attention of aliens who existed solely in subspace. They…abducted us. Experimented on us." Worf explained, memories of that time flashing through his mind. "We did not know why but their actions went far beyond curiosity. We were able to stop them before they established a pocket of subspace onboard the ship but not before they sent a burst of energy through. If these aliens served the Iconians that energy could have been a message."

"I remember reading about that now. Those experiments were brutal, bordering on torture." Kurt stated.

"Koren was not taken without a fight, of that I am sure. And this table has not been used yet. These aliens must be holding the others. It is only a matter of time before they will be examined as well…and the experiments can be deadly. Everyone here is in danger. We must hurry and find them."

"We'll find them." Kurt said and Anakin nodded in agreement.

"This way." Worf pointed to the other exit to the left of the table.

The three rushed through the hall, following the readings from Worf's tricorder.

"There is a holding area down this hall. We should-" Worf suddenly stopped. "Automated defenses! Defend yourselves!"

Another security drone spotted them and fired just as Anakin activated his lightsaber, blocking the red beams while Worf and Kurt fired off phasers and disruptor pulses that weakened the drone's shields and after a few shots it fell to the ground, now a smoking pile of burned circuits.

"That guardian has disruptor damage and something else. I can tell that it was Koren's work with the disruptor." Worf said as he looked over the drone, seeing a burn slash across the torso.

"This was Ahsoka's work." Anakin answered, glad his Padawan didn't go down without a fight.

Kurt walked up to the door at the end of the hall and tried to open it. "This door's locked from the other side."

"Allow me." Anakin activated his lightsaber and thrust it through the door, slicing through it to make a circle. The carved circle fell out, creating a hole large enough for them to fit through. "Be careful of the edges."

"An efficient weapon." Worf commented. "But be ready. There may be more guardians beyond this room."

"Ambassador!" Koren's voice shouted.

"Master?"

"Anakin!"

"Ahsoka, Padme!" Anakin rushed in, seeing the two behind force fielded cells along with the rest of the refugee group.

"Skywalker?"

Anakin stopped, looking in shock at Master Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura sharing a cell with a Wookie and blue skinned man. "Master Shaak Ti. Secura. Why are you here?"

"It's a long story." Aayla sighed as the three worked on freeing the others. "We were captured by creatures that came out of a strange portal mechanism on the sixth planet of the Hoth system."

"A portal…A gateway." Anakin realized what they were talking about. "There are gateways in our galaxy!"

"And the aliens here have been busy. One cell has scratch marks on the inside which tells me someone really wanted to escape. And there's a corpse in the last cell that's been desiccated." Kurt called out from the last cell.

"Who is responsible for this?" Padme asked as the group gathered together. "What do they want?"

"We'll explain later. Where's Captain Shon? And Commander Maiak?" Kurt asked.

"Master Piell's not here either." Anakin stated, noticing the absence of the Jedi Master.

"There's no more time! We need to stop wandering around this place and get back to New Romulus. Staying here is only going to get more of us killed!" A'dranna said sharply.

"She is right. We have no time to mount a rescue." Tarkin said in agreement.

"It would be wiser to escape." The blue skinned red eyed man stated.

"No. There is still someone missing who could be saved. We are not leaving without them." Worf stated sternly.

The Wookie growled and nodded.

"He's right. We keep looking." Anakin agreed. "Ahsoka, do you still have your lightsabers?"

"We lost ours back in the Hoth system."

"I do." Ahsoka nodded. "I think they have those transporter things and they sent us here."

"Then let's go and everyone stay together." Anakin said to the rest of the group and walked to the next door.

The group moved down the next dark hall, thankfully not encountering any more guardian drones or anything else until they reached the end of the hall and opened the next door. Inside the room were three tables like the ones Anakin, Kurt, and Word saw only this time there was a body on each table with creatures garbed in dark cloaks standing around the tables, possibly operating on them and clicking sounds.

"Stop right there!" Anakin activated his lightsaber, scaring the creatures away.

"What are they?" Ahsoka asked, slightly disturbed by the sounds they were making.

"Subspace aliens that abduct people and experiment on them." Kurt said as he rushed over to the tables. "Captain Shon, Commander Maiak and Piell are all here."

"Are they all right?" Anakin asked.

"I don't-" Kurt suddenly ducked as two Guardian drones appeared. "Look out!"

Worf fired his disruptor at one drone while Anakin rushed forward and sliced at the other drone, destroying them both in a matter of seconds.

"Now the whole base will know." Kurt quickly examined Shon with his tri-corder. "Oh my lord."

"How bad is it?" Worf asked.

"Captain Shon's left arm and both antenna have been surgically amputated and then reattached. An unknown foreign substance has been introduced into his lymph nodes and his superior vena cava has collapsed. His cardiovascular and lymphatic systems have been damaged, he needs help now." Kurt explained as he got to work.

Worf walked over to Maiak's table and scanned him before sighing.

"Is he…" Anakin trailed off.

"Dead. His blood has been replaced by a synthetic liquid polymer." Worf answered as he removed Maiak's communicator and identification and moved on to Master Piell.

Shaak Ti walked over, looking at Piell's pale skin. "He's not dead yet but he is weak."

Worf scanned Piell with his tricorder. "…His heart's been removed."

Ahsoka gasped while Tarkin raised an eyebrow. "So he is going to die?"

"His body is connected to a micro life support system installed where the heart is. They might have been planning to transplant something in him when we interrupted." Worf solemnly explained.

"Can we re-transplant the heart?" Anakin asked.

Worf looked at the canister next to the table, seeing the heart inside. "I do not have the medical training to conduct such an operation. It is possible to move him but there's no telling how long he has before the life support system fails."

"We can try to move him but we don't know how long the life support system will last." Malcolm stated.

At this point Shon was up and able to move. "There's nothing more we can here. If we want any hope of finding other survivors and stopping what's happening on New Romulus we need to keep moving."

"Ambassador?" Kurt asked.

"Agreed. The best way to honor Maiak's memory is to escape and save Maiak's home and everyone else." Worf nodded.

"Agreed." Shaak Ti nodded as she picked up Piell, careful not to worsen his condition.

"That energy signature from before is up ahead." Kurt gestured to the door. "Time to go."

The group moved now, eager and desperate to escape this nightmare they found themselves trapped in. At the end of the hall leading away from the operating room was another door and beyond it was the gateway energy signature.

The doors opened, revealing an almost completely dark void with an expanse of dark platform silhouettes spanning what looked like endlessly.

"By the Force." Padme whispered in shock.

"What kind of technological secrets does this place hold?" Tarkin wondered.

The technology here could be extremely useful to the Republic. With this technology the Republic could end the Separatist rebellion once and for all.

The Wookie growled nervously, looking around and seeing almost nothing but darkness.

"The gateway signature is somewhere across this expanse. We'll have to find a way across." Worf stated.

"My scans indicate there is some sort of control system at work. Perhaps we can use that to activate a connection to the next platform." Shon suggested.

"I am picking up more of those automated defenses. They are at my tri-corder's maximum range but they will be upon us shortly. The wounded are too weak to put up a fight. We should cross quickly and make our stand from a position of strength." Koren stated.

"Master Ti and Secura. It might be best for you to stay with the wounded while we check this out." Anakin suggested.

"Koren and Shon, you will both remain with the injured and defend them if the guardian drones arrive." Worf said.

"Agreed." Shon nodded.

"Very well." Shaak Ti nodded.

Kurt walked to the edge but stopped as a console rose from the floor. "Convenient."

Luckily he had seen enough of the alien technology to figure out how it worked and a second later a curved bridge connected to the nearest platform.

"We'll move ahead." Anakin said, nodding to Ahsoka who returned his nod. "Wait for us to give the all clear signal."

"I'm coming as well." Padme said, glaring slightly at Anakin who looked ready to argue and the Wookie stood next to her, possibly wanting to come along as well.

"I insist on coming along." Tarkin said. "I refuse to stand by and wait in enemy territory."

"Fine but let's go before more drones arrive." Kurt said, moving forward.

Rather than waste time arguing Anakin stuck close to Padme as they walked across the bridge and through the darkness to the next platform. As the scout group took their first step onto the next platform the shroud of darkness lifted and a planet appeared above the expanse.

"A planet?" Padme asked, surprised by the sudden appearance.

"The Sol System! Earth!" Worf gasped seeing the planet Earth, its moon, and even the orbital space station _Spacedock 1_.

"They're watching us. They probably have been watching us for a long time." Kurt muttered grimly as a console at the center of platform appeared. "And I think I can return the favor."

 **System: Sol**

 **Dominant Species: Human**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 4 surveillance in effect**

 **Ideal site for harvesting. Servitor races have used disease epidemics and internal conflicts in ancient past to gather specimens for study.**

 **Population is numerous but mostly peaceful. Poor candidates for servitor status: High creativity levels and self-preservation instinct make them inclined to fight rather than submit when faced by overwhelming foe. See 'Borg' for more information.**

 **Can be aggressive when threatened. Recommend that all activities in system be covert until invasion is launched.**

 **Target for extermination. If Sol system is eliminated, models show that political entity known as 'Federation' may collapse.**

"They're planning an invasion into Federation space and a strike at Earth." Kurt stated. "We need to inform Starfleet of this."

"Where to next?" Ahsoka asked.

Worf gestured to left and a holographic image appeared.

"What could this mean?" Padme touched the image and another curved bridge extended out.

"Holographic controls." Anakin muttered, impressed by the technology.

Kurt walked up to the yellow image, touching it and watched as the bridge was formed. "At least we now know how it works."

The group walked across the bridge, the shroud of darkness returning and the image of Earth vanishing as they walked. No planet appeared on the next platform but Kurt checked the console that appeared.

 **Storage Facility Z98:**

 **Purpose: Supply and transport servitor troops during expansion and pacification actions**

 **Capacity: 4.7 million units**

 **Docking Station: 220**

 **Current Status: ERROR**

 **ALERT: Storage Facility Z98 has been in stasis mode for ERROR cycles. Connection to gateway network unstable.**

"This intel could be helpful." Kurt muttered before they moved on, following the bridge once it was extended to the next platform where another planet appeared. "This could show us the extent of the Iconian plans."

The group returned to the platform, following the bridge that Worf activated while ignoring the image of Earth but as they stepped onto the next platform another planet appeared.

"Qo'Nos." Worf whispered. "This is not a holodeck. It is a live image of my world."

 **System: Qo'Nos**

 **Dominant Species: Klingon**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 4 surveillance in effect**

 **Aggressive, warlike species that dominates this area of space. Strong tendencies to fight rather than submit. Harvesting programs in past have been problematic – only successful when used in concert with internal conflict.**

 **Possible candidate for servitor race, if key members of government and entity known as 'Great Houses' could be used to direct rest of population.**

 **Military structure in most organizations makes population already accustomed to taking orders from superiors. Recommend study of 'honor' in society for use as a tool for control.**

 **If population can be absorbed into servitor species, it would be a great addition to our fighting strength. If they cannot, extermination must be swift. We cannot give the Klingons a chance to organize against us.**

"It seems these Iconians have been patiently gathering information on all the local powers in this galaxy." Anakin said, looking at the image of Qo'Nos.

"But what about us? Do they have plans for our galaxy?" Padme wondered.

"We need to keep on going." Kurt said, activating the next bridge.

As the shroud of darkness Ahsoka couldn't help but comment. "I think I see why these Iconians are called Demons of Air and Darkness. This place feels like the kind of place the Sith would make themselves at home."

They arrived onto the next platform but this time a planet didn't appear as the darkness faded and a console came up from the center.

"Vandros IV. I know this world. We found an Iconian gateway during Dominion War." Worf explained as console appeared.

 **System: Vandros IV**

 **Dominant Species: Dominion**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 9 surveillance in effect**

 **Dominion scientists discovered an intact gateway 37 cycles ago, but it was destroyed by opposition forces before they could activate it.**

 **There are other gateways in the region that remain active. Agents are in place to stop the Dominion from discovering the location of these gateways before they are prepared.**

 **As to the Dominion themselves: we recommend observation but no engagement. The Dominion are organized and used to subjugating large numbers of species spread across a large area of space. When the Alpha and Beta Quadrants are firmly under our control then we will have the resources to conquer the Dominion as well.**

"Not even the Dominion is safe from the Iconians." Kurt stated. "The Iconians are likely planning to conquer the entire galaxy."

They followed another bridge activated by a yellow symbol and like the other one a planet did not appeared once they walked onto the platform and accessed the next console.

 **ALERT: Connection to gateway network unstable. Immediate attention required.**

 **Gateways: 7,225**

 **Gateways Inactivate: 5,967**

 **Gateways Damaged or Inoperative: 880**

 **Alert: Gateways in Andromeda active!**

 **Alert: Unauthorized connection to network detected in Hobus system.**

"The Hobus system. The system of where the super nova that destroyed Romulus originated." Worf stared.

"We already confirmed the Iconians were responsible for the super nova." Malcolm said grimly as he extended the next curved bridge. "That unauthorized connection might have been Taris."

The next planet was familiar to almost the entire group.

"It looks like they are watching New Romulus too." Ahsoka pointed up as New Romulus was the next planet to appear.

 **System: New Romulus**

 **Dominant Species: Romulan**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 8 surveillance in effect**

 **Survivors of Romulan extermination have gathered in site of former Dewan homeworld. They have uncovered sites belonging to servitor races and are attempting to reactivate the gateway. If gateway is successfully activated, they may threaten entire network.**

 **Attempts to use Elachi to eliminate threat unsuccessful. Alliance with Tal Shiar problematic – Romulans as a species show more self-determination and willpower than in previous observations. Leader known as Sela must be controlled or eliminated.**

 **Several key members of Romulan Republic gateway research team have been taken for additional study without their knowledge. Brain scans of Researcher A'dranna have yielded vital information about project.**

 **Agents have used that information to destabilize gateway. If activated, seismic instability will effect entire planet. Expected outcome is 70 percent reduction in population.**

 **Remaining survivors must not be allowed to form organized groups – recommend subsuming them into Elachi as soon as possible.**

"Subsumed into Elachi?" Ahsoka asked after reading the log.

"The Elachi have already been proven to be serving the Iconians. If the Solenae are also working for the Iconians then they must be some sort of science caste while we already know the Elachi are a warrior based caste. What these logs mean is that the Elachi reproduce by using living beings breeding stock, infecting them fungal spores that consumes the body and creates a new Elachi while killing the person that's infected." Malcolm stated.

"That's horrible!" Padme stated, appalled by the Elachi's method of reproduction and what they and the Iconians were doing to the Romulans.

"The quakes are getting worse. We have to stop them." Worf said, urging everyone to continue moving.

The next planet to appear was a red planet with a massive crater in the northern hemisphere.

"I know this planet." Worf stated upon seeing the red colored world.

"What is it?" Padme asked.

"Iconia, the former home world of the Iconians before it was bombed."

 **System: Iconia**

 **Dominant Species: None**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 1 surveillance in effect.**

 **The homeworld is still unsuitable for habitation, although servitor races have begun sunspace modifications in preparation for invasion.**

 **When quadrant is pacified, we will use forced labor to terraform world for out return. All must be as it was.**

"This log indicates they want a large slave force to recolonize their home world." Anakin said once he finished reading the log. "If their planet is dead what hope do they have recolonizing it? It could take decades before its habitable again."

"If they've waited over two hundred thousand years to take back the galaxy they might be patient enough to bring their dead world back to life." Kurt pointed out before they moved on to the next platform and took a chance to read up on the logs there.

 **ALERT**

 **Safety Measure Theta Six in effect due to gateway instability.**

 **All space gateways for large ships movements have been withdrawn into subspace until network instability is addressed or proper activation codes are transmitted.**

"All these different platforms with different logs. Why not have it all in a single computer?" Ahsoka asked.

"Maybe these platforms represent more than just projecting a planet. These aren't just holo images they are live images through a gate." Kurt explained.

"And all these platforms could be used to monitor these planets." Anakin said, understanding what Kurt was saying as they followed the next bridge and watched as a new planet appeared.

"This…This is from the Delta Quadrant. Does the Iconian influence stretch this far?" Worf mumbled in concern as the console showed the next log.

"Impressive. To be able to spy on so many worlds. These Iconians are clearly apt planners." Tarkin commented.

 **System: Quarra**

 **Dominant Species: Quarren**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 6 surveillance in effect**

 **Industrious and technology advanced planet. Extremely low level of automation means population must constantly refresh workforce.**

 **Use of radioactive mines to infect ship crews and bring them to Quarra is interesting, but ultimately inefficient. We would require greater amounts of loyal servitors to pacify Delta Quadrant than this method would provide.**

 **Recommend cooperation and eventual inclusion as a servitor race. In exchange for their loyalty and detailed information on their indoctrination technique, we will alleviate their manpower problem.**

"I remember reading about this race. They were encountered by Admiral Janeway when she was still the captain of _Voyager_. With the Elachi and these subspace aliens harassing us in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants it would make sense they would be looking for servitor races in the Delta Quadrant." Kurt mumbled. "Given the number of species _Voyager_ encountered any number of them could be converted by the Iconians."

"We must hurry then." Worf stated, activating the next bridge and everyone was starting to rush across the bridges.

Time was running out but they stopped to gather more information along the way. They needed to know everything they could about their mysterious enemies that sought to control the galaxy.

 **Current Status:**

 **Ship: Obelisk 1**

 **Servitor: Solanae**

 **Status: Ready to deploy**

 **Activation Codes: Authorized**

 **…Waiting for navigational input…**

"Solanae…Could that be the name of the creatures that wanted to dissect us?" Anakin wondered. "From what this log states they have a fleet of their own ready."

"They are unable to survive outside of subspace…But perhaps part of the reason they experiment on people is to find ways to live in normal space in addition to providing the Iconians with information on all possible enemies." Worf stated as the group continued onto the platform where the energy reading was coming from.

However the final surprise was when they reached the final platform and another planet appeared but this time none of the Milky Way beings recognized it.

The visitors however did.

"Coruscant?!" Ahsoka and Padme gasped, instantly recognizing the planet that was the capital of the Galactic Republic.

Padme covered her mouth with her hands. "How is that possible?"

"If Iconian gateways can be used to travel between galaxy it's possible there's no limit to how far they can reach." Worf surmised.

"That might explain the Undine appearing in your galaxy and why they attacked you. They aren't just able to travel between galaxies but we've seen that they can travel through dimensions as we learned from how the Iconians framed us for attacking the Undine in fluidic space." Malcolm stated. "If the Iconians were in your galaxy at one point they possibly set up gateways there."

The Jedi all shared a glance, realizing that meant that a new possible threat was in their galaxy. If the Iconians were manipulating events in their galaxy then not only did they have to worry about the Separatists and the Sith but an unknown power.

"This appears to be some kind of master control panel." Worf looked over the console. "I believe we can use it to open a gateway."

A pair of drones appeared from out of the dark abyss, firing their beam weapons at the group. Anakin and Ahsoka blocked the beams with their lightsabers before Ahsoka leapt up, slashing one drone to pieces and directed the remains at the other drone with Force, knocking it down into the darkness.

"Let's find out what they're up to in this other galaxy." Malcolm walked over to the master console and brought up the logs.

 **System: Coruscant**

 **Species: Galactic Republic**

 **Servitor Presence: Level 9 surveillance in effect**

 **Location: Skyriver Galaxy**

 **Advanced galaxy spanning government with over a million aligned star systems. Though history stretches back thousands of years technological advancement never rose above Level 4 despite the transwarp development. Weaponry includes laser, plasma and ion hybrid based for primary directed energy weapons however due to recent conflict has shown advancements along with secret projects agents discovered in both Republic and splinter group known as Confederacy of Independent Systems. The location of original base in this galaxy was lost in the bombing of Iconia and have forced us to basically relearn everything we need to know. Several notable species such as the Rakata and the Celestials have disappeared with evidence showing the Rakata are now extinct but as of now no evidence on the status of the Celestials has been found.**

 **With the loss of the original base the data on the technology, most noticeably the Rakata technology was lost which would have been useful for study. Study shows the Republic reaching an age of decline due to the outdated method of government with numerous representatives showing nothing but self-interest, even outweighing the needs of their own planet. Automation never advanced beyond the use of primitive artificial intelligences and currently the Republic's decay is predicted to reach critical in less than a cycle due the amount of resources used to supply the army of clones created by primitive genetic engineering and the constant spreading out of their fleets across known space in an attempt to break the stalemate between them and the army of artificial constructs used by the splinter group. History has shown that the wants and needs of each culture changes with each generation and thus far the Republic has shown an inability to adapt to accommodate these changes which has led to rebellions and civil war.**

 **Another topic to note are the Jedi, a group consisting of beings showing psionic abilities apparently granted by microscopic cells called medi-chlorians and follow a primitive religion based around a power known as the 'Force'. Despite their skills they seem to be as ineffectual as the Republic itself and their numbers decrease through the civil war. Current studies show that the Jedi will reduced to twenty percent by the end of the next cycle. Recommend to continue waiting and studying for more data along with exploring the option of serving for possible servitor races.**

"They're studying us like this galaxy." Anakin stated once he finished reading the log.

"But why? Why risk war with another galaxy?" Padme questioned, unable to believe there was a possibility of another war with more death and destruction.

"The answer is simple, Senator. It's because they can." Tarkin answered. "Why settle for one galaxy when you can have two?"

Worf decided that they needed to get moving. "We need to download the data and move everyone here before more guardians arrive."

"I'm on it." Kurt stated, going back to escort the others to the final platform.

"I will need assistance." Worf said, glancing at the Jedi. "I can remodulate the power but I need someone to reroute the flow."

"Any idea how I can do that?" Anakin asked, deciding to be the one.

"Match the colors on the display." Worf answered, pointing at the holo-screen. "I can only surmise they are what the Iconians use as access codes."

Anakin followed Worf's instructions, following the sequence of colored symbols in the order they appeared on the main screen and in the process a holographic map of the Milky Way galaxy appeared above them with symbols scattered across the image just as the others arrived.

"That's a star chart!" Koren shouted when she saw the map. "Are all those symbol Iconian gateways?"

"It's all over the galaxy." Padme said, somewhat in awe of seeing a new galaxy.

"Perhaps we can find out if there are gateways in our galaxy." Tarkin suggested.

"There's the New Romulus gateway!" A Romulan pointed at the symbol representing New Romulus which turned white as Anakin continued following the sequence. "The New Romulus gateway was reset!"

"It wasn't the only one." Shon said as more symbols turned white.

That was when things became worse for the group as the void turned ominous blood red.

"They know we're here and I don't think they're happy." Koren stated.

Koren could not be more right as what looked like millions of drones approached the platform as the pathways retracted.

"Worf, we're out of time!" Koren shouted.

"Activate the gateway!"

"On it!" Anakin quickly said, finishing the sequence and activating the gateway which the survivors ran through.

"I have downloaded what I can. It's time to leave. We've cut the network's connection to the Romulus gate which should stabilize the situation there. There will be some damage on New Romulus but it could have been far worse." Worf said, his job now done.

The rest of the group ran through the gate just as the drones reached the platform.

 **Location Unknown**

The group were hoping to find a place a little friendlier looking when they came through the gate but it seemed to match the color of the Solanae base they had just escaped from but there was a minor difference. The Milky Way denizens noticed three consoles surrounding a large console projecting the holographic image of what looked like a planet and a moon.

"This has to be a bridge." Koren stated.

"We're on a ship?" Padme asked.

"Looks like it." Kurt looked at what was possible the command station. "The logs stated a ship called _Obelisk 1_ was ready for deployment by the Solanae which is likely the name of the subspace aliens we escape from. This might be what we need to escape and we can bring the ship back to study and learn more the Solanae and the Iconians."

"We have walking wounded but we can still serve." Worf stated. "We just need to figure out what these consoles are for."

"Well if they are like the equipment in the base." Kurt said as he slowly looked at the nearest console. "Based on this one I'd say it is tactical…I served a tactical officer shortly when I graduate and was assigned to the _Absolution_ before my captain was killed. Ambassador, I believe you are more capable here than me."

Worf nodded. "Very well, Captain."

"I'll take the helm station." Shon said as he looked for the helm console.

"The engineering station belongs to me." Koren said eagerly.

"That leaves the science station." Kurt said, looking at the final station and looked at the remaining people who were still walking. "I don't suppose anyone here has experience as a science officer."

"I'm afraid not. I might be more talented with engineering." Anakin answered.

A'dranna reluctantly stepped forward. "I am more of a researcher than a bridge officer, Captain but I will see what I can do."

"Just do your best." Kurt nodded as A'dranna approached the science station.

"What about these consoles?" Ahsoka asked, looking at the smaller consoles around what looked to the command station.

"I am not sure but we don't have time to figure out what." Kurt replied as he and the Jedi along with Tarkin grouped around the command station.

The image of what was possibly the outline of the ship they were on appeared on the command screen.

"This ship is big. Bigger than an _Odyssey_ class starship." Kurt mumbled.

"We have saved New Romulus, but the gateways are open now…All of them." Worf spoke up. "We don't know who could use them, it may be the Elachi, or it may be something far worse. We must warn everyone of what is coming."

"Receiving tactical telemetry. It's big, ship sized." Shon said from his station.

"The gateway is transmitting a high band subspace signal. Sensors are picking up Elachi ships on an intercept course." Koren stated.

"I suggest we go there and contact New Romulus for reinforcements." Worf adviced.

"Agreed. Can we use that gateway?" Kurt asked.

"Not from here. I can make a gateway for us and set a destination close by, though." A'dranna replied.

"Do it."

The ship vibrated as it moved towards the gateway A'dranna activated.

"Taking us out." Worf reported as ship's sensors scanned the location. "Sensors show we are in the Jouret System. Systems are all reading normal but…Object sighed near the ship! It is an Iconian gateway!"

"Hail the Romulan Republic." Kurt called out.

A holographic screen appeared in front of the captain's chair, showing D'Tan and Admiral Kererek who looked relived. " _Captain Malcolm, I'm very glad to see you all safely returned. When the quakes began we lost all communications with the gateway chamber and feared the worst. But where did you go? Through the gateway? And what is that ship? I've never seen anything like it_."

"I'll provide a full report as soon as I can. Suffice to say we had to open the entire Iconian gateway network to save New Romulus." Kurt replied.

" _You reset the…Elements preserve us. There could be hundreds of gates! Thousands! Are they all active now?_ " Kererek asked.

"There was a ship sized gateway hidden in supspace in this system." Kurt answered.

"Enough talk!" Worf barked. "The gateway is transmitting a signal. I am picking a corresponding one from an entire fleet of Elachi ships on an intercept course. Send every available ship. We must fight if we are to survive."

" _Sending reinforcements now. Good luck and may the Elements protect us all_." Kererek nodded.

"We will hold the Elachi here until reinforcements arrive." Kurt nodded, ending the transmission.

"Here they come." Padme pointed at the holo-map seeing the ships approaching _Obelisk 1_.

"It looks to be a flight instead of a full fleet but we don't know what these Elachi constitute for a fleet." Anakin commented. "They could be launching a scout force to distract us before bringing in the main fleet to protect the gate."

"Master, these controls, they don't look like any form of weapon system I've seen before." Ahsoka said as she and the Wookie looked over the console in front of the Captain's chair.

The Wookie tapped a few symbols and a sound rang throughout the bridge as smaller symbols appeared around the holographic image of the ship, numbering at twelve and settled around the ship in a trangle formation.

"What are those?" Padme asked.

"My sensors show…They are drones that you launched from six hangar bays on the ship." Worf answered. "They are armed with what appears to be anti-proton beam weaponry and transphasic torpedoes that are instantly replicated to ensure they don't exhaust their torpedoes. Impressive."

"So this ship is a carrier and a warship." Thrawn stated as he looked over the holo-map. "Very impressive."

"This console must able to program the drones. We can use them to hold off the Elachi." Kurt commented but looked up as the Elachi ships came into range. "Here they come."

The Elachi fleet began surrounding the gateway as soon as they came before moving to attack the _Obelisk 1_ , targeting and firing disruptors and quantum torpedoes. The ship shook as Shon immediately plotting evasive maneuvers but the ship was too bulky and slow for any complex maneuvers that would help but Worf targets the nearest ships and fired, red anti-proton beams scraping at the shields of the Elachi in range.

"There are too many. Can those drones help us?" Anakin asked.

"I'm trying…" Ahsoka said before the Wookie took over and after a few key strokes the drones attacked, saturating the Elachi with anti-proton beams and transphasic torpedoes. "Whoa! Look at them go!"

"They are effective." Tarkin nodded, watching as the drones attacked and blew apart Elachi ships in a matter of seconds. "It's quite fortunate the enemy never had a chance to deploy this ship."

"Republic ships are responding and more reinforcements are on the way!" Shon called out as Klingon, Federation, and Romulan ships entered the system and a second later the Republic Star Destroyer _Protector_ appeared, having been brought to the battle by a Romulan ship using its tractor beam and extending its shields around the Republic ship to keep it from being torn apart. "Federation and KDF ships are reporting to our location!"

Worf detected a second wave of Elachi ships appearing into normal space. "More Elachi ships! Hold them off!"

As more Elachi ships appeared so did more Federation and Klingon ships, responding to the distress calls sent out by the Romulan Republic.

"The _Enterprise_ has entered the fight!" Worf reported, repressing the urge to grin as he remembered that every time the _Enterprise_ appeared in the past it the tide of the battle was turned against the enemy.

" _This is Commander Tiaru Jarock of the Republic Flagship Lleiset. Where did that gateway come from?_ " Commander Jarock's voice spoke over the speakers.

"Subspace. It was one of many activate to prevent the destruction of your homeworld." Worf replied.

" _Enterprise to Captain Shon, it's good to see you._ "

"Glad you could make it, _Enterprise._ " Shon smiled as his ship joined the fight, taking on an Elachi battle cruiser.

" _Are the Jedi Generals with you?_ " A clone's voice asked.

Anakin stepped up. "Yes Rex, we're here. We have to stop the enemy from taking that gate device. Coordinate with the allied ships and stop the enemy ships. Stay together and do not launch fighters."

" _Roger General._ "

The Republic ship stayed close to its new allies, moving into battle and firing on Elachi ships with a full barrage of turbo-lasers, coordinating their attacks with the Milky Way ships to bring down the shields of the Elachi ships which did not last long in addition to the drones that added their own fire power and tore through the Elachi ships.

" _Sensors indicate an Elachi dreadnaught coming in at high warp!_ "

The Elachi continued to fight as an Elachi dreadnaught attacked the _Obelisk 1_ , its shields able to withstand the anti-proton beams from the drones.

"Shields holding. I'm rerouting as much power as I can!" Shon called out as the bridge shook.

"The Elachi can send their entire fleet. We will not fall." Worf stated as he locked anti-proton arrays on the dreadnaught and fired.

Luckily the Elachi didn't expect the arrival of the _Enterprise_ from right behind _Obelisk 1_ that followed up with a full phaser and quantum torpedo barrage. All allied ships opened fired, tearing away at the shields of the Elachi dreadnaught that fought back even through the crew onboard knew they were doomed.

"The Elachi forces have been destroyed. No further hostilities inbound." Worf stated victoriously as the dreadnaught exploded into a massive ball of fire. "But there is still the matter of what to do about the gateway. This discussion cannot be delayed."

Kurt sighed as he walked away from the captain's chair. "Agreed."

"Captain Shon, the _Enterprise_ should scan the gateway. We need to know more." Worf suggested.

"Agreed but we should destroy the gateway now while we still have the chance." Shon stated.

"No! This gateway is in Romulan space. It belongs to the people of Romulan Republic!" A'dranna objected.

"Another invading force could arrive at any moment." Shon pointed out as he stepped away from the engineering station.

"Afraid of a fight, Captain?" Koren sneered but relented as Worf walked up.

"Koren, prudent is not cowardice." Worf stated, nodding to Captain Shon. "The gateways are powerful. They may be too much for any of us to control."

"We should disable it before it becomes another threat to the Republic…And to us all." Shon said.

"How is this different from the wormhole near Bajor? This is a scientific and strategic asset and it belongs to my people." A'dranna exclaimed. "Captain Shon, if you destroy the gateway I can assure that D'tan will reconsider our friendly relations with the Federation."

"The Klingon Empire will fully support our Romulan allies in this matter." Koren agreed.

Shon would have continued but a call from the _Enterprise_ interrupted him. " _Enterprise to Shon, we've been scanning the gateway._ "

"What did you find?" Shon asked.

" _The terminus is at a fixed point now. We could determine that. But then… I don't know what we picked up but the monitors on the bridge are all showing an Omega, we're locked out of the computers and engines are off line. We need you back on the Enterprise sir._ "

"I see." Shon glanced solemnly at the group. "This changes things significantly."

"Indeed it does." Koren nodded, sharing Shon's thoughts. "I should return to the _Bortasqu._ Worf, we will be waiting for you."

"I should return to New Romulus, immediately." A'dranna said, eager to make her report.

"What exactly is this Omega?" Tarkin asked as Koren and A'dranna beamed away.

"That's classified." Kurt answered, ignoring Tarkin's scowl as he turned to Worf and Shon.

"Ambassador, it was a pleasure to work with you. I wish we could have had that talk." Shon said to Worf who nodded.

"Agreed. Another time." Worf replied. "Send my regards to your Chief Engineer, Captain."

"I'll let Chief O'Brian know." Shon nodded and tapped his combadge. "Shon to _Enterprise_ , beam me directly to my ready room."

As Shon beamed out Worf turned to Kurt and the others. "Today was a glorious battle. You have all won much honor today. It seems there are larger conflicts that all of our people will need to face. If we are to survive we may need to face them together. It was an honor to fight beside you."

"Q'apla Ambassador." Kurt answered to Worf who nodded and beamed out shortly.

Kurt looked over, seeing the rest of the group who were from another galaxy staring at him. "Well, for anyone who I have just met on this expedition let me just say…Welcome to the Milky Way Galaxy."

 **A Week Later  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant**

As the capital of the Galactic Republic and home to over thousands of senators representing the star systems Coruscant was naturally protected by a fleet of Republic Star Destroyers with many of them held in dry docks while the rest out on routine patrol along the Inner Rim.

Down below on the surface of Coruscant in the Jedi Temple Master Yoda opened his eyes. "Coming, something is."

The Senate Building Palpatine closed his eyes as he sensed a presence different than anything he had sensed before. "Something is coming."

Among the many ships orbiting Coruscant none stood more than the new _Victory_ Class Star Destroyer designed and built by Rendalil Stardrive and Kuat Drive Yards as a collaborative design project. Sporting shields and hull armor superior to the current _Venator_ and _Acclamator_ the _Victory_ class was charged with the protection of the Inner worlds since the Chancellor had decided that the 'Victory Fleet' could protect the Inner Rim and ensure no Separatist invasion. But with the belief that a Separatist invasion was impossible no one expected a group of ships that were completely different than anything they had seen before to come out of hyperspace with two Republic _Venators_ acting as escorts.

Or the transmission that came from the lead cruiser. " _This is Senator Amidala of Naboo on the Jedi Cruiser Protector to the Coruscant Defense Fleet, do not fire. The ships with us carry representatives from another galaxy who come to open relations with us to ensure their galaxy is not dragged into the war._ "

The fleet remained still, warily watching the flight of strange ships remain still as the captains hastily moved to inform the Chancellor.

"You think this might help end the war?" Ahsoka asked as she stood with Anakin and Padme on the bridge of the _Protector_.

"Time will tell, Ahsoka. Time will tell." Anakin answered as the ships moved into orbit.

* * *

 **END OF PART I**


	14. Chapter 14

_It has been widely accepted the universe is full of diversity and yet at the same time there is always something similar between the countless people that populate it. However when one universe meets another sometimes they are found to be as different as day and night. In one universe the people of Earth was responsible for an alliance that brought together thousands of different people who held different beliefs and ideologies but in another it was an empire that sought domination of the galaxy through subjugation and tried to invade other universes. And in another universe there is a galaxy that is always on the brink of conflict, battling with powers that is similar and yet different in so many ways._

 _When these worlds collided the results can be unpredictable and create so many paths leading to different outcomes._

 _Creation._

 _Destruction._

 _Loyalty._

 _Slavery._

 _Friendship._

 _Cruelty._

 _Love._

 _Hate._

 _Wisdom._

 _Ignorance._

 _Power._

 _Order._

 _Chaos._

 _Science._

 _Mystic._

 _The Multi-Verse was fashioned with endless worlds and each world was governed by its own laws fashioned in a way that is chaotic and yet understandable if one is able to see._

(Events following the end of Part I from the Skyriver Galaxy(Star Wars Galaxy) perspective.

The planet Berchest is liberated from the Separatists by the Sons and Daughters of Freedom.

The battle for control of the planet Mygeeto begins.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is dispatched to Ord Cestus to aid the X'Ting.

Senator Seti Ashgad is secretly exiled by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

The Coruscant Guard is founded.

Darth Andeddu's holocron is found on Korriban and was delivered to Darth Tyranus.

Neeyutnee became Queen of Naboo.

The Republic Senate welcomes the MLA(Milky Way Alliance) and try convince them to join the war against the Confederacy but alliance adamantly refuses much to the surprise of the Chancellor and the Jedi.

The existence of another galaxy stirs the interest of the Republic and the Confederacy who welcome visitors and a trade of information is established.

The Klingons criticize the Republic for the use of clones which they find despicable, sparking a dispute.

After strenuous negotiations the Republic and the Confederacy to have embassies for the Milky Way built on their capital worlds, Coruscant and Raxus for the purpose of establishing ties with two governments.

The Jedi Order is shocked to discover there no Force Sensitives in the Milky Way, shaking the Order greatly. A new galaxy with no knowledge of the Force was not expected and they are not sure what to think of the Milky Way.

Anakin Skywalker and Wilhuff Tarkin submit their reports on the Iconians including their gateway technology and their surveillance of the Republic to the Chancellor and the Jedi Council. The Council become concerned as they never sensed these Iconians or encountered their technology before. In response to this the Chancellor promotes Tarkin to Admiral and orders him to begin conducting ways to counter the threat of a possible invasion by these Iconians. Admiral Tarkin begins collecting scientists from all over the galaxy, including ones that have been ridiculed for having what many older scientist considered to be ridiculous ideas but because of the appearance of the Milky Way Galaxy these scientists and their 'ridiculous' ideas have been given a chance in the research branch Tarkin has established.

Republic forces led by Jedi General Fyefee Tiis and Kinman Doriana defeat Separatist forces on the planet Cartao over the use of a secondary clone facility owned by Spaarti Creations. Doriana rams a remote controlled Republic transport into the factory, destroying it and blaming the loss of the civilians killed in the crash on the Jedi Order. Thousands of clone cylinders are confiscated by Doriana and delivered to Admiral Tarkin as part of his research branch. The cloning cylinders are used a contingency plan should the Separatists actually launch an attack into the Inner Rim.

The Chiss known as Thrawn asks for political asylum in the Republic and becomes a member of the GAR for his tactical abilities. Thrawn becomes one of the few non-human commanding officers in the army and quickly makes a name for himself as he defends several key Republic planets and bases against Separatist forces led by Admiral Trench and General Grievous.

The Federation starship _Specter_ intercepts and saves a Republic cruiser under attack by pirates. The medical staff preforms surgery on several clones that were critically injured, including a clone named Hotshot that had severe head trauma but survived the surgery. Task Force Omega is assembled near the portal in response to the Borg threat in the Skyriver Galaxy but remain in the Milky Way. Chancellor Palpatine refuses to allow Omega Task Force into the galaxy, stating that such a fleet might provoke members both Republic and Separatists into believing the Milky Way is planning an invasion.

The Separatists attempt another invasion of Mon Calamari led by Riff Tamson but the Mon Calamari led by Lee-Char repel the invasion with the help of the Republic and the Gungans.

The Battle of Drongar is fought for the planet's main export, bota. Both armies retreat when the Separatists bomb the planet but the Republic manages to secure two metric tons of bota and force the droid armies into a retreat with the help of the Star Destroyer _Resolution._

The planet Tibrin an uprising to defect to the Confederacy against Tibrin dictator Suribran Tu who wishes to remain loyal to the Republic.

A Separatist warship carrying a toxic defoliant is intercepted by a Republic ship above the planet Honoghr and the battle results in the Separatist ship crashing and releasing the defoliant. Jedi General Rii'ke En is sent to gather intelligence on the crashed ship but is killed by native Noghri. General Aayla Secura arrives and meets with her former master Quinlan Vos who is suspected of being traitor despite claiming he was infiltrating Count Dooku's inner circle. An argument results in a battle that ends with Vos escaping and the planet Honoghr becoming an ecologically wrecked planet.

The month long battle of Cerea ends when President Bo-Ro-Tara is assassinated by Gossam Commandos. Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi's family is also killed during the battle.

The battle of Xagobah ends in Republic victory, forcing the Confederacy to retreat from the planet.

Republic forces led by General Robilo Darte clashes with Separatist forces in orbit and on the surface of the swamp world Parcellus Minor which ends in disaster for the Republic to the surface conditions. General Darte is forced to leave behind all his wounded soldiers and the battles only 10% percent of the Republic forces escape from planet alive.

The people planet Thustra lobbies for independence from the Republic and the ruling government dispatches a Republic task force that ignites a conflict that ends in the deaths of Jedi Generals Tyffix and Tyr following a terrorist attack. The Republic launches a pre-emptive strike on the Sephi rebels, leading to a battle where Jedi Commander Cal is killed and King Alaric dies as a martyr to incite the Sephi to rebel against the Republic.

A Republic force led by Jedi Master Ronhar Kim, his Padawan Tap-Nar-Pal and Captain Gilad Pellaeon are sent to the planet Merson but Republic Intelligence vastly underestimates the planet's defenses. Captai Pellaeon withdraws his forces upon the arrival of additional CIS forces, leaving Ronhar Kim, his Padawan, and their grounds forces to perish on the surface

The planet Null falls to Separatist forces, wiping out the majority of Republic with survivors including Barriss Offer are evacuated by Mace Windu.

Masters Obi-Wan-Kenobi, Tohno and Anakin Skywalker are sent to the planet Zaadja to destroy a large battle droid factory. The Republic is victorious and the factory is destroyed but Jedi Knight Tohno is killed.

Obi-Wan-Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead an attack on the planet Virujansi that ends in Republic victory. Anakin is called by the natives the 'Hero With No Fear'.

 **()**

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE II**

 **THE CHILDREN OF DESTINY**

 **IT IS AN ERA OF CHANGE IN THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC AS THE CLONE WARS HAS CAUSED THE DESTRUCTION OF COUNTLESS WORLDS AND LEADING TO MANY WORLDS BEING FORCED TO CHOOSE A SIDE AND TAKE UP ARMS AGAINST THE ENEMY. AS THE CLONE WARS CONTINUE SOMETHING SPECTACULAR HAS HAPPENED THAT COULD VERY WELL CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE GALAXY FOREVER. A PORTAL LEADING TO ANOTHER UNIVERSE HAS BEEN DISCOVERED ALONG WITH ADVANCED SPECIES THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN ENCOUNTERED BY THE REPUBLIC OR THE JEDI KNIGHTS BEFORE. THOUGH A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY THE CONFLICTS IN BOTH GALAXIES THREATEN TO SPREAD AND POSSIBILY LEAD TO WAR WITHOUT END.**

 **A GROUP OF AMBASSADORS FROM THE MILKY WAY GALAXY ALONG WITH SENATORS LED BY SENATOR AMIDALA FROM BOTH THE REPUBLIC AND THE CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS HAVE PROPOSED TO BUILD EMBASSIES ON THE CAPITAL WORLDS OF BOTH GOVERNMENTS TO HELP BUILD TRUST AND HOPEFULLY END THE WAR. THOUGH A TEMPORARY SOLUTION THAT HAS SLOWED THE WAR NEITHER SIDE HAS SHOWN TO BE WILLING TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE TO PEACE WHILE THE DENIZENS OF THE MILKY WAY HAVE CONFLICTS AND ENEMIES OF THEIR OWN THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED. DURING THEIR SHORT VISIT TO THE MILKY WAY GALAXY JEDI KNIGHT ANAKIN SKYWALKER ALONG WITH HIS APPRENTICE AHSOKA TANO AND SENATOR AMIDALA DISCOVERED THAT AN ANCIENT RACE KNOWN AS THE ICONIANS HAVE BEEN SECRETLY WATCHING THEIR HOME AND ARE PLANNING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WAR. IN REPONSE TO THIS CRISIS THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR HAS ORDERED THE JEDI TO BEGIN SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO DEFEND THE REPUBLIC FROM THE MYSTERIOUS RACE FROM ANOTHER GALAXY HISTORICALLY LABELLED AS THE DEMONS OF AIR AND DARKNESS.**

 **AS BOTH THE REPUBLIC AND THE SEPARATISTS SEEK TO DISCOVER EVERYTHNG THEY CAN ABOUT THIS NEW GALAXY THROUGH THEIR CONFLICT A SECRET FORCE PLOTS THE DESTRUCTION AND SUBJUGATION OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY.**

()

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Wild Space**

Two large ships moved through space towards an object their scanners had detected movement into their space and they were ordered to investigate. They did not have to wait long as a massive cube colored ominous black and green approached them and they reacted by opening a channel on all known frequencies.

" _Unidentified ship. Stand-down immediately. Do not attempt any form of resistance, or you will pay for your disobedience with pain. We are Iskalloni. Your ship is now our personal property. Repeat. Stand down immediately, make no attempts to resist, and we will not have to atomize your ships._ "

The response was immediate.

" _We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. You culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._ "

The now identified Iskalloni ships responded by opening fire, scorching the surface of the Borg cube and carving through the surface. The Borg ship retaliated with a tractor beam, capturing one Iskalloni ship and holding it as a cutting beam lashed out and cut off part of the ship. The capture ship continued to fight, not seeming at all hurt by the cube's cutting beam while the other Iskalloni vessel continued to fire, damaging the Borg ship. From an outside perspective it seemed the two opponents were almost even with the Borg ship damaging one Iskalloni ship and depleting the shields of the other while suffering damage from the Iskalloni weapons fire.

However the Borg eventually won out by damaging the shields and beaming drones to assimilate the crew. What they did not expect were cybernetic humanoids similar to them but it was irrelevant. Two Borg drones appeared in the engineering and two more appeared on the bridge to access the Iskalloni systems. The Iskalloni responded by attacking, their cybernetic enhanced strength equal to the Borg drones and their blaster weaponry nearly disintegrated their enemies easily.

One Borg drone managed to inject its nanites into an Iskalloni to assimilate it but something in their bodies somehow adapted to the nanites and the Iskalloni's own nanites fought back against the Borg probes, absorbing the invading machines and gaining the knowledge embedded in them. The infected Iskalloni reprogrammed the Borg nanites inside it, used it to upgrade its internal weaponry as it walked over to the nearest console and injected the reprogrammed nanites into it, spreading across the entire ship's bio technological network, improving the turbolasers and allowing them to adapt to the Borg cube's shields. As the cube shuddered under the fire of the now upgraded Iskalloni ship the Collective analyzed the failed attempt to the assimilate the Iskalloni drone, discovering a type of mutagen inside the failed drone's body that allowed for biological adaptation to any known form of cybernetics that allowed the drone to overwrite the programming in the Borg nanites. Species 9948, the Iskalloni a dangerous threat to the Collective and had to be destroyed.

As this happened the Iskalloni the Borg had failed to assimilate began spreading its new found knowledge to the crew, upgrading them by injecting the re-programmed Borg nanites into them and giving them the knowledge of the Collective and their technology.

The knowledge that the Collective had accumulated in the Milky Way.

The thousands of species that the Collective assimilated and their technology over tens of thousands of years.

Knowledge of technology they never knew existed, ideas and theories they believed was possible that was beyond even their knowledge of cybernetics. The Borg had accumulated so much knowledge over their life span that it was almost overwhelming. Their technology even surpassed the Iskalloni's own cybernetic and bio technology to an extent that with they would never need to both with dealing with waste produced by their own bio technology ever again.

They learned so much in just a short amount of time but they were Iskalloni and they would adapt to anything, even a species similar to them.

" _We are Iskalloni. Your ship is now our property. Stand down and we will not have to atomize your ship. Resistance is futile._ "

The upgraded turbolasers continued to damage the Borg cube while the deflector shields were upgraded to handle the Borg tractor beam and weapons, shifting frequencies to prevent the Borg from locking onto them. As this happened the other Iskalloni ship continued to fire, not taking the time to understand what happened to its brethren. All that mattered was the destruction of the intruder in Iskalloni space.

Everything else, including death, was irrelevant.

Adjusting its weapons the Borg cube fired its plasma beams on the unaltered Iskalloni ship, destroying it instantly but the upgrade ship remained a threat. Especially when it fired its upgraded weapons on the sector that caused a chain reaction from inside the cube. The ship moved back as the Borg cube exploded into a massive ball of green fire.

" _Enemy destroyed. We will return to Iskadrell with our new knowledge. We will adapt this knowledge to our own to improve our culture and technology. None shall stand in our and any who try will be atomized. Resistance is futile._ "

The ship entered hyperspace, setting course for the Iskalloni home world with its new knowledge, forever altering the course of the species that had done what so few had ever done.

Fight off the Borg Collective.

When the Iskalloni went into hyperspace the Borg Sphere that had emerged just as the Cube was destroyed and quickly went to transwarp and transmitted its data to the Collective. Species 9948 had become a dangerous threat to the Collective and would need to be destroyed immediately. The Borg would not tolerate a species creating a collective of its own by stealing from them. They may try but all will answer to the Borg.

Resistance no matter how great was futile and no one would stop them.

Not the Federation.

Not the Klingons.

Not the Romulans.

Not the Galactic Republic.

Not Species 9948, the Iskalloni.

Not Species 8472, the Undine.

Not anyone.

 **Arkanis Sector  
Tatoo System  
Tatooine**

Tatooine was more or less considered the dust ball of the galaxy. One would even say if there was a bright center in the universe it was the plant that is farthest from. It had no strategical value in the war, it was a desolate planet under three suns that made life almost unbearable, and the people that actually lived in scattered settlements and farms that collected moisture from the air. It was however an ideal place for pirates, traders, criminals, and bounty hunters to hide out in when wanting to hide from the eyes of the Republic and the Jedi.

But that could not explain the several large ships that appeared in orbit.

These ships were not Republic or Separatist as their appearance to any ship that was in orbit was obviously different. The people on those ships had no time to think of anything else as strange ships fired green beams that vaporized the ships instantly.

Then they turned their weapons down on the planet.

:::

Mos Eisley Spaceport, a place full of wretched scum and villainy as pointed out by many people. Since the plant was far out of the jurisdiction of the Republic it was perfect for people who did not wish to answer to the law. Right now though it didn't matter as people were screaming for their lives as beams of light fell from the sky and blasted apart whatever it touched, incinerating buildings and people in just a few seconds. Almost no one had a chance to react as bright green death descended from the sky, burning the space port down to the ground in less than half an hour.

And it wasn't done.

 **Palace of Jabba the Hutt**

Jabba was enjoying a fine day of forcing his slave girls, both of them Twi'lecks to dance for him but that would not last long as the entire palace shook, knocking a few people of their feet. That was not the end of it as the sound of blast fire was heard from outside the main room along with the screams of his guards. A guard ran into the room screaming as a green beam shot him in the back, killing him and disintegrating his body.

Into the room walked men and woman dressed in grey uniforms, all of them with short hair, pointed ear followed by a strange skinned creature that stood in the center of the room.

Jabba growled and spoke, his protocol droid translating for him. "The Might Jabba the Hutt demands to know who you are and why he shouldn't kill you all for invading his palace."

"Perhaps because we are now in charge and if he does not surrender he will die." The leader, a man with a scar across left eye said with a grin.

Jabba laughed and spoke again, his droid translating. "The might Jabba says-"

A woman pointed her pistol and fired a green bolt at the droid, blasting its head apart.

"We don't need a protocol droid to understand you. We have a special translator that lets us understand you." The leader stated.

Jabba glared. "You obviously do not know who I am. I am feared across the galaxy and if you do not surrender you will die."

"You have no real power, slug." The leader spat. "We fear no one but we are rightfully feared by all who know us. A pitiful slug like you has no idea of the true concept of fear."

"You are not the first to threaten me and if you do not apologize for your insolence you will die." Jabba growled.

"I think not."

Jabba was about to slam on the switch that would have dropped the leader into the Rancor pit but he was too slow as the leader pressed switch down a handheld device and Jabba along with all of his cohorts vanished in a flash of light. They barely blinked as one second they were staring down strangers that dared to invade Jabba's palace and the next second they were somewhere else. The sound of gears alerted to them to a large door and when it fully opened they realized where they were.

In the Rancor Pit.

Jabba watched on in horror as the Rancor stepped out, seeing all the terrified prey in its domain and stepped forward, grabbing the nearest meal, the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo.

"HELP ME!" Greedo screamed as the Rancor brought its mouth down on him, swallowing him whole a second later.

He wasn't the last meal the Rancor had today. Next was Sy Snootles, Jabba's main singer who let out a scream as the Rancor grabbed her and silenced her screams with one loud crunch. Jabba's son, a crying Rota clutched his father who looked on in terror as the Rancor ate all of his guards, dancers, and minions, leaving only the two of them alive. The Rancor turned to them and Rota let out a scream but fortunately for them they vanished in flashes of green light and reappeared back on Jabba's main perch with the strangers looking on in amusement.

"As you can see, Jabba, any control you've exerted before was just an illusion." The leader stated, grinning in triumph. "With but a single command you will be back in that pit with that pet of yours to have…dessert. Now you will comply with our demands or will we have to give the Rancor its dessert?"

Jabba closed his eyes, keeping his son close. "Very well."

"Now let us talk about a certain holo-diary with certain information."

The first plan was proceeding smoothly with no interference. Soon their masters would be ready to begin their conquest and no one would stop them.

Not the Federation.

Not the Klingons.

Not the remains of the Romulan filth.

Not the Galactica Republic.

Not the Jedi.

Not the Sith.

No one.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Azure Nebula**

" _Commander, we have done an extensive scan of the captured vessel._ "

" _Report._ "

" _The ship is armed with heavy plasma based weaponry and is operated by a crew of artificial constructs. The constructs come in multiple models, some of which are primitive but there some well-designed that can be of use. With modifications to their design and the use of replicators we can create an advanced army of these machines within a matter of cycles._ "

" _You believe these machines will be useful?_ "

" _Affirmative. By upgrading their AI programming and weaponry we will have army that can be used against our enemies and we will be able to gain the ancient technology on New Romulus as well as protection against the ancients._ "

" _Test the designs and then begin replication. I want a full fighting force ready. The Federation and the Klingons are in conference to end their conflict and both have impeded our efforts. We cannot allow this to continue._ "

" _As you wish, Commander._ "

The captured Separatist dreadnaught remained in the docking bay of the Tholian base as the crystalline species took deactivated and damaged battle droids, scanning their bodies and CPUs to improve them. The B1-battle droids were considered too frail but the B2- Super Battle Droids could be improved with additional personal shields while upgrading their blasters to disruptors with modulation emitters to account for the adaptability of Borg shielding, and krellite batteries that would allow them to function for long periods of time without needing a recharge. The same upgrade would be made to the Destroyer Droids with their shields and weaponry that would make them more than a match for factions in the Milky Way. The few Commando Droids would be programmed to be loyal to the Tholian Assembly while armed with disruptors and Tholian designed weaponry but they were already an impressive design so there was little need for upgrade to their bodies.

The droid fighters would be armed with tetryon based weaponry with improved engines and power units. There was little need to adapt the Separatist warship design to the Tholian fleet as they were already advanced enough on their own but there was something else to consider. The gateway to the other galaxy in the Azure Nebula was a benefit the Tholians could not overlook and they could use it for plans the Assembly had. An army and fleet of machines large and advanced enough to protect the Assembly from their enemies such as the Terran Empire, the Borg, the Klingons, and even the Demons was something they could not pass up.

The Assembly would not be subjugated by anyone.

Not the Federation.

Not the Klingons.

Not the Romulans.

Not the Borg.

Not the Demons.

Not anyone.

 **Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

 _Opening Republic Intelligence Database_

 _Access to Supreme Chancellor, Senate Executives, Senators, and Admirals only: Authorization Codes required._

 _Access Codes: 713835-2421-24323-Alpha-Omega_

 _Access Granted: Welcome Supreme Chancellor_

 _Access Time: 18:37 Coruscant Time_

 _Subject: Milky Way Galaxy_

 _Entry One: Milky Way Powers_

 _Unlike our galaxy which for the last thousands of years had only the Galactic Republic as the main form of government with the exception of non-aligned worlds in the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions the Milky Way Galaxy has over a dozen major powers both large, small, primitive, and advanced. Among the most advanced are the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic which all three have been the first to make contact with the Republic. The Federation and the Romulan Republic for the most part are similar to the Republic in policies but unlike the Republic both governments are quite young, the Federation being about only three centuries old and the Romulan Republic being close a year old. The Klingon Empire is the oldest of the three and has been in conflict with both the Federation the Romulan Republic's predecessor, the Romulan Star Empire for the better part of the last two centuries._

 _The most notable government the United Federation of Planets is a democracy and an alliance of over one hundred and fifty allies species with over nearly a thousand colonies and members of outside species even serving in Starfleet, the main military branch of the Federation but appears to be mainly focused on exploration which is a contradiction of itself as exploration ships are never armed with powerful weapons. The Klingon Empire is led by the Chancellor of the High Council led by the heads of the Great Houses, possibly similar to the relation between the Supreme Chancellor and the Republic Senate, and is composed of not just Klingons but races that have been labelled as subjects thought at first to be slaves but apparently the Klingons are disdainful of the concept of slavery. The Klingon culture is centered around a form of warrior's code and thus have been labelled one of the most fiercest warrior races in the Milky Way Galaxy. What is concerning is that though smaller than the Republic these three major powers are heavily industrialized with an economy different and perhaps has the potential to outpace even the Republic._

 _The advanced technology includes teleportation devices commonly referred to as transporters, devices based on transporters that can produce food and possibly all known form of supplies which possibly explains why most of their ships are smaller with no need for large cargo bays for long term missions, and advanced engines powered matter-antimatter reactors or artificial quantum singularities, both of which are beyond all known forms of engineering technology used by Republic or Separatists but reasonable given the fact that the transporters possibly need a large amount of power to operate._

 _(Comment by Admiral Tarkin: It is possible that are larger versions of these replicators that aid in the constructions of ships, allowing for increased speed and leading to the construction of perhaps hundreds of ships within a very short amount of time. Given the general wide use of replicators in the parts of the galaxy that I have seen it is likely that almost all major powers have the ability to field large fleets of ships to replace any major losses depending on the number of personnel in any major conflict.)_

 _Energy weaponry known as phasers (Phased Energy Rectification) and disruptors seems more efficient than blasters with basic information stating that these weapons are particle based unlike all known forms of laser based weaponry while their projectiles have shown to be different from any known torpedoes, including proton torpedoes and concussion missiles. Their most widely used FTL known as warp speed is significantly slower than hyperdrive but other methods of FTL have been theorized and experimented with in the last century, none of which we have any information on at this time. At the present time we have no way of knowing how their ground forces operate but we know that they have body armor and even personal shields that do not cause them to suffer from radiation poisoning which would lead to extra protection and less chance of casualties. It is the navy of these powers that are most concerning as even the largest ships are more maneuverable than they should be. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker reported that while talking with a few denizens of this new galaxy that they are equipped with inertia dampening fields that negate the effect of inertia when using controlled fusion reactions, allowing for speed up to a thousand kilometers in a second without suffering or dying from the inertia._

 _Though different their ships can be defeated as confirmed by Admiral Yularen in what has become widely known as the Battle of the Jouret System against the species known as Elachi. Observations into the workings of the Milky Way factions have proven that they, specifically the Federation have been frighteningly adaptive as they had already designed their own hyperdrives based off our own but managed to create and adapt them in mere seconds which shows how dangerous they can be if they are able to understand and copy our technology in such a short amount of time. However it seems they are only able to use it in this galaxy as it was reported in the Milky Way Galaxy that subspace was too dangerous and unpredictable due to certain problems that for the moment remain unknown to us. Given that statement it is likely that use of hyperdrive in the Milky Way would be useless for us as well._

 _Recommendation: Find way to access technology or develop and upgrade our own current form of technology and weaponry to counter possible threat from this new galaxy._

 _Log out: Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine_

 _Time of Log Out: 19:28 Coruscant Time_

Palpatine closed the log and put down the pad device as he stood up and walked to the window, allowing him to observe the sun setting in the distance, casting a beautiful glow on the endless city that was the capital of the Republic. He had been through another conference with the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Republic, and just recently representatives of the Ferengi Trade Alliance and the Cardassian Union who had just arrived from the Milky Way Galaxy. Truly unexpected that such an event would happen in his time during the war that would lead to the completion of the Grand Plan that had been at work for the last thousand years started by Darth Bane. A single discovery that presented a wild card just as the plan was coming close to the final stage in which with a single stroke he would exact a thousand years of revenge against the Jedi and the Republic for the defeat and near destruction of the Sith at the time of the Old Republic.

He was at the center of the government that the Jedi had answered to since the founding of the Jedi Order, manipulating events of the war that he had spent the last decade planning and preparing for, forcing the Jedi to take up arms and thus trapping them the moment they chose to fight. He had been prepared for the possibility of a few unexpected problems but nothing that would slow his plan in the long term. He had influenced thousands upon thousands of beings in both the Republic and the Separatists and he was slowly directing them all to a single end that he and his predecessors had been working for.

And yet a single discovery presented a possible threat that not even he could have considered.

An entire galaxy with no Sith or Jedi, not seemingly influenced by the Force that he barely knew anything about with almost no known way to counter them. He had been as shocked as the Jedi as when he tried to feel these beings through the Force he found he could not read their minds as they were naturally able to block any attempt to probe them. How such a thing was possible was beyond him and not even Master Yoda or the Jedi Council were able to make sense of it. The delegation had come to Coruscant and naturally the entire galaxy had stopped as news of beings from a new galaxy spread, even halting the war momentarily as the history of their races and even the possible history of the Milky Way was presented.

When the question was asked how humans could live in another galaxy the delegation presented the story of the mysterious race known as the Preservers, the first humanoid race that seeded thousands of worlds with humanoid life and even left behind clues and archives to their descendants in the hopes all would come together and meet their parent race when the time was right. That story actually sparked the interest of universities and science institutes that wondered if it was possible that humanoid life in this galaxy was seeded by these Preservers as well. It did give a few Humancentrist groups that had sprung up recently a boost in their numbers that started to speak out in light of the story of the Preservers. However it seemed no one from the other galaxy shared their beliefs and were quick to ignore or avoid them as soon as possible unless they were Klingon which led to a few fights breaking out with security trying to hold back the Klingons who beat the racist fools down.

Then there was the histories of many powers in the Milky Way, especially the ones part of the Federation.

World Wars One through Three along with the Eugenics Wars on Earth.

The Time of Awakening on the planet Vulcan.

The conflicts between Andoria and Vulcan.

The Earth Terrorist Organization known as Terra Prime.

The Xindi Attack on Earth (The Chancellor was slightly frustrated to not learn anything about the Xindi superweapon).

The Earth-Romulan War that led to the founding of the Federation.

The brief Federation-Klingon conflict which soon became an alliance that lasted for a century.

The massacre at Wolf-359 by the cybernetic species known as the Borg which made Palpatine scowl as the more he read about the Borg the more he believed that the Borg would be the greatest threat to his plan if they were still in the galaxy. He had read the reports from Master Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura stating that the Borg had somehow established a base in the Maw which in fact wasn't impossible as the Sith had long discovered a safe way into the black hole cluster.

The Dominion War which was interesting to read about due to the fact that a power in the Milky Way had a clone army that was clearly superior to the clonetroopers of the Republic. He made a note to try and find out more about these Jem'Hadar, especially their shrouding abilities. If there was a chance they could be found in this galaxy it presented an opportunity to create a brand new army in a short amount of time that would be useful. With the death of Jango Fett the Kaminoans had lost their main supply of DNA and it was only a matter of time before the current DNA samples degraded.

From the non-classified reports and history logs showed it appeared the Dominion was superior to the Kaminoans in genetic engineering.

And the recent Federation and Klingon conflict brought on by the race of shapeshifting aliens known as the Undine which were in fact tricked by the mysterious race known as the Iconians which reminded Palpatine of another threat to the Grand Plan. Palpatine scowled as he remembered Anakin and Tarkin's report that these Iconians were spying on the Republic with possible plans to enslave the Republic and the rest of the galaxy for reasons unknown along with the reports of them inciting conflict by in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Official history claimed that the Iconians were once a galaxy spanning empire thousands of years ago until the enslaved masses rose up, defeated them, and bombed their home planet, supposedly ending their existence but it seemed they had returned and had possible contact with the ancient Rataka Empire and the mysterious Celestials in the past. This makes them an even greater potential threat than the other outsider races.

He had already received confirmed reports that the Borg were hold in the Maw which was a surprise since only the Sith had been aware of the secret passage through the Maw and that the Undine were the ones responsible for Master Evan Piell and Admiral Tarkin ending up in the Milky Way Galaxy. The last thing he needed was several alien races messing around with his plans.

However he may also know best how to counter them.

It was obvious that the Milky Way races were more experienced, more adaptable, and more prepared for the concept of war as the longest they had gone without war was a century after the signing of the Khitomer Accords by the Federation and the Klingon Empire while the Clone Wars were the first official war since the Sith War thousands of years ago. While the war between the Republic and the Separatists had reached a stalemate Sidious knew that outside of making sure their worlds were safe most worlds did not care about the war as it did not affect them which made it all the more easier for him to manipulate them and making the Jedi all the more pathetic for choosing to fight for them. Only the Gungans and the Wookies have ever shown a willingness to stand with their allies while the Twi'leks fought to protect their planet but demanded that the Republic Army left once their planet was liberated.

The people of the galaxy simply have forgotten what it is like to be under the threat of war from just about anything, criminals, the Sith, and any kind of danger out there and therefore simply didn't care as long as it didn't affect them. That made them especially vulnerable to his manipulation but also vulnerable to threats like the Borg, the Undine, and these Iconians and anything else that came from the Milky Way. With these threats in mind he needed to work out ways to counter them and possible the Milky Way Alliance. Though they had come to establish ties with the Republic ultimately they wanted to ensure that the Clone Wars did not spill into their galaxy, the Klingons even stating in the interviews that followed the introduction of the new galaxy that they would not ally with gangs of cowards who grew humans or built clumsy machines to fight for them.

The Klingons had gone as far as to call the Republic cowards for using an army of human slaves to fight their battles when it couldn't keep itself from falling apart because of their own incompetence. Needless to say that sparked a great many arguments and it didn't help with groups who were screaming the Rights of Sentience of the Galactic Constitution on behalf of the clones standing up with the Klingons and even the Romulans who, while did not go as far to criticize the Republic's use of clones, stated that it is questionable that a government that outlaws slavery would create an army to fight for them when it would have honorable and economically better to build up an army of volunteers than rely on an army whose origins remain suspect. The constant arguing brought a headache to the Chancellor who, while understood the need to go through the meetings, was already annoyed with the constant squabbling idiotic politicians who barely had any power anymore. Senators like Padme Amidala, while always a candidate for peace, could not help but sadly agree with the Klingons and the Romulans and used it as an excuse to direct the funding away from the war which sparked even more arguments.

The Milky Way Galaxy had figuratively speaking poked the hornet's nest and causing the Republic to fracture more from the inside as groups continued to argue about the rights of the clones or insulting the visitors for being naïve and saying that they had no right to criticize the Republic for doing what must be done. He didn't know whether to be thankful or annoyed but so as long as they were causing distractions he had more room and time to work with what he had. Given what he knew of the technology of the trio of major powers in the Milky Way Galaxy they had advanced deflector shields that could deflect both energy and projectile weaponry and could even be modified to block tractor beams given what he read on historic encounters with the Borg. Anakin had asked about the glowing dishes on the Federation ships and had learned that they emit an energy field to block large and small particles from hitting the ships meaning their deflector shields were more advanced than current deflector shields used by the Republic.

With all gathered knowledge from Anakin who taken the time to study up on their technology during his stay in the Milky Way along with Tarkin and the Chiss named Thrawn who asked for political asylum in the Republic Sidious and his apprentice both set out to establish special projects aimed for making a better stand against the Milky Way Galaxy. He was aware of the _Imperator_ Class Star Destroyer Class being constructed that would be larger than any other ship in the Republic Navy that was being kept secret for now, even from the Jedi. Anakin had stated that it was likely that a battle between the cruiser classes of the main visitors and the current _Venator_ Star Destroyer class would be almost even with the Star Destroyers having more guns that could cripple their opponents under a fall barrage but the Milky Way ships had speed on their side and their beam weapons and exotic torpedoes able to heavily damage the shields and possibly take out the bridge towers which were the main weakness of the Star Destroyer class. Though they would stand a better chance against the possible new enemies as they would have to have more weapons, better shields, and better armor and while also accounting for the maneuverability that even the largest Milky Way ship would use to outpace the larger warship.

Even he knew that speed was just as important as power in almost any kind of battle. There was also the matter that hyperdrives did not work in the Milky Way Galaxy due to some form of subspace interference. That made the Milky Way more dangerous and unpredictable as hyperspace has been the main method of travel in this galaxy for millennia, dating back to before the time of the Rakata Empire. There had been reports on different forms of FTL such as warp drive, transwarp, and quantum slipstream but no one truly understood how these drives worked and the theory of how they might work was not even past the infant stage. If Sidious ever planned to take the Milky Way or at least eliminate it as a threat he would need to know everything about it, including a way for his ships to travel through the new galaxy.

So with that in mind he planned to use the slight halt in the war to prepare for a brand new war that would no doubt shake the entire galaxy to the core, perhaps even both of them. Already he had contacted Republic Siener Systems and ordered them to work on new engine and shield designs which sadly would be slow at first given they only had basic knowledge on the technology used by the Milky Way and he knew his apprentice had ordered the shipyards in the CIS to do the same. Therefore in the meantime he secretly placed an order for ships in the current Republic fleet not out on the frontlines to receive a retrofit, actually following a few of Skywalker's ideas which have always been greatly appreciated by the engineers. The _Venator_ class Star Destroyer would have new and more powerful turbolaser laser batteries, stronger shields, improved hyperdrive, and an improved power plant with additional smaller reactors to give extra power to the weapons and shields that would perhaps make it as powerful as the new _Imperator_ Class Star Destroyer.

In addition to that he ordered new ships capable of fighting Milky Way ships to be constructed at the secret base on Centax-2 under the personal supervision of Admiral Tarkin who had been promoted for his services. Tarkin was one of the few non-Force sensitives who had been to the Milky Way and his military input would be of great use, especially for the secret projects being conducted on Centax-2. The Chancellor had given Tarkin free reign to do whatever what was needed and Tarkin had started by ordering in scientists and engineers from all over the Inner Rim and drafting them into programs set up to improve the Republic's navy and weaponry. In the meantime the Chiss named Thrawn had already shown a talent for tactical thinking so Sidious put him in charge of a fleet, deciding to test him and see if he could be useful.

The Chiss were reclusive but the few recorded encounters proved them to be dangerous and cunning which was why Sidious allowed Thrawn to join the Republic. There were only a few competent generals and admirals aside from the Jedi and a competent officer to keep the war going against the Confederacy was more than welcome. Already Thrawn had taken the schematics for the current capital ships and fighter designs and improved them without even giving away anything about Chiss technology, speaking high of Chiss intelligence and ingenuity. Working with Siener Systems had produced promising results, including advanced ion engines for the new prototype T.I.E. fighter that was being developed for use with the _Imperator_ Star Destroyer.

Sidious would be patient, bide his time and watch this new galaxy carefully before he made his next move.

"Having trouble Chancellor or should I call you, Sidious?"

Palpatine spun around, narrowing his eyes at the man standing at his desk. A tall bald muscular dark skinned man with a small goatee and wore what appeared to be a Starfleet uniform. It was impossible for the man to infiltrate his office without him sensing it and yet here he was. He sensed something about this man, not quite the Force but there was some kind of power that was beyond what was possible for a non-Force sensitive.

"Is there something on my face?" The man smirked, not seeming to care that he was standing in the presence of a Sith Lord.

"Who are you?" Sidious stated, glaring at the man. "How did you get here?"

"I am former Starfleet Captain Benjamin Sisko." The man introduced himself. "And as for how I got here…I am not really here but at the same time I am standing right in front you."

Sidious raised an eyebrow as he tried to sense the man's presence but he though felt something from the man that managed encompass the entire room without even trying. "What are you?"

"I was born a human but right now…I am simply known as the Emissary." Sisko answered.

Sidious raised an eyebrow at the title. "Emissary?"

"That is all you need to know, Sheev Palpatine or should I call you by the name your parents gave you, …" Sisko stated and whispered the name, standing his ground as Palpatine narrowed his eyes at hearing the name he had rejected long. "And yes, I know who you are and the name you use when you are not acting like the kindly old man people see as the Supreme Chancellor. I also know of everything you've done, from the felonies you committed during your younger years including the deaths of those two pedestrians that your father covered up before you killed him, your mother, and your siblings. Where I now live I can see things, past, present, and future are like an open book to me and I can even see every possible future based on the choices the people of this or any other universe makes. In other words not only do I know who you are I can also see your possible futures and I must say out of the all people I have ever met you are a real piece of work."

"Oh? And why are you here?" Sidious grunted. "Are you here to tell me my future? Or are you here to stop me?"

"Neither. I am here to tell you that if you attempt to attack the Milky Way in any shape or form you will regret it." Sisko answered.

"Regret it?" Sidious chuckled. "And why would I regret it? Are you so sure of yourself that I would attempt to take over your galaxy?"

"Not sure, positive. The want, the need to dominate is so strong in you it can actually be called the very source of your life. But the problem with you, the problem that anyone like you has, is that anything you can't have you fear and what you fear you destroy. You believe that with time and patience you will have the power to dominate both galaxies…" Sisko smirked. "And that is where you fail."

"Oh?"

"Your entire plan, it hinges on being able to convert the Chosen One to your plan and being able to deceive everyone until your plan comes to fruition. But what you don't see is that the truth has a funny way of coming out." Sisko explained. "And maybe not today or tomorrow but when an Empire goes too far and the people become sick of oppression and deception they rally and overthrow the ones in charge. Ironic wouldn't it, that your lust for power would be your weakness."

Sidious scoffed and chuckled. "So you know everything about me and my plans but you won't do anything? My, my, it seems even this new galaxy shares a few traits with the Jedi, the notable one being arrogance."

"I could say the same about the Sith sharing a few traits with some of the beings that we have faced down and stopped. When it boils down to it you are a bunch of thugs warped by the twisted need to be dominant. This whole conflict was started to satisfy your insane lust for power and aim to commit mass murder all for a simple religious dispute that should have ended centuries ago." Sisko replied, his smirk widening slightly. "We are attracted to the unknown like moths to the flames and we explore, seeking to understand and better ourselves. You, for all your power, just keep continuing a pointless cycle of hatred and destruction that was started millions of years ago."

"Spoken like a true ignorant. The Jedi and the Republic are decadent and weak, believing themselves above reproach. You say pointless but I say necessary as only the strong are meant to rule while the weak serve their betters."

"That's an old belief and a foolish at that." Sisko closed his eyes. "I remember hearing such words before. Men who believes themselves capable of better than the rest simply because of how they knew how to say the right words to encourage people to follow them, because they had better weapons, or simply because they wanted to mark their spot in history. They all left their marks indeed, as butchers, murderers, and monsters who all died and it was never because of old age."

"And you believe that is my fate?" Sidious smirked. "A little hard for me to take you seriously when you are being as vague as a Jedi. Let me guess, the Chosen will destroy me and bring balance to the Force like Jedi have been spouting endlessly all these years."

"Who says the Jedi will be the ones who defeat you?" Sisko replied, his smirk returning. "I never said how you died or who possibly stops you."

Sidious frowned but didn't say anything.

"All you need to know that if and when you attempt to hold the Milky Way in your grasp your plans will unwind faster than you can hope to salvage them." Sisko said. "Remember this Sheev Palpatine, those who seek power and deal through death and destruction to gain it they always become victims of their own foolishness."

With that said Sisko was gone in a flash of light and Sidious was alone in his office.

"We will see about that, Emissary." Palpatine whispered.

He would not be stopped.

Not by the Jedi.

Not by the Borg.

Not by the United Federation.

Not by the so-called Demons of Air and Darkness.

Not by anyone.

The Sith would rule the galaxy, now and forever.

And possible two galaxies if Sidious played his cards right.

Xxx

 **Serenno  
Dooku Castle**

The rest of the galaxy was actively taking a breath from the war to learn about the new galaxy that had been revealed through a series of wormholes and portals and Count Dooku was no different.

With his master's Intel he was already well caught up on everything that the Jedi and the Senate knew about the new galaxy with possible allies and enemies, perhaps even more as the CIS ship _Winds of Mygeeto_ had been returned with its droid crew that was able to give them a full report on the dealings with the Federation. He was surprised when he learned that Master Evan Piell had returned meaning that a portal the new galaxy was possibly in Separatist space but the fleet that had vanished like Master Piell's ship did not return and it was located in a nebula close to the New Romulus meaning it was likely guarded. Given how the Federation and Romulan flagships had been a match for a Separatist Dreadnaught and a Republic Star Destroyer that had been hijacked by aliens that created the first portal to the galaxy it was likely the missing fleet was destroyed or lost in the nebula of this new galaxy. The scans of the ships from the Republic and Separatist ships involved concluded that the majority of the Federation, Romulan, and Klingon ships had very high energy readings, matching dreadnaught class ships despite their small size, with exotic weapons that were different from anything Dooku or his master was expecting.

The beam weapons appeared to be particle based, using an unknown particle that easily penetrated deflector shields and surgically cut through alloy armor with relative ease while scans of the torpedoes yielded different results. The first scan revealed that the first type used a controlled matter-antimatter that was powerful enough to inflict damage even through shields while the second scan of the torpedoes used by the Romulans showed plasma contained in magnetic fields like turbo-lasers but in greater magnitude. Those ships were perhaps treasure troves of technology that had yet to be seen or invented by this galaxy and that made them all the more a threat to the Plan. As he thought more on what he learned Dooku could not help but smirk as he remembered the looks on the faces of the Separatists Council as the information on the Milky Way powers was shown to them, each of them believing they could make a profit out business with the new galaxy.

He almost laughed when they found out that most of these powers, specifically the Federation was run on a moneyless economy. The mere idea of an economy with almost no form of money left the majority of the Separatist Leaders flabbergasted, unable to comprehend how such a thing actually _worked_. General Grievous actually laughed at the meeting, unable to contain how amusing it was to watch those idiots flail about simply because someone actually cared about money as much as he did and was one of the few times (perhaps the first time ever) he enjoyed a meeting with the Council. Needless to say as more information was examined, including the fact that though the Federation did have a form of currency it was only used for non-essential things as while all planets kept their own forms of currency which ensured that the Federation itself could not be corrupted from the inside.

It became even more pronounced that money was irrelevant when they learned that through the use of replicators, devices modeled after transporters that could create almost anything simply from the molecules stored in them, that any form of money along with gold and diamonds could be created that the need for money was non-existent. No one was homeless and programs were set up that almost anyone could find a proper home and job easily. Dooku for the moment took the chance to think over the possibilities of how different the Republic would be if it had followed a path similar to the Federation's, perhaps finding a way to avoid the corruption that had caused the Republic to be too rotten to be saved.

As for the majority of the Separatist Council, their reaction could be summed up in a few words: flabbergasted, confused, intimidated and frustrated. The concept of a civilization that did not run off of the life blood that had fueled the Republic for tens of thousands of years was beyond them. What made it worse was that it became apparent their usual methods of circumventing laws and regulations would not be nearly as effective…and that was what scared them.

However the Separatist Senate itself had reacted with more enthusiasm. To them this Federation and its galaxy made the perfect ally, or an example to follow. Where corporate leaders had rallied to their side to collect the spoils of war there were thousands of Senators who had joined out of the genuine desire to cast off the ancient corruption that had been allowed to fester in the Galactic Senate. And as loath as Dooku was to admit it if they all chose to they could have him and the Council removed at the first sign of them stirring up trouble or trying to acquire Federation technology through illegal means.

The Milky Way factions only offered to share medical technology which the senates of both governments accepted though Dooku had heard of many wanting more like weapons technology to finish the war. The diplomats claimed that they would not hand over any form of weaponry and even if the technology was stolen by one side they would give the same technology to the other side to even the balance. That led to both senates being forced to give up convincing them to supply weapons and accept what had been offered.

That forced the Count to shelf most plans for acquiring or replicating anything from the Federation to focus on the more present and visible issue of the war which he still had to attend to. So for the time being he ordered that no one was to engage any ships from the Milky Way, even ones not aligned with the current Alliance. He stressed that point to all of the Separatists leaders, including Grievous and Durge and made sure they got the message. In the meantime he had to deal with the CIS Senate that was pushing for negotiations with the Alliance, even ones that wanted to use the Alliance as a way to make peace with the Republic under the belief that the Republic had the backing of the Alliance.

No doubt his master would be at work from the shadows, and until Dooku received any new orders he would have to proceed as though everything was normal…as normal as they could be, given the circumstances. However given the appearance of these new beings Dooku knew he had to be ready for the possibility of them becoming involved in the war before the plan was carried out one or another and thus he ordered the science divisions along with the shipyards to start finding ways to improve their ships by adding additional armaments to their rear sides to give them a better chance at defending themselves and create new ships to fight against Milky Way ships. The main plans for these new ships was for them to be fast enough to make a stand against the potential enemy while having enough fire power to fight them.

He looked over the designs of several ships with promise, even if it was only to improve the CIS fleet against the Republic in the short reprieve. The Free Dac Volunteers Engineeing Corps that had designed and produced the _Recusant_ class light destroyers, the _Providence_ class carrier/destroyers, and the larger and more powerful _Subjugator_ class heavy cruisers had access to the designs of Mon Calamari class ships when they joined the Separatist Alliance and were working on ways to improve their ship designs and create new class of ships to field against ships of the Milky Way factions. Plans involving improved weapons, better shielding with more armor, and more power by upgrading the reactors or adding smaller reactors for extra power were made to give the CIS fleet a better chance for possible combat with the Milky Way factions or even something else that might appear. General Grievous had looked over the recordings of the Federation flagship _Enterprise_ and the Romulan ship referred to as a warbird (Grievous actually appreciated the title) known as the _Lleiset_ to analyze them for weaknesses.

It was a lot of assuming on his part but Grievous was an accomplished strategist and nearly a flawless tactician.

As he looked over the recordings he stated that while the _Enterprise_ was much faster than a ship its size its shape could also be used against it, especially around the engines, specifically the nacelles. By scoring a direct hit on the nacelles the Federation ship would be crippled or possibly disabled. The fact that it moved out of range of Durge's dreadnaught possibly meant that while its shields were advanced they were not invulnerable. The _Lleiset_ showed the ability to cloak itself and attack while cloaked which made just as, if not more formidable than the _Enterprise_ as the ability to attack while cloaked was something no one thought possible. Dooku ordered the science divisions begin researching new ways of improving the cloaking technology in this galaxy but it would likely take years to produce a working prototype, let alone finding a way to account for the amount of power the cloaking device would use.

He turned again to Grievous for advice and the cyborg general stated that while the _Lleiset_ 's ability to cloak itself and attack was a tactical boon to them it could also be the Romulan fleet's greatest weakness. The general believed that even if the Romulans could attack while cloaked the power needed to maintain the cloak and the weapons likely could not be used for shields, sacrificing defense for stealth and offence. The General advised rather bluntly they needed to arm their ships to the teeth, giving them not only the ability to fight at a three hundred sixty degree angle but also third dimensionally as Milky Way ships were fast, the smaller ones perhaps as fast as fighters with enough fire power to defend themselves. So Dooku ordered the Separatist fleet to receive an upgrade in power and defense, retrofitting all ship classes to be more effective against enemies from both galaxies.

They knew the Klingons used cloaking devices on their ships and though it was unconfirmed if they had the same tactical advantage as the Romulans Dooku was not going to take the chance that they did not. He ordered them to work on ways to improve shielding, study up on particle beam weaponry based off of the scans they had of the Battle of the Gate as the first official encounter between both galaxies was being called, and to see if the speed the Milky Way ships showed could be adapted to his own fleet.

The sound of his console let him know who was calling and he quickly answered, watching as the image of his master appear and bowed in greetings. "My Lord."

" _Lord Tyrannus, I understand that the new embassy on Raxus is complete._ " Sidious stated.

"Yes, Master. The people were extremely welcoming to our new guests. I was reviewing the latest intelligence just as you called." Dooku answered.

" _I was doing the same myself for some time. It is a rare occasion is it not to see such an event happen._ " Sidious said, sounding amused. " _In fact I was visited just now by someone from the galaxy who might have known something similar to the Force._ "

"They have Force sensitives, Master?" Dooku questioned, looking surprised and intrigued.

" _No, not by our understanding at least. The Federation, the Klingons, Romulans and all else see the powers displayed by the Jedi as simply another ability that unique individuals might possess. They are neither awed nor afraid but they know to be weary of some powers._ " Sidious answered. " _This Benjamin Sisko was a Starfleet Captain who became something else, calling himself the Emissary of the Prophets who I have learned to be creatures existing in a worm hole, living outside of linear time._ "

"Creatures living in a worm hole?" Dooku raised an eyebrow. "If not for the fact that a new galaxy appeared out of a portal with definite proof I would not believe this so easily."

" _Neither would I, my apprentice. This Sisko knows our plans and has left a warning to not attempt to attack the Milky Way Galaxy in any way, shape or form._ " Sidious grunted.

"Are we going to allow this emissary to intimidate us?" Dooku asked, one brow raised.

" _Obviously not, but we must now consider our response carefully. The presence of this new galaxy and the ease of travel between it and our own presents an uncontrollable factor in this war. One that we cannot manipulate to our advantage which makes it all the more dangerous. We must tread carefully with our next move, my apprentice._ " Sidious replied, " _Up until now every engagement, be it a victory or failure has served our interests and kept the Jedi distracted from the truth. I will not risk them discovering our plans before the time is right, and to that end we must remained focused on affairs within our own galaxy. If this Federation speaks truthfully then it shall not move to interfere in the war unless provoked, neither shall the Klingons or the Romulans at this time. What we must do is make sure that they cannot interfere with or bring an end to the war, which they shall attempt to do based on my understanding of their history._ "

"What would you have me do, Master?"

" _If the Republic and the Separatists agree to a third party negotiating a truce it shall be the job of the Separatists to demand unreasonable terms of peace._ " Siduous replied, " _Specifically…recompense for the damage of the war and the demand for the heads of the aggressors responsible for the events on Geonosis which led to the state of conflict between the Republic and the Confederacy…Senator Padme Amidala, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi…and Anakin Skywalker._ "

"And of course the Republic would never agree to such terms." Dooku realized, rubbing his bearded chin as he thought over the reaction that would meet these demands. "Amidala is a vastly influential senator with friends in all circles of the Senate, she is beloved by countless trillions who would oppose this. And even if she were not part of the demand the Jedi Order would never surrender two of its strongest members…least of all the Hero with No Fear. Kenobi and Skywalker are almost as respected as Amidala, they would never be tossed to the wolves."

" _Exactly! And there shall be those within the Separatist Senate who shall attempt to change these terms, seek more…reasonable alternatives such as acknowledgement of the Confederacy as its own sovereign power. They must be…made to remain silent for the duration of these negotiations._ "

"I shall see to it, Master." Dooku bowed his head, "I will act with utmost discretion."

" _I shall also be prioritizing completion of our weapon. I want you to begin searching for ways to speed up its construction but kept at a pace that would allow us to properly test its technology,_ " Sidious continued, " _Until now construction has been intentionally paced so that it would not reach completion for years. However, we have achieved access to recently…unavailable regions of the Galaxy which may serve as better grounds for the construction to continue at full speed. The weapon shall be relocated to a specific set of coordinates where construction shall be resumed at full speed, and the weapon itself shall be ready long before the Federation can bring an end to hostilities._ "

"Even they with their own advancements cannot contend with the overwhelming firepower that we shall bring against them." Dooku agreed, "I shall make sure it is carried out, Master."

" _There is no need…I have a new subordinate, a…reliable and efficient officer who will see that everything is in order while you will be free to attend to matters with the Senate._ " Sidious assured his apprentice, " _Once the Jedi are subdued we will turn our sights towards the Milky Way Galaxy and test its power against us and see what these Prophets are capable of. We must also work to discover more about the Iconians who have been reported to have been spying on us and are likely preparing an invasion of this galaxy for reasons unknown. I will not tolerate a third faction acting as a rival just as plan is not yet complete and to be properly prepared we need information, resources, and even armies to make a stand against these Iconians and anyone else that might threaten us._ "

"I have been studying on the Milky Way, looking for allies who might be of use to us. The Federation may have hundreds of member worlds and different races but there are many who do not agree with them." Dooku stated.

" _Good. Do any stand out as potential allies?_ " Sidious asked curiously.

"I am sad to state not many would be easy in convincing to join our cause, even if we offer them a great deal of money or technology. The Borg exist on the other side of the Milky Way and do not negotiate. There is the chance of using the remnants of the fallen Romulan Empire that have not joined with the Romulan Republic. They have lost their ruler and have fractured into civil conflict for the most part. The Cardassians would have made possible allies in the past before the Dominion war but as of now only the extremist group known as the True Way could be a possible ally. As of now the only possible ally with the strength to be a threat to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants would be the Dominion but I doubt they would be interested in an alliance with us." Dooku explained. "Another possible allies are minor powers, such as the Tholian Assembly and the Breen Confederacy who are noted to be extremely xenophobic and have conflict with the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans, especially the Breen who allied with the Dominion during their war against the Alpha and the Beta Quadrants thirty years ago. Then there is the Undine who apparently live in another universe known as Fluidic Space and have infiltrated the Federation and the Klingons. Currently we have no way of contacting any of these factions without setting up some kind of foot hold in the Milky Way. There is still the matter of hyperdrives being ineffective in the Milky Way which is a problem as there hasn't been research into other forms of FTL travel in the history of the galaxy."

" _While it is regretful we do not yet have any allies or capabilities of establishing a staging ground in the Milky Way it is of no consequence. All that is needed is patience for when the time is right the Jedi will be gone and the Republic will be ours. We will concentrate on the Milky Way once this galaxy is ours and the weapon is ready._ "

"Indeed Master." Dooku bowed his head. "There is a matter I believe you should know."

" _Oh?_ "

"As you know the Milky Way factions have been setting up ships and staging grounds near the portals, officially because of the threats such as the Borg and the shapeshifting creatures known as the Undine. The Confederacy Parliament has moved for representatives to visit the Milky Way. I was in the process of determining who would go when you contacted me." Dooku explained.

" _I see. Not unexpected as members of the Republic have agreed to send representatives to the Milky Way as well._ " Sidious said thoughtfully. " _What are your thoughts on this, my apprentice?_ "

"It would be wise to send someone to study up on the other side of the portal. I would not recommend anyone from the Separatist Council or General Grievous for that matter. The Council is not suited to dealing with beings who share no interest in profit. I would have recommended one of my acolytes, specifically…" Dooku trailed off.

" _Who?_ "

"Ventress." Dooku answered, bracing himself for what he expected to come.

" _Ah, Ventress. The apprentice I told you to kill and you failed._ " Sidious said mockingly. " _And she almost killed you twice with her Nightsister clan and her pet._ "

Asajj Ventress had been one of Dooku's Dark Acolytes and she was perhaps the most skilled of them all which was why Dooku took an interest in her. She had proven to be a natural assassin and skilled enough to kill Jedi in combat, having gone up against the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. She in fact had given Anakin the scar across his eye earlier in the war and became a personal enemy of Kenobi. Her skills had only improved with each encounter which why Sidious ordered Dooku to eliminate her under the belief that Dooku was training Ventress to be his own apprentice to overthrow Sidious.

Only Ventress survived and attempted to assassinate Dooku twice, the first through poison to weaken him enough for her to finish off and then second through the Nightbrother Savage Oppress who became Dooku's new assassin for a time. The plan was for Dooku to train Savage until he was ready and the two of them would kill Dooku. The plan failed because Savage had been tracked by the Jedi, forcing Ventress to try and kill Dooku ahead of schedule which led to Savage escaping into the galaxy becoming an out of control monster off its leash.

Ventress escaped as well, disappearing into the galaxy but Dooku was not one to forgive such treachery. He would find her and he would finish her off.

"It was momentary mistake, Master. I assure you that when Ventress is found she will be eliminated." Dooku immediately replied.

" _I am sure you will but perhaps we now have more use for her._ " Sidious smirked.

"Master?" Dooku asked, not sure what his master was thinking.

" _You are right that the Separatists currently lack someone with both military and diplomatic experience which is why I have decided that Ventress's termination could be…postponed. At the very least we could have someone skilled with the Dark Side in the Milky Way to give us a better lay out of the land._ " Sidious explained. " _Of course this depends on the possibility that you are able to control her._ "

As much as he wished to make sure Ventress was out of the picture before she became a possible threat to the plan there was the situation of the Milky Way and even Sidious considered the fact that having Ventress has a wild card when he was pushing his plans forward was too risky. So after some consideration he decided that if there was a chance to recruit Ventress back into their ranks he would allow, if only because she was more useful with them than against them.

"I promise, my master, that if I am allowed to once more take as an apprentice I will send her to the Milky Way. If she refuses she will die. I believe she will seek out the witches on Dathomir eventually and that is when I will approach her. They will submit to us or face the full force of our might." Dooku replied.

He had been preparing for the time to exact vengeance against Ventress for her attempts to kill him and the Nightsisters for assisting her. A fleet had been gathered with a full force of battle droids that would be led by Grievous when the time was right. The magic of the Nightsisters was no match for an army large enough to take an entire plan, even if they had the help of a former CIS commander who was trained in the Force by the CIS leader himself. It would be a massacre but if Ventress agreed Dooku would spare them.

For now.

" _Good but meantime you still need to send someone who is not only experienced in diplomacy but who will see to it that no chance of peace for the Republic is possible._ " Sidious continued.

"It will be done, Master. I will not let anything stop us, not even an entire galaxy." Dooku bowed again in compliance.

" _I will hold you to those words, Lord Tyrannus._ " Sidious said before the image vanished.

Dooku sat back in his chair, considering the latest events and what he must do to make sure they did not interfere with the plan. Like his master Dooku would not let anyone stand in their way.

Not the Jedi.

Not the Federation.

Not the Klingons.

Not the Romulans.

Not anyone from the Milky Way Galaxy.

Nobody.


	15. Chapter 15

**Wild Space  
Kamino System  
Kamino  
Tipoca City**

A clonetrooper walked through the white halls of the Kamino, ignoring anyone who walked by him as he was focused on finding what he was sent to find. He stopped in front of a large pair of doors and quickly inputted his access code. The doors opened and he walked in, seeing the DNA storage chamber which stored over thousands of DNA samples used by the Kaminoans in their cloning procedures. The clone walked up to the console and accessed the archive system, looking through the DNA files until he found the name he was looking for.

 **Clone Template: Jango Fett**

The clone grinned.

* * *

Jedi Master Shaak Ti honestly didn't know if she wanted to be here, supervising the training for the clones that would be sent out onto the front lines or if she wanted to be out on the frontlines with her fellow Jedi. The galaxy was spiraling down into what appeared an epic storm of madness and the Force was not giving her any clarity on what she and her fellow Jedi had encountered on Hoth, leading to their capture by subspace aliens that gave off an aura of malevolence that she only seen in Dark Jedi which led to the discovery of a new galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy. The idea of another galaxy, one that was a mere flight away by a portal near Naboo seemed impossible, especially since the Jedi never sensed it at all.

However she was there and saw it all.

Fortunately they made it back and a new heart for Master Piell was transplanted, even though the Jedi Master would remain bedridden for several weeks. Since their arrival to Coruscant and their introduction the people of the Milky Way had caused everything to momentarily freeze, including the war which Shaak Ti was grateful for. The less death and destruction the better in her opinion and perhaps this would be a sign that the war would end. Unfortunately she knew that certain people on both sides of the war would never stand for peace.

Count Dooku.

General Grievous.

Asajj Ventress.

Various members in the Republic Senate who called for the destruction of the Separatists for their crimes.

Admiral Tarkin and people like him who were becoming more and more influential.

Separatist Leaders like Nute Gunray who had more than once tried to assassinate Senator Amidala.

Even a few Jedi who called for the death of General Grievous for the many Jedi he had killed since the beginning of the war.

 _A large creature glaring with yellow eyes. "The weak will perish!"_

Shaak Ti's eyes went wide as she sensed hatred and anger from inside the city. She quickly reached out with the Force, tracking the anger towards the…

"Master Ti!" A Kaminoan called out. "There's been an unauthorized access in the DNA chamber. Someone is trying to access the Jango Fett strain!"

"Put the city on lockdown! There is an intruder!" Shaak Ti said as she rushed out of the main control room.

* * *

The clone snarled at the sound of klaxons blaring and knew why they went off just before the doors opened and five clone-troopers rushed, pointing their weapons at him. "Hold it right there! Identify yourself."

The clone slowly turned around, an expression of rage and deep hate that looked to alien to be human stared down the clones.

"I'll say it again, identify yourself!" The clone captain barked.

"I do not answer…to the weak!" The clone let out a scream as his body morphed into a creature the clones had never seen before.

Just as the clones tried to fire the creature raised its hand but the attack was not physical, it was mental. The clone staggered as their minds were assaulted, the strange attack disorientated them long enough for the creature to lunge at them and with just one swipe they were down. The creature rushed out of the DNA storage room and into the hall where it was spotted by clones, Kaminoans and droids but it didn't matter as it simply bulldozed its way past them.

* * *

" _General Ti, the intruder is making its way to the west entrance. We're trying to hold it off but it's-GAH!_ "

Shaak Ti closed her eyes as she felt the deaths of the clones that were trying to hold the creature back and tried to probe the creature's mind.

' _You are weak, imperfect, disgusting. We will cleanse this galaxy of your filth. The weak will perish!_ ' The creature's mind was ablaze with these thoughts.

Shaak Ti's eyes shot open as more screams rang through the hall and the doors in front of her and her squad that she ordered sealed to keep the creature contained were ripped from their hinges and slammed onto the floor as the creature rushed towards the exit with the Jedi and the clones standing in the way.

"Open fire!"

The clones shot at the creature but their blaster bolts dissipated against its skin as lunged at the pest that dared to attack it.

"Get back!" Shaak Ti shouted as she ignited her lightsaber and slashed at the creature.

However to her shock the lightsaber did not cut through the creature's skin. The creature faced Shaak Ti and leaned its head forward. Shaak Ti cried out, gritting her teeth in pain as a powerful force tried to rip through her mind and she instantly knew it was the creature's doing.

' _You will perish!_ '

'No, we will not.' Shaak Ti replied, strengthening herself against the creature's mental barrage.

"Blast it!"

The creature ceased its attack on Shaak Ti, turning to the clones and lunged at them, swiping at them with its hands and taking out the entire squadron in seconds. The creature turned to Shaak Ti who held up her lightsaber even though it had proven to be ineffective against it.

"Why have you come here?" Shaak Ti questioned. "Who are you?"

She reached out with the Force to try and probe the creature but she was repelled by its anger and hate that was only intensified by her probing attempt and let out a screech as it lunged at her. Shaak Ti held out her hand, sending out a Force blast that slammed into the creature, slamming it into the wall and left a heavy indent in it but the creature was not down. In fact it seemed more angry than ever as it lashed out with another mental attack that Shaak Ti shielded herself against, trying to close her mind off against the creature. It was not easy as the creature's mind was extremely powerful and it didn't need to stop to concentrate attacking her mentally as she found out when he lunched at her.

Shaak Ti jumped back, backing away from the creature and sent out another Force Push to knock the creature back but to her shock the creature leapt up, latching onto the ceiling and crawled towards Shaak Ti while dodging her attack. 'It can sense Force movement?'

She only had a single warning as the creature leapt down and slashed at her. She jumped back, dodging its claws by mere inches from her face and landed on her feet. She saw what it done to her men and felt them die in pain. Whatever this creature was it was able to kill its victims simply by touching them and in addition to that it had a powerful mind with telepathic abilities but at the same time Shaak Ti had trouble sensing it through the Force.

It was possible that the creature was able to shield itself from her senses but the reason why did not matter. All that mattered was stopping the creature before it got away and find out why it was here. She lashed out with the Force and grabbed hold of the creature, lifting it off the ground struggled to hold it as it fought against her. The creature screeched in rage as it fought to break free and lashed out with mental attacks, aiming to cripple Shaak Ti's control but she would not give in. She braced herself against the creature's attacks as it pounded at the wall surrounding her mind.

She could hear more clones behind her and knew that if she could hold it long enough they could help her capture it.

"General!" Shaak Ti did not look back at the trooper that called out her name.

She was too busy trying to contain the creature whose rage only intensified. "Trooper! We must contain this creature!"

"Yes ma'am!" The trooper nodded as the clones surrounded the creature. "Pin it down!"

The creature lashed out with its mind, no longer targeting Shaak Ti but now it was attacking the clones, pushing its way into their minds.

"Hurry!" Shaak Ti shouted quickly trying to push the creature's influence back.

"Hold it down!"

Shaak Ti believed victory was near but she had to press on. However she did not know that as the creature's mind lashed out at the minds of the clones and found something embedded in their minds that had no defense against its mental probing.

' _Weak….Execute Order 66!_ '

The clones all stiffened and instantly they all pointed their weapons at Shaak Ti whose eyes had opened just in time to see it. Reflexes kicked in and she released the creature as she jumped back, avoiding the blaster fire from the clones and ignited her lightsaber to deflect the incoming bolts. The creature landed on the ground and leered at Shaak Ti, transmitting feelings of victory and vindication at her before it launched itself at the exit, crashing through the doors and vanished into the stormy weather of the planet. Shaak Ti had no way of pursuing the creature as she was too busy deflecting blaster bolts from the clones that were trying to kill her.

"What is going on here?!"

Shaak Ti didn't stop to see who was shouting. "Stun them! They're being controlled by the creature!"

Stun bolts shot past Shaak Ti, stunning the eight clones instantly and dropping them to the floor. Shaak Ti sighed as she deactivated her lightsaber and turned around, slightly surprised to see the man leading the clones that had saved was El-Les, one of the bounty hunters hired to train the clones.

"What happened?" El-Les asked, looking at the stunned clones. "Why were they attacking you?"

Shaak Ti glanced at the clones as they were picked up and sent to the medical bay. "…I don't know."

* * *

"This is most disturbing." Lama Su remarked as he looked over the data concerning the damage caused by the creature. "In addition to killing thirty clones and eight Kaminoans the creature polluted over dozens of DNA samples with some sort of virus that wiped out the DNA, including most of the Jango Fett strain."

"There are some samples left?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Yes, we took multiple samples from Jango Fett while he was still in our employ. However this is seriously damaging to our continued production of clones." Lama Su answered. "We can still continue creating clones but eventually our remaining DNA strands will degrade."

"Is there anything you can do to prevent that? If we lose the ability to create clones the Republic will be outnumbered." Shaak Ti stated.

"Our only hope would be to find a fresh strain of DNA but unfortunately as you know Jango Fett was killed shortly after leaving our custody." Lama Su pointed out. "I'm afraid no amount of similar DNA from any possible relatives he might have had would be enough to reverse the damage."

"I see…" Shaak Ti closed her eyes. "I will speak with the Jedi Council. They will need to know what has happened immediately."

* * *

(Timeline following the events of Part I from the Milky Way perspective)

An Iconian is discovered on New Romulus. The gateway network is accidently activated, leading to the discovery of the Solanae Dyson Sphere in the Delta Quadrant.

Starfleet Command, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic form a joint task force called Dyson Joint Command.

While exploring the Dyson Sphere another group of negotiators travel to the other galaxy, now called the Skyriver Galaxy to meet with the Galactic Republic.

The Borg launch a massive invasion on the planet Defera to assimilate Preserver technology and knowledge. Starfleet and KDF forces prevent the Borg from using their nanovirus and begin a series of conflicts against the Collective on the ground.

KDF, Romulan Republic Forces, and Starfleet ground forces destroy a Terran _Odyssey_ Dreadnaught Cruiser captured by the Tholians on Nukara Prime. The Tholians retreat from Nukara Prime but there is evidence that points to the Tholians having a foot in the Skyriver Galaxy.

The Republic Senate welcomes the MLA(Milky Way Alliance) and try convince them to join the war against the Confederacy but alliance adamantly refuses much to the surprise of the Chancellor and the Jedi.

The existence of another galaxy stirs the interest of the Republic and the Confederacy who welcome visitors and a trade of information is established.

The Federation Intelligence group known as Section 31 secretly removes a bio chip from a clone injured from a pirate attack and analyzes it, discovering the chip contains a list of orders that can only be given by the Supreme Chancellor. Section 31 sends the information to Klingon and Romulan intelligence divisions, asking both groups to begin investigating the Chancellor while also investigating the True Way which has possibly established itself in the Skyriver Galaxy and is building a new Dominion. All three intelligence agencies begin investigating the Clone Wars and the origin of the Clone Army.

Task Force Omega is assembled near the portal in response to the Borg threat in the Skyriver Galaxy but remain in the Milky Way. Chancellor Palpatine refuses to allow Omega Task Force into the galaxy, stating that such a fleet might provoke members both Republic and Separatists into believing the Milky Way is planning an invasion.

The Alpha Quadrant Alliance attempts to design hyperdrives for their own use and an _Oberth_ Class science vessel is chose as Utopia Shiypards over Mars. The test ends in disaster when the hyperdrive overloads and tears the ship apart. Fortunately the computer recognized the danger and beamed the skeleton crew away before it was torn apart and atomized by the failed hyperdrive. Scans of the incident confirm that heavy subspace interference interacted with the hyperdrive as the ship made the jump to hyperspace and instantly overloaded it. It is determined that hyperdrives cannot be used in the Milky Way and thus all hyperspace research should be conducted in the Skyriver Galaxy.

The alliance discovers the Voth trying to exploit the sphere's automated production of Omega Particles and Dyson Joint Command quickly begins to counter this threat.

The Voth attempt to hijack the Dyson Sphere by taking the control station in orbit of the sphere's star. A task force led by Read Admiral Tuvok is assembled to stop the Voth from possibly damaging subspace.

The battle for control of the Solanae Dyson Sphere ends when the gateway in orbit of the star in the center of the sphere is activated, leading to the discovery of the Jenolan Dyson Sphere and destruction of the Voth forces by the Undine.

Rear Admiral Tuvok calls for a conference to discuss the Undine and the threat they pose to the Milky Way Galaxy.

* * *

 _The Milky Way Galaxy has seen many changes in the last year. The discovery of the Solanae Dyson Sphere led to the discovery of a second Dyson Sphere that had jumped through subspace deep into the Delta Quadrant. Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic have come together, forming an alliance to explore the Delta Quadrant, referring to it as Operation: Delta Rising. That is not all as not only has the Delta Quadrant become a quick jump away a new galaxy has been discovered through a portal in space in close proximity to Federation, Romulan and Klingon territory. This new galaxy currently in the crisis of a civil war with the current form of government, the Galactic Republic fighting against a splinter group calling themselves the Confederacy of Independent Systems._

 _Like the Delta Quadrant a joint operation has been approved by the Federation, Klingon Empire, the Romulan Republic, and supported by the Ferengi Alliance and the Cardassian Union while other governments have expressed signs of interest in the new galaxy wishing to become part of what is now referred to as Operation: Through the Looking Glass. So now the Milky Way Galaxy stands on the threshold of an historic event as they not only explore their own galaxy but a new one while dealing with enemies such as the Undine, the Borg, the Voth, along with the servitor races of the ancient and mysterious Iconians and struggling with the Clone Wars, looking for ways to either end the wars or at least stay out of the conflict until a solution presents itself. Following an attack by the Undine that led to the discovery of the Jenolan Dyson Sphere in the Delta Quadrant Admiral Tuvok has called a conference in the newly discovered massive construct to discuss the threat of the Undine and to end the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire._

* * *

 _Starfleet Memory Alpha Database_

 _Subject: Galactic Republic_

 _Politics_

 _The Galactic Republic is the current governing body in the Skyriver Galaxy and has been for the last twenty five thousand years. It is a representative democracy composed of star systems, sectors, and member worlds throughout the Skyriver galaxy. Its central government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The first is the Galactic Senate, a body of elected or appointed representatives whose main duties include mediating disputes over issues ranging from planetary to galactic-scale, regulating trade routes between star systems, and represent the interests of the Republic citizens. The Office of the Supreme Chancellor is the Senate's executive counterpart, the Supreme Chancellor who is elected from the ranks of the Senate holds the titles of Head of State and President._

 _The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and the lower Regional Courts which is composed of twelve justices who preside over legal cases with one of them holding the leadership position of Chief Justice._

 _History_

 _(See Full History about Galactic Republic on Republic History)_

 _Though possibly existing for much longer the Galactic Republic was founded following the collapse of what has been labelled the 'Old Republic' and a full-scale war when a number of systems united and founded a successor state. Due to the Republic's formation the Skyriver galaxy has gone without war for centuries however recently many outlying worlds have been victims of pirate attacks and has been fracturing due to claims of corruption by many worlds who have broken away to form their own government._

 _Technology_

 _The Republic's technology is considered to be more or less equal to the Federation's despite being the Alpha and Beta Quadrants more advanced and innovative in several fields. Their main base of technology is their hyperdrives which is faster than transwarp and quantum slipstream and was created when the founding members of the Republic reverse engineered the technologies of the defunct Infinite Empire. One distinctive piece of technology used by the Republic are drones which are labelled droids used for labor, translation, and even combat. The Republic is capable of genetic engineering, having created a clone army that is large enough in numbers that they had been divided into thousands to each protect a sector from enemy attack._

 _Their medical technology is considered equal to Milky Way medical technology but is different. They use a special material known as Bacta that has shown an impressive ability to heal and even regenerate wounds to the point that no scarred tissue is left. In addition to Bacta they use cybernetics to replace missing limbs and even use artificial breathers for patients that have damaged lungs and are no longer able to breathe on their own. They have experience in treating laser and plasma wounds but they have never encountered Earth diseases like the common cold and thus have no immunity to it._

 _Our Medical Crops recommend that any and all visitors to our galaxy that plan to stay for long amounts of time receive immunizations._

 _In addition to their advanced faster than light drives they use walkers and speeders for planetary combat to destroy enemy defenses and strongholds. Their shields are unique as they use two different kinds of shields, one for blocking projectiles and the other for energy based weaponry but they are unable to use both at once. Their main weapons included laser and ion plasma-pulse hybrid weaponry that is powerful, if somewhat primitive but they cannot be denied in being effective. Recently they have been researching into creating new weapons in the civil war they are currently fighting._

 _Other advances include cloaking devices but are considered as primitive as the early cloaking devices used by the Romulans during the Earth-Romulan war._

 _Military_

 _The current form of military is the Grand Army of the Republic, a clone army commissioned in response to the growing civil unrest led by warriors known as Jedi (See Jedi for more information). Though recognized as legitimate by the Supreme Chancellor the fact that an army of nearly limitless soldiers to fight in this war has been considered suspicious by many in Starfleet Intelligence. The Clone Army is divided into smaller armies that establish and protect military command centers that operate in theatres known as oversectors or priority sectors. Each sector army usually numbers one thousand fifty troopers but there are times when they are expanded._

 _Each sector army is divided into four subordinate corps, of which three are further divided into smaller components. One is maintained as a mobile reserve force while the others are divided into smaller units._

 _Close File_

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 _._

 _._

 _Opening New File_

 _Subject: Confederacy of Independent Systems_

 _History_

 _The Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Confederacy, the CIS, the Separatist Confederacy, Separatist Alliance, the Separatist State, the New Order, the pro-secessionists, or the Separatists were formed by various planetary and sectorial governments as well as mega-corporations that have elected to leave the Republic due to excessive taxation and claiming corruption in the Galactic Senate. Tensions eventually developed into full scale war between the two states that have yet to be solved. The current Head of State is Count Dooku of Serenno, followed by the Separatist Council who are also heads of the mego-corporations that supply the Confederacy with droid armies used to fight against the Republic clone army. The military commander is a cyborg known as General Grievous who is considered the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies and following the Council is the Separatist Parliament who deal with diplomatic and civilian issues._

 _Technology_

 _The Confederacy uses similar technology and tactics as the Republic, such as the use of hyperdrive for travel and the way they land their ground forces complete with carriers for their droids and heavily armed tanks that run on anti-gravity for use against opposition. The Confederacy specializes in creating various droid models to field against the Republic but their AI programming is considered primitive compared to AIs and androids like Captain Data and Borg drones._

 _Military_

 _The Confederacy's military is a mix of droids, organic forces, and local warriors. The majority of the commanders were for the most part merchants more experienced in commerce instead of battle. The Supreme Commander is General Grievous, a cyborg of unknown origins who has been labelled a successful commander by the Separatists and a butcher and murderer by the Republic for his brutal tactics. The common tactics of the Confederacy is to deploy their droids in large numbers, outnumbering the enemy usually three to one but with a skilled commander the numbers can be defeated unless they have a skilled commander of their own._

 _The Confederacy has droid models designed for use on land, air, underground, and underwater and are immune to any form of atmosphere that is either toxic to organic or the temperature makes it impossible for organics to fight in. The Confederacy for the most part is unable to completely deploy its droid armies in a full on attack due to its scattered territories, maintaining a defensive by blunting Republic advancements into their territories and an offensive one consisting of surgical strikes and terror operations._

 _Close File_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Open New File_

 _Subject: Clone War_

 _All information on the civil war, labelled the Clone Wars has been collected as a means to insure the war does not spill over into the Milky Way Galaxy. Current intel shows the war to have reached a stalemate with both sides taking or losing vital planets that has been happening for the last year. No attempts at negotiations have been made but efforts were made by Senator Amidala of Naboo and Senator Mina Bonteri of Raxus but failed when a terrorist attack by both sides ended the possible chance for peace as the Republic Senate was voting to consider peace. Senator Bonteri was latered murdered in an apparent Republic attack but Senator Amidala claims her death was ordered by Count Dooku to ensure no one from the Confederacy Parliament would continue her attempt to end the war._

 _The fact that both sides are continuing to fund their armies while at the same time cutting funding for education, water, and power is concerning to say the least and it has been suggested that there is more to this war than meets the eye. Though the Prime Directive prevents Starfleet from interfering we also bound by our duty to protect our own galaxy from any possible threat and there are many who suggest we must investigate the 'true cause' of this war. We have just managed to begin making progress in ending our conflict with the Klingons while dealing with threats from the Borg, the Undine, the Tal Shiar, the Elachi, and just recently the Voth along with preparing for the impending threat of the Iconians that it would be difficult to being investigating this galaxy's problems._

 _Close File_

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 _Opening New File_

 _Subject: Jedi_

 _The apparent peacekeepers in the galaxy these Jedi are seen as a mixture of warriors and monks who act as diplomats and recently generals. They have demonstrated speed and reflexes above normal human capability along with telepathy, telekinesis, and in some cases the ability to see the future through what they call the 'Force' which they describe as an energy field that surrounds all living life. It is hard to understand the exact nature of this 'Force' but given the powers of several species including the Metrons, the Melkonians, the Medusans, and even the Q it is possible that this 'Force' exists, only in ways we've never noticed or considered. Their main weapons are plasma beams contained in a magnetic field in the shape of a sword that is able to burn through most solid objects and can deflect plasma based weapon due to their magnetic field._

 _The Jedi follow a code that directs them much like Klingon Honor that influences and shapes Klingon society but at the same time it seems public support for the Jedi is waning recently for various reasons despite their service. It is likely due to the fact that they claim to be peacekeepers but have taken the roles of generals to lead the clone army. It has been noted that Count Dooku, the current Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems is a former Jedi who left for mysterious reasons but claimed the Jedi had become corrupted along with the Republic and many, including the CIS commander General Grievous express a distinct hatred for the Jedi for reasons unknown._

 _More information will be needed to understand exactly the nature of the Jedi, the Force, and this conflict._

 _Close File_

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 _Exit Database_

* * *

Anakin held his lightsaber as he, Ahsoka, and the rest of the 501st hid behind rocks and trees as red laser fire rained down upon them.

Glancing out for just a second Anakin could instantly tell that they were surrounded with battle droids moving in from all directions. "What's our ammo count, Rex?"

"We're running low, General." Rex answered, keeping both of his pistols ready.

"What's the plan, Master?" Ahsoka asked.

Anakin smirked. "We rush them, punch right through their ranks."

Ahsoka grinned and Anakin could tell Rex and the others were grinning. "Ready when you are."

With that said Anakin jumped out, deflecting blaster bolts away with his lightsaber as Ahsoka and the rest of the 501st jumped out, shooting at the droids in their sights, taking cover behind trees when they needed to take cover. The forest was soon filled with laser fire as the droids pushed on forward, just as Anakin planned as he cut through several trees with his lightsaber and jumped out of the way as the tree fell forward right onto the approaching waves of battle droids.

"Forward!" Anakin shouted, earning enthusiastic shouts from the clone troopers as they jumped over the trees and shot at the disorganized droids.

One by one the droids fell but more droids appeared and fired on the clones, dropping over a dozen but Anakin and Ahsoka deflected more shots as they protected the remaining clones as they slowly but surely reduced the number of droids to zero but by the end of it only Rex was the last surviving clones. As the last droid collapsed the surrounding forest vanished, leaving only a room with black walls, ceiling, and floor with yellow lines.

"Well, that could have gone better." Ahsoka sighed as all the clone troopers that were stunned during the fight stood up, their weapons vanishing with the simulation. "Is it only me that feels sad that holographic tinnies are better shooters than real ones when their AI level is set above five? I mean at two or three they are at least like regular droids but the last few fights were a lot harder when we set the level to seven or eight it's hard to remember they're modeled after droids we've been fighting over a year."

Anakin smiled. "I feel sat that we can't have this set up at the Jedi Temple or at the training facilities on Kamino."

It was a sentiment many clone troopers shared as if they had simulators like this holodeck perhaps many more lives could have been saved during the war as the last few training sessions were the most realistic training exercises they had ever experienced. The computer settings could instantly adjust the parameters of the simulation with no chance of live fire accidents and not even any need to waste live ammo. They could program any type of training scenario while instantly programming the setting, perfectly imitating any kind of climate setting such as deserts, swamps, even adding in rain that made it so real it was easy to forget it was not even real.

Anakin even had R2 program in tactical information on Separatist outposts that the 501st would be assigned to take and planets they would be assigned to defend. The one thing consistent with holo-deck training was that it could be programmed to be unpredictable. R2 would input data on an upcoming mission and Anakin would come up with plans have the holodeck project scenarios based on Anakin's plans to determine mission success. Now it was widely accepted that in war there would always be surprises but the holo-deck came in pretty handing for preparing for missions.

Anakin and sometimes Rex would even run scenarios based simulated outcomes such as what would happen if Count Dooku or General Grievous were suddenly killed. Those scenarios showed some promise such as Dooku dying and leaving Grievous in command of the droid army but due to the cyborg's bloodthirsty nature the Separatist eventually fractured with Grievous assuming full command and causing Separatist worlds to rebel and defect back to the Republic. The simulated scenario about Grievous dying showed a decrease in Separatist victories but with possible commanders like Admiral Trench, Durge, and possibly Savage Oppress who was Dooku's new assassin the Separatists would still remain a strong threat. Rex with R2's assistance used the holo-deck to program an algorithm for projecting threats and finding ways to counter them immediately without heavy casualties.

He tested it in the last few holo-deck simulations and the algorithm proved to be efficient. The algorithm could be improved but it was very difficult to make a perfect counter to the enemy. Anakin and Rex made sure that no classified information was programmed into the computer and they always downloaded the data on the simulations into R2 before deleting it from the computer. Using Starfleet technology for training was one thing, using it and leaving classified Republic information in the computer was completely different.

And it wasn't just battle simulations as the clones that had started using the holo-deck were introduced to a whole number of sports. They especially enjoyed ones like basketball, football, even baseball that had been played by a few Starfleet members. The 501st and other clone regiments currently stationed on Coruscant almost spent more time on the holo-deck than they did in the barracks when they weren't on patrol.

The door opened and in walked a blue skinned young man, a Bolian if Anakin recalled correctly. "I take it the simulation was to your liking."

"It was great." Anakin smiled as he clipped his lightsaber. "I'd make it mandatory for all my men to come here for training. With this kind of training we'd be the best in the whole army."

"You mean we're not already?" The clone, Echo asked which caused several clones to chuckle.

"If we'd all survived than yes. With that said I'm going to make a point to make sure we handle level ten in kind of setting." Anakin stated, looking at all his men who gathered together. "There's always room for improvement and when I face the best I expect the best."

"Yes sir!" The clones all nodded, each of them just as eager as Anakin to sharpen their skills and reach the very top.

"I've only seen Starfleet's best this enthusiastic. If your war ends I think you should consider signing up for the MACOs." The Bolian, Ensign Chreek commented but quickly remembered why he was here. "Oh, General Skywalker. You have a summons from the Jedi Council. They called about five minutes ago and want you to report to them immediately."

"Ah, thank you." Anakin nodded. "Everyone, take a break and take some time to think of what our next simulation. Don't be afraid to suggest anything. The bigger the better."

"So can we add in a Rancor?" Ahsoka asked with smirk.

"Is that it?" Anakin raised an eyebrow.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow and looked thoughtful. "Hmm…How about a Terentatek with a few Rancors added in?"

"Now you're thinking." Anakin said as he walked out of the room.

"Are you sure he's human? The only time I see someone programming simulations this aggressive it's usually the Klingons." Chreek commented.

"Trust me, my Master doesn't know the meaning of the word 'restraint'." Ahsoka answered with a smile.

Anakin and Ahsoka had come to enjoy the atmosphere of the Milky Way Embassy on Coruscant due to the fact it was filled with new people that were more welcoming to them and there were not many discussions about the war much like the Senate which was constantly debating on how to proceed while the Jedi Council were almost speaking of nothing but the war, especially a few of them calling for the deaths of Grievous and Dooku for their crimes. There was also the matter of there being no Force Sensitives in the Milky Way and no one there having even heard of the Force. Needless to say Master Yoda and the Jedi Council had no way to explain it as the Force was basically what binds the galaxy together, giving it life and without any explanation as to why an entire galaxy to be without the Force was something that shook most of the Jedi to their core.

Ahsoka herself didn't really care that much as there were more important matters to deal with.

There was still the Clone Wars that had taken a momentary halt because of the new arrivals that had no interest in joining either side but Ahsoka had heard that representatives of the Republic had been hounding them for help. Ahsoka herself had no problem with them wanting to stay out of the war, it wasn't their war and they never asked to be involved in the first place and personally Ahsoka knew they had their own problems to deal with. At the very least they were offering medical aid to many people who needed and it wasn't just clone troopers, hospital funding had been cut in favor of helping the Republic's debt for paying for continued clone productions on Kamino.

That was something to be thankful for, even if not a lot of people saw it that way.

And then there was the matter of the military extremist group called the True Way or the New Dominion from what Master Shaak Ti and Knight Aayla Secura had found in the new destroyed base on Hoth. When she and Secura were abducted by the Solanae aliens they destroyed the gateway, possibly to stop Republic and the Separatists from getting their hands on the advanced technology. Not to mention the owners of the gateway and the masters of the Solanae, the Iconians themselves who were apparently monitoring this galaxy for some time, calling it the Skyriver Galaxy.

Ahsoka snorted at the Iconian name for the galaxy she was born in, wondering if Anakin felt smug about it as it was close to his last name, only it was Skyriver, not Skywalker.

The Force help them if the galaxy was named after her master because they'd probably never hear the end of it.

"Oh, Miss Tano. You've been requested as well for something else. Apparently a group of senators are preparing for a mission to the gateway for a meeting on Earth and a Senator Chuchi has asked if you were available." Chreek continued.

"I'm on my way." Ahsoka nodded, glancing back at Rex. "Keep the boys in shape, Rex."

"Right, Commander." Rex nodded, smiling as Ahsoka walked away. Once she was gone Rex looked at the rest of the group. "All right, what's the game this time?"

"I prefer that foot…ball game. Ain't nothing screams fun and training when you tackle your opponents down."

"That's not the point of the game."

"I still like it."

"What about that basketball game? It's a little more challenging."

"What's so challenging about throwing a ball into a basket?"

"Have you even studied up on that game?"

Needless to say that when they were first introduced to the holo-deck they brushed up quickly on a few games that some Starfleeters like to play when they were off duty and many people took an immediate liking to a few of the games.

* * *

"Master Skywalker."

Anakin grinned as he turned around, seeing a female Klingon around the same age as him wearing the same armor that members of the KDF(Klingon Defense Force) wore but unlike most Klingon Warriors her hair was white and pulled into a pony tail. "Kendar. Nice to see you."

Kendar was a young recruit of the Klingon Defense Force and part of the security detail for the Klingon section of the embassy established on Coruscant. When Anakin started using the holo-decks in the embassy for training Kendar observed the training sessions, becoming a quick admirer of Anakin for the way he fought. Eventually she made herself known and asked him to a spar, curious about how strong he was and he accepted. It quickly turned into a brawl and despite Kendar's best effort she lost to Anakin but the Jedi admitted with the training she could be a strong opponent.

Considering it respect between fellow warriors Kendar helped program the various training programs Anakin had set up for his men and even participated in a few programs the Klingons used. Anakin especially the bat'leth weapon Kendar often used but she also used daggers and swords but was surprised if it possible for her to learn how to wield a lightsaber in combat. Though Anakin was not allowed to lend his lightsaber to any non-Force users Kendar was quick to point out he would not be breaking that rule if she used one created by the holo-deck which she demonstrated quickly by ordering the computer to fashion a replica of Anakin's lightsaber, causing the Jedi General to laugh. Deciding no harm could be done by a holo-lightsaber Anakin in agreed in exchange for learning how to use a bat'leth which Kendar agreed.

In the few weeks of training Anakin was honestly surprised to see how good Kendar was with a lightsaber, even one that was only real on the holo-deck but Kendar had explained that Klingons were warriors and trained to fight at a young age, learning how to use daggers and knives, followed bat'leths and swords. If she was able to use the Force Anakin believe she would have been a very skilled Jedi. She mastered the basics quickly and Anakin had been schooling her in his personal style Djem So which seemed to match Klingon aggression perfectly. In addition to teaching Kendar basic lightsaber skills Anakin took to wielding a bat'leth easily, learning how to incorporate his lightsaber training into using a bat'leth. It was a good thing Anakin had gone up against staff wielding opponents such as the Magna droids on several separate occasions.

To be honest he considered making a saberstaff in the future considering how he enjoyed learning how to wield a bat'leth. It wasn't just bat'leth lessons as Kendar had a Starfleet friend who suggested they try a dojo and lessons in kendo. Anakin and Ahsoka quickly discovered the similarities between the Jedi Padawan robes and clothing the students and teachers, or rather the sensei wore. Learning Kendo was different from lightsaber training especially since lightsaber and swords, wooden or metal were different.

Especially since the Jedi's training and experience were from combat, not a form of sport. Kendo was more rigid than the usual combat forms Anakin was used to but he enjoyed it immensely enough that he usually had practice sessions whenever he had the chance, especially when he had no missions and when Padme was dealing politics. It was amazing how many sword styles existed in Terran, Klingon, Romulan, and a few more cultures and that many of them sometimes closely mimicked lightsaber styles. It was a bit of a change but a welcome one from the atmosphere of the Jedi temple and the battlefields but it was more challenging in a way. The holograms had no presence in the Force, thus making it impossible for the Jedi to sense them which was used a second nature to them, especially when it helped save lives.

Of course Kendar warned him that use of the holo-deck could become addicting to some people if use for too long and Anakin could understand why. It would be easy to get lost in a fantasy if it feels so right. He briefly considered having a holo-deck installed at the Jedi Temple. Perhaps that would brighten things up there a little bit.

"I had heard you'd be here and was looking forward to another sparing session." Kendar grinned with excitement.

She loved the few times she practiced lightsaber training on the holo-deck and considered if there possibility of creating her own even if it would be different from the standard ones.

Anakin closed his eyes and sighed. "Sorry Kendar but I have a mission right now."

Kendar looked disappointed. "I see."

"I'll try and schedule one when I get back." Anakin offered while placing a hand on Kendar's shoulder. "You can use the holo-deck to continue practicing."

Kendar nodded. "Thank you sir."


	16. Chapter 16

**Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

"The Gungans are planning to join with the Separatists?" Anakin could hardly believe it.

The Gungans were an honorable people that stood with Padme's people against the Trade Federation army during the Naboo Occupation and most recently they helped free Mon Calamari from a Separatist occupation.

"True it is, sad to say we are." Master Yoda answered.

"As far as we can tell Boss Lyonie has been acting strangely, calling for an attack on the Naboo and align the Gungans with the Separatists." Mace Windu continued. "Senator Amidala is going to investigate this matter and we would like you to escort her."

"Yes, Master." Anakin nodded, secretly glad he was going on this mission.

Though a serious mission it would give him the chance to spend time with his wife.

"There is another matter we need to discuss." Mace Windu said, looking at the hologram of Master Shaak Ti. "Master Ti, you have something to report."

" _Yes and it is most dire. I'm afraid our abilities to produce more clones is in danger._ " Shaak Ti answered, earning stares from everyone in the room. " _A creature disguised as a clone entered the DNA storage chamber and contaminated the Fett template. Though there are other samples stored at other clone facilities the ones at Tipoca City were the main sources for creating the clones. This is what the creature looked like._ "

The Council watched as the image of the clone morphed into an alien that none of them had ever seen before.

" _The creature was telepathic and yet I was unable to sense almost anything about it through the Force unless it was broadcasting its thoughts. It was fast, strong, and anything living it touched was killed by some sort transferable virus that killed them from the inside. It was strong enough to influence clones into turning on me just as I nearly captured it._ "

"Masters, I've seen this sort of creature before." Anakin spoke up, earning the Council's attention. "I studied up on species in the Milky Way Galaxy and this creature is one of them. Starfleet didn't have a name for them at the time, only referring to them as Species 8472 which is what the Borg called them but recently it was discovered that they call themselves the Undine."

" _I recognize it from the holo-recording on Master Piell's ship before it was sent into the Milky Way_." Obi-Wan spoke up, concurring with Anakin.

"Hmm." Yoda closed his eyes. "Troubling this is. A dangerous threat, these Undine are. Why they are here, we do not know."

"According to the Starfleet database and few sources the Undine were provoked by the Iconians into infiltrating the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and there have been minor skirmishes between them and the Borg." Anakin continued.

"We will need to find new samples to continue clone production. If we lose the ability to replace our losses we will be eventually outnumbered by the Separatist droid armies." Mace Windu stated.

"But we still have the matter of these Undine and the fact that they were able to infiltrate Kamino's most secured facility. We have no way of knowing if there are no other agents in the Republic." Plo Koon pointed out.

"Find a way to locate any more Undine, we must. Perhaps look for help in the next galaxy, we should." Yoda offered.

"There is a diplomatic envoy being prepared to go to the Milky Way." Obi-Wan said. "In fact there is rumor that a meeting has been called to discuss threats like the Borg and the Undine to end the conflict between the Federation and the Klingons."

"Perhaps we should have our own representatives there." Plo Koon suggested.

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

"This is most disturbing." Palpatine remarked upon hearing Master Yoda said while on the inside he was raging at the unexpected interference of his plans.

Admiral Tarkin seemed to share his anger. "And this Undine escaped despite your Jedi Master's attempts to capture it?"

"More powerful it was, than she thought. Able to influence the clones into attacking her, it was." Yoda answered, sitting next to Master Windu. "Unsure if it escape the planet or if more agents are lurking in Tipoca City, we are."

"Or if there any enemy agents infiltrating any other sectors vital to the Republic." Tarkin said dryly.

"The Kaminoans still have DNA samples to keep producing clones but it will increase the chance of samples degrading from repeated use." Mace Windu spoke up. "In the meantime Chancellor we still have the issue of these Undine. If the Undine are planning a strike at the Republic it is possible they already are infiltrating us as we speak."

"Is there any way that we can somehow discover these agents?" Palpatine asked. "It is imperative we find these agents immediately. If the people were to discover that our army was infiltrated by enemies it would shake their faith in the Republic."

"None that we have, Chancellor but perhaps help we will find in the Milky Way." Yoda pointed out.

"What are you suggesting, Master Yoda?" The Chancellor asked.

"Learned we have of a conference in the Milky Way between the Federation and the Klingons as well as the Romulans to discuss ending their feud in light of recent events." Yoda answered. "Perhaps representatives of our own we should send and ask for help."

"Not many will be happy about it. The Klingons and the Romulans made their feelings towards us quite clear." Mas Amedda stated stoically.

"Perhaps but the Undine are no friends of their either and they have been repelling these creatures for several years now. They no doubt have ways to screen Undine agents from themselves." Mace replied. "They won't so say no to helping us."

"Who do you have in mind?" Palpatine asked.

"Our first choice was Obi-Wan but he is out on the frontlines, following a lead on Grievous." Mace Windu answered. "We would have sent Skywalker but he and Senator Amidala are leaving to Naboo to deal with a Gungan dispute. We believe that the next best Jedi would be Master Luminara with Ahsoka Tano since she already had been in the Milky Way."

"Chancellor, I must protest that only Jedi are being sent to represent the Republic." Tarkin spoke up.

"Well, perhaps we can send a Senator as well as a way to ensure both the Jedi Council and Senate are properly represented." Palpatine said with a calming smile. "Perhaps Bail Organa or Senator Chuchi as they are both experienced negotiators. In the meantime we will need to address the matter of the possible decline in clone production. Admiral Tarkin, do you have any suggestions?"

Tarkin stood up, straightening himself. "Of course, Chancellor. I have made several plans for recruiting volunteers and I know many planet with the right people who can set up these programs and gain a large amount of trainees of proper age in a short amount of time with appropriate training and discipline."

"Good. We cannot afford to lose our only advantage in this war. See to it personally that our worlds are protected." Palpatine said, his voice sounding almost passionate in his statement.

 **Chommel Sector  
Gateway Alpha  
Taskforce Omega**

Taskforce Omega had been a group created by the main factions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants to counter the Borg and in the last year they had more than proven their mantle. They had faced Borg incursions into Federation, Klingon, and Romulan territory, stopped the Borg from assimilating the Undine, create an antidote to the Borg nanovirus, and even stopped a Borg invasion into fluid space while discovering that the Iconians were responsible for the Undine infiltration of Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Right now they were gathering at Gateway Alpha, the portal created by Devidian incursion into a new galaxy because it was discovered that the Borg were in the new galaxy, settling in a black hole cluster known as the Maw and anyone who knew the Borg knew it was only a matter of time before they launched an invasion of this galaxy with the goal of assimilating all life. With an entire galaxy under their control the Borg could launch a full scale invasion into the Milky Way that outnumber the few factions that could stop them.

That was an unacceptable risk and Alliance agreed to begin marshaling their fleets to stop the Borg in this galaxy. In response to the portal appearing close to Naboo the Republic had set up a fleet to guard the portal, protecting it from possible threats like the Separatists or pirates that would no doubt cause trouble in the Milky Way if they thought of traversing the portal. The last thing the Republic needed was the Separatists gaining a foothold in another galaxy. Already a Republic space station was being constructed near the portal, guarded by five _Venator_ class Star Destroyers with fighter patrols making sure nothing non-friendly to the Republic or possibly the MLA (Milky Way Alliance) entered the system.

Of course they still had to prepare for the inevitable confrontation and there was the matter of the locals. The Maw was not located in either Republic or Separatist space but it was technically in Hutt space and the Hutts for the moment had allowed no one aside from the Republic into their territories. Chancellor Palpatine had promised to send someone to speak with Hutt Council on the Milky Alliance's behalf but for the moment they were confined to gateway patrol, making sure that no rogue powers tried to take the gate for themselves on either side. In the meantime the Alliance had been working on adapting the Hyperdrive used by people of this galaxy (the Milky Way races were actually starting to call it the Skyriver Galaxy based on the data found in the Iconian database) and found it was surprisingly easy to adapt to their ships without extensive modifications. There had been plans to set up a trade business between both galaxies which some were hoping it would put a halt to the war but the Alliance determined it would be best to hold off trading anything other than medical supplies until the war was over.

That didn't stop worlds such as Naboo, Pantora, and Alderaan from offering medical aid of their own, giving the Alliance bacta and access to some materials like durasteel, duraplast, phrik, and transparisteel that was compared to the Alliance's own materials such as duranium, tritanium, victorium, polyduranium, and neutronium. The durasteel alloy was ten times stronger than duranium but was less durable than the other alloys and both galaxies had were able to use neutronium for their ships. It was hard to say which galaxy was more advanced but it was agreed that they were both innovative in many ways and considered almost equal. The major difference was that while both galaxies had their own brand of conflicts the key difference was that the Milky Way Alliance and most of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were interested in knowledge of the universe while the Skyriver galaxy most focused on income when not dealing with the war. There were major differences and though the Milky Way Alliance was used to people fearing each other for their differences many beings, specifically ones that were connected in some way to the Separatists such as the representatives of the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, the Commerce Guild, the Corporate Alliance and the Intergalactic Banking Clan found them to be too different and it brought out fears and tempers.

But between the situation with the Borg and Dyson Spheres back in the Milky Way Admiral D'Vak and the other commanders of Task Force Omega left that to the diplomats.

Speaking of diplomats, a Republic cruiser emerged from hyperspace and approached the gateway.

" _This is the Republic ambassador ship Relation to Milky Way fleet. We are carrying a Republic Ambassador to speak with you._ "

()

A fleet of CIS warships remained in hiding along the Hydian Way to assault and destroy Republic convoys to limit the Republic's ability to push their way into Separatist space. It consisted of minor raids but it was enough that the Republic's influence in the Outer Rim was not as strong as many were hoping. Consisting of only three _Munificent_ class star frigates, one _Providence_ class carrier, and a _Lucrehulk_ class battleship. While it wasn't a large fleet it was enough to conduct minor raids on Republic convoys and remain in hiding from Republic retaliation.

Progress was slow as they only managed to destroy four convoys in a week but it was better than nothing. The raider fleet received word of another Republic convoy on the way and was already in position to attack.

However they would not get the chance to attack.

A small ship emerged from what was possibly hyperspace in front of the Separatist fleet.

"Sir, a ship just appeared in front of us." The tactical droid reported.

"Republic?" The Nemoidian commander asked.

"Negative. Sir, they opened a channel."

" _We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._ "

"Open fire on that ship." The commander immediately ordered.

The Separatist fleet prepared to fire but the Borg ship transmitted a signal and instantly the droids were all disabled with their organic commanders left shocked and confused.

"Wha-What's going on?" The commander exclaimed as the droids deactivated.

The droids did not remain deactivated for long as the Borg reactivated and reprogrammed them to serve the Collective. The Separatist fleet received new orders to return with the Borg Probe to their new base in the Maw and the droids carried out their orders with programmed indifference to the orders of the organic commanders. The Borg started beaming drones over to assimilate the ship and crew.

"What is going on?!" The commander shouted as Borg drones appeared on the bridge.

He tried to flee but a Borg drone grabbed him and injected nanoprobes into him. The drone released him and he fell to the floor, convulsing as the machines inside slowly took control. He tried to fight it but slowly his mind began to hear the voices, whispering to him and ordering him to remain still as the process was finished. His fear faded away and soon enough he felt nothing but the urge to comply with the voices in his mind.

He rose up, standing straight and began helping his fellow Borg drones in preparing the fleet for their return to the Maw. It didn't take long as the organics were quickly assimilated with minimal resistance and went to work helping

 **Kessel Sector  
The Maw Cluster  
Borg Unimatrix**

Progress was slow but time and speed were irrelevant to the Borg as they built their main base in this galaxy. News drones were brought in from minor raids and aided in the construction of the Unimatrix and the fleet of Borg ships that were growing in numbers, built from the captured ships or replicated from the resources in the asteroids and the endless amount of power that existed in the Maw. Now they were prepared for another incursion into the galaxy. However a situation had arisen in the far edge of Galaxy 0139, designated Wild Space and in the Inner Rim and Outer Rim.

 _Warning: Species 9948 has corrupted Collective Programming_

 _Cube 934 destroyed_

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 _Species 9948, Iskalloni have proven unable to be assimilated_

 _Threat Level: Destroy At All Costs_

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 _Activating Data Link With Republic And Confederacy Data Network_

 _Locate Designated Jedi For Study and Use Against Species 9948_

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 _Detecting Transmissions neither Republic or Confederacy_

 _Scanning_

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 _Scan Confirmed: Transmission origin matches United Federation of Planets_

 _Possibility of other Quantum Rift in Galaxy 0193: 99.9% Possible_

 _Must Locate Quantum Rift_

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 _Monitoring Fleet Movements_

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 _Locate Fleet With Possible Jedi_

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 _Suitable Target Found In Chommel Sector_

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 _Preparing Cube To Intercept And Assimilate Jedi Targets_

 _Location: Naboo_

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 _Cube 241 En-Route to Naboo System_

The Collective was now on the move. It would not tolerate the existence of a second collective in this galaxy, even if it had to destroy Species 9948 to make sure they did not become a threat. The presence of the Milky Way, especially the United Federation of Planets was troubling but for the moment irrelevant.

The Borg would succeed.

 **Kamino  
Tipoca City**

If there was ever a place the clones of the Grand Army of the Republic could call home it was Kamino, the planet they had been born on though the technical term was created. About a thousand clone troopers were created every month and their ages were artificially accelerated since a normal clone would age at the normal rate a human did. When the Clone Wars began the Republic started funding Kamino for additional troops which in many ways benefited their business as the longer the war continued the more money they gained every day. Their mysterious benefactor named Tyrannus who collaborated with Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and continued the project after Sifo-Dyas's death was continuously updated on the progress of the clones, ever after the army had been revealed and the Republic ordered that clones would be made only on Kamino or its colonies.

Today Tyrannus seemed to be interesting in something else.

"Lord Tyrannus, you wish to place an order for a new modified clone?" The Prime Minister of Kamino, Lama Su questioned.

" _Indeed. This time I do not want a trooper, I want a clone general._ " The cloaked image of Tyrannus answered.

"A general?" Lama Su asked.

" _Yes. I am aware of the clone contingent known as the 'Bad Batch'. Now I want a clone that is modified to be physically and mentally superior to the other clones. An ultimate commander to be more specific, with a mastery in all known of weaponry, strategy, and for it have a certain…fondness for battle. In addition to that I want you to artificially accelerate its age to its prime as quick as possible._ " Tyrannus explained.

"It will shorten the clone's life span more significantly than the others. We would have to keep it in stasis until it has matured." Lama Su pointed out.

" _That will be of no consequence. Just ensure that it will be ready for combat as soon as possible._ " Tyrannus replied.

"I am afraid that it will take some time as our DNA storage archive was attacked and the main Fett template was contaminated." Lama Su said calmly.

" _What?_ "

Lama Su tapped a switch on his desk and the image of an Undine appeared for Tyrannus to see. "This creature disguised itself as a clone and contaminated the main samples. Now we have other samples stored at other clone facilities on Kamino and our colonies but for the most part our ability to continue production has diminished. We've begun a program of trying to extend the remaining DNA samples we still have."

" _Was this creature captured?_ "

"I'm afraid it escaped. We are now shoring up our security and Master Shaak Ti has informed the Jedi Council of the matter. There is another matter. The clones the creature used to attack the Jedi…During our observation of them in the medic bay the clones said they heard the creature in their minds and told them to…Execute Order 66."

Tyrannus gripped his hands into fists. " _Do the Jedi know?_ "

"No. We've introduced a drug that will erase their memories. The Jedi do not suspect anything." Lama Su answered.

Tyrannus was silent for a moment. " _Continue production as best you can. I will see about finding a new sample._ "

"That will be difficult since the main template is now deceased." Lama Su pointed out.

" _I am aware of that. Continue production and see to it that nothing else happens._ "

"Very well." Lama Su nodded as the transmission ended.

The Prime Minister considered the nature of Tyrannus's call and wondered what would make him personally order a clone that would be more modified than even the Bad Batch. The Republic never specifically ordered new clones that were any different from their predecessors but in the end it never truly mattered. All that mattered now was preparing the new clone commander as soon as possible.

"Begin the preparations and see what we can do about improving the DNA strands we still have." The Prime Minister stated to his aid.

"Yes Prime Minister."

 **Chrommel Sector  
Naboo System  
Hidden Bunker on Naboo**

Count Dooku leaned back on his chair, closing his eyes in thought. The first step to preparing for conflict with the Milky Way was to ensure that there was a competent army ready and that started with the creation of a new clone, a General Clone-Trooper to take the Jedi's place. The growth modifications in the clone troopers could be modified to even grow a clone less than the standard growth acceleration but the clones still needed to be trained to be effective soldiers against the droid armies. As the Clone Wars continued it was suggested to alter the growth acceleration to grow the clones faster but that was meant for later.

The new clone general would come with enhanced genetic and cybernetic modifications and Dooku already made plans for a digital simulator from several companies that specialized in the best virtual gaming in the known galaxy to be connected to the growing clone's mind while he was in stasis for the purpose of downloading all known strategies and for putting the clone through sophisticated training simulations. The bloodlust for battle would be perfect for a general of the future New Order against an entire galaxy and his mind would be continuously updated as more information on the Milky Way galaxy was found.

Of course now there was the matter of the creature that infiltrated Kamino and contaminated the main sample. This was a problem and one that needed to be addressed quickly. A new sample would be needed and Dooku knew that even if Jango Fett was now dead there was still a chance of finding a new sample of DNA to continue clone production. The Kaminoans would need a strain of DNA that had not been altered in any way to continue production of clones without damaging their quality and there was one out there with a perfect match.

He turned to one of the droid guards in the room. "Leave me."

The droids left the room, leaving Dooku alone as he contemplated his plan. He remembered that as part of his pay Jango Fett had demanded the first clone be given to him, completely unaltered in any way. The clone served as a surrogate son and his DNA was a pure genetic replication of his donor's.

"Boba." Dooku whispered the name of the boy who had been on Geonosis and watched his father die. "Boba Fett."

The boy's DNA would be able to continue production of clones without degrading their quality and fresh batch would keep clone production continuing for perhaps another decade. He would put all his agents into finding Jango's surrogate son and keeping him alive long enough to extract the necessary samples.

In the meantime more research would be conducted, creating new ships and weapons more suited to fighting against the Alliance through the war that would be the first step. Right now he and his master would focus on the war, adjusting their plans to ensure that no one from the Alliance interfered or stopped the war. There were several plans being made to ensure that no one from the Milky Way interfered but at the same made sure not antagonize them and possibly force them to join the war.

The Clone Wars was targeted solely on the Jedi and they could not afford the interference of any new powers that could change the outcome of the war with their mere presence alone.

'A renewed invasion of Naboo will be all we need to force the war to continue. With the Gungans stirred into a frenzy and convinced to join the Confederacy the Naboo will be forced to call for Republic aid…' Dooku frowned as he sensed something wrong. 'And yet there is a great disturbance in the Force…This feeling is familiar…'

 _The image of a giant cube in the blackness of space appeared, its features devoid of life or creativity with its crew just as soulless as the ship that carries._

 _A woman with cybernetic implants covering half her face with a red laser staring down the enemies of the Collective. "From this point forward, you will service us. Resistance is futile."_

Dooku's eyes shot open. "They are coming."

The Borg, those cybernetic abominations were returning. This was not part of the plan. He needed a fleet here as soon as possible.

 **Wild Space  
Iskadrell System  
Iskadrell**

The planet Iskadrell was largely isolated from the rest of the galaxy with only known hyperspace route leading to its system. That was fine for the inhabitants as the only time they ventured out into the galaxy was when they needed a new batch of slaves to handle the toxic waste produced by their bio-technology which they took and modified, turning them into Iskalloni much like the Borg did when they assimilated new drones into their Collective. Perhaps the similarity is the reason the Iskalloni had not only managed to fight off the Borg incursion into their space but become stronger because of it. It was this new threat that saw to the next stage of the Iskalloni as they begun taking the knowledge they gained from the Borg and used for their own.

Already they had solved the problem of the toxic waste created by their bio-technology, improved their life style with creations of new devices such as transporters and replicators. However with the knowledge of new technology came the knowledge of a new threat as the data collected on the Borg suggested they would not tolerate the Iskalloni gaining their knowledge. Therefore the Iskalloni concluded the Borg must be destroyed immediately. With that in mind the Iskalloni turned their attention to building ships and weapons that would destroy the Borg.

It would not be easy as the Iskalloni calculated that the Borg would adapt to their weapons, even if they were derived from the Collective it would not be easy.

The Iskalloni had gained new knowledge but it would take time to implement this new technology no matter how fast a pace they were going. The Iskalloni decided that to reorganize the slave raids they had conducted before, only they would be programming the slaves to fight the Borg, not at all different from how the Borg acquired new drones. The humans and the species they associated with were only useful as slaves anyways. The Iskalloni would reprogram them to be useful for once in their pathetic lives as they built up their mighty fleets and destroy the Borg.

In this galaxy and the next.

The only matter now was finding a large amount of slaves in a short amount of time to convert into Iskalloni and build up their forces as quick as possible before the next Borg incursion. They needed a planet with a large population to convert instead of the usual method of attacking ships far from civilized territory. They would have to target a world with a large humanoid population but one that was far enough from Republic or Separatist territories to prevent a quick response.

It only took the new Iskalloni Collective a second to find a suitable world: Naboo.

The Iskalloni Collective went to work, building ships from the ground up with the new advances the Iskalloni had gained from the Borg. A fleet that would be powerful enough to sweep through the galaxy and eliminate any threat to their existence. The Iskalloni concentrated on utilizing their already converted slaves to continue building their ships with the help of Replicator units while preparing a nanite virus based off the Borg nano virus to quickly assimilate and convert the target world's population into slaves. They would use the population along with the resources on the planet to gain thousands of warriors that would combat the Borg at their staging area: the black hole cluster known as the Maw.

The galaxy would be theirs.


	17. Chapter 17

**Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Chommel Sector  
Naboo System**

Naboo was a famous planet for a few reason despite it being far from the Inner Rim. The first reason was that it was the world Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was born and raised on who loved throughout the Republic for his stand against the Separatists. The second that it was also home to its former queen and current senator Padme Amidala who made a stand against the Trade Federation during the invasion. Naboo prided itself in being a strong world and that nothing could hurt them so as long as they had people like Palpatine and Amidala to defend them.

That claim was about to be tested as a Borg cube came out of transwarp space.

 **Naboo  
Otoh Gunga**

Padme was always happy to return to her home planet, especially to get away from the war. Too bad for her she was returning home to prevent the war from coming to Naboo and having its people endure more pain and death like they did against the Trade Federation years ago. The good news was that Boss Lyonie was not calling for war on the surface, at least not intentionally. It was discovered his mind was being manipulated by a Gungan traitor who smuggled the Separatist droid armies into the Gungan City and escaped but Anakin had gone after him.

The bad news that Boss Lyonie was injured by the traitor and never had a chance to call off the invasion. Luckily Jar-Jar, disguised as Boss Lyonie managed to call of the attack. Only now they had to deal with the droid armies that arrived led by General Grievous who demanded to speak to Boss Lyonie about the cancelled attack.

And knowing Grievous he would attack the Naboo with or without the Gungans.

Which led to Jar-Jar trying to stall Grievous as long as possible while the Gungans shut down the droids. Just as Grievous was going to continue the discussion a tactical droid marched in just as Captain Tarpals left.

"What is it?" Grievous barked in annoyance.

"General, our fleet hiding behind Naboo's mind have detected a ship approaching. It has been confirmed to be Borg." The tactical droid answered.

Grievous stood up. "What?!"

"Yes it has been confirmed. The Borg are on a direct approach to the planet." The tactical droid stated.

"Contact the _Inferno_. I will be there shortly!" Grievous ordered but stopped upon seeing Jar-Jar sneak to the elevator. "And where are you going?"

"Uh….Mesa need to speak with Captain about desa Borg thingys." Jar-Jar rapidly pushed the down button. "Very important."

Grievous narrowed his eyes and tossed the table aside. "You are not Boss Lyonie!"

Jar-Jar chuckled just as the doors closed.

Grievous roared and stomped his foot on the ground. "Forget him and the Naboo! We will deal with the Borg! And contact Count Dooku!"

()

Dooku opened his eyes as the image of General Grievous appeared before him. "What is it, General?"

" _My lord, our fleet reports a Borg ship approaching Naboo._ " Grievous reported. " _I am returning to the Inferno to counter this threat._ "

"General, we cannot allow these Borg to assimilate this planet. Be prepared to bombard Theed and the swamps where the Gungans live if the Borg prove too powerful." Dooku ordered.

" _Yes my lord._ "

Dooku would have left but the Borg arrived faster than he thought and he sensed something else coming.

()

General Grievous was as proud of the _Inferno_ was he was the _Malevolence_ even though he was the one who lost the _Malevolence_ early in the war. He would not let that happen again with the _Inferno_ and he would not let the Borg take this ship or the planet. Once his ship landed in the hangar bay he made a beeline for the bridge, stepping onto the command a few moments later. Count Dooku had ordered a Separatist fleet, composed of thirty _Munificent_ class frigates, twenty six _Recusant_ destroyers, fifteen _Providence_ destroyers, eight _Lucrehulk_ battleships and the _Inferno_ itself to be stationed behind Naboo's moon to avoid detection until the time was right.

"Bring us out hiding and set course for the Borg ship." Grievous ordered as he took his first step onto the bridge. "Prepare the gravitic polarization cannon and make sure the shields and jamming systems are activated. I want constant scanning of the interior for any signs of that transporter technology."

After the first Borg attack and the discovery of the Milky Way Galaxy, including technology such as the transporters Count Dooku ordered the science division, specifically the Techno Union to research ways to block transporters from beaming people onto Confederacy ships. Though they could not gain the technology the basics of the transporters were explained which was a start. The counter measure to the transporter was a jamming field in addition to the usual deflector shields that surrounded the ship in electromagnetic static to prevent the transporter from locking in and beaming in. Now it was likely this would not work given how advanced the transporters and the rest of the Milky Way appeared to be but it they were still researching and improving.

Even if the jamming field failed the Confederacy had modified their ships to constantly scan the interior for energy signs that might be a transporter while Commando Droids and Magna Guards would be activated at the first sign of a transporter being detected. There was talk of modifying the ships with security measures matching the one used at the Citadel which Count Dooku considered to be part of the retrofit program he ordered for the Confederate Fleet but that was for the future. Right now Grievous was more concerned about dealing with the Borg now and making sure he and Count Dooku made it out alive.

"Roger, roger." The command battle droid nodded.

()

The Borg Cube moved into orbit of Naboo scanning the planet surface.

 _Preparing to launch Probe_

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 _Intercepting Communication Transmissions_

 _Locating Suitable Representative: Padme Amidala_

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 _Warning: Confederacy Vessel on Intercept Course_

 _Detecting Energy Build in Unknown Lead Vessel_

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 _Sending Units to Retrieve Representative_

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 _Directing Polaron Scan to Unknown Vessel_

()

The Borg Cube launched a green polaron scan on the _Inferno_ as it approached.

"We've being scanned, General." The command battle droid reported.

"Ignore the scan. Target the cube and fire."

"Roger, rog-Uh?" The pilot droid looked down at its beeping scanner. "General, we're picking up another ship coming out of hyperspace."

Grievous watched as another ship came into visual range, shaped like sphere while at the time looking like an asteroid that had been hollowed out and a ship was built into it. "Identify."

"Unknown. We're picking up a transmission."

A set of voices, not unlike the Borg spoke through the speakers.

" _Stand-down immediately. Do not attempt any form of resistance, or you will pay for your disobedience with pain. We are Iskalloni. Your ships and this world are now our personal property. Repeat. Stand down immediately, make no attempts to resist, and we will not have to atomize your ships._ "

Grievous growled. "Another batch of these freaks."

The Borg having heard the transmission directed its weapons onto the approaching Iskalloni ship. Plasma cutting beams and plasma torpedoes slammed into the Iskalloni shields while the Iskalloni weapons, an upgraded version of the turbolaser weapon that was a form of plasma-disruptor hybrid burned the surface of the Borg Cube. The Iskalloni made sure to constantly randomize the frequency of their weapons and shields, faster than the Borg would be able to adapt. However the Borg were quick adapters and even though Iskalloni were randomizing the frequency of their weapons and shields the Borg weapons were moving just as fast to adapt.

The battle was quickly reaching a stalemate which was unacceptable to both cybernetic species that sought outright dominion over each other. The Borg Cube suffered severe damage, parts of it exploding, melting, and disintegrating while the Iskalloni shields started to buckle and thus unable to prevent the Iskalloni ship from registering scores of hits.

"Uh…" A battle droid stared at the two dangerous enemies fighting. "What do we do?"

"Target the nearest one and open fire." Grievous pointed at the two enemy ships. "And once the weapon is fully charged, fire!"

The Seperatist fleet opened fire, red turbolaser and ion bolts racing through space and colliding with Borg and Iskalloni, scorching the hulls in a never ending barrage. Grievous had taken to what he learned from the first encounter with the Borg and what information he had learned about them from the Starfleet database. The Borg adapted to weapons eventually by scanning any weapons and adjusting their shield strength, frequency, layers, and distance from the ship based on the weapons used against them but despite their adaptation it could be turned against them if cube was damage enough and they seemed to fail adapt to solid projectile weaponry. The Milky Way approach would be modulate the frequency in their energy weapons but that approach was still beyond the Republic and the Separatists at the moment.

Wat Tambor had mentioned there was never a need to alter the frequency of laser based weaponry as there had never been opponent like the Borg before. Count Dooku had ordered the science division in the Confederacy to research ways to combat the Borg in addition to other Milky Way ships. In the meantime Grievous would rely on brute force to take out Borg which could work if they had a weapon powerful enough to destroy the Borg ships no matter what adaptive techniques they used.

"Weapon is charged, General."

"Fire!"

The _Inferno_ 's gravitic polarization cannon fired, a large singular beam that traveled at the speed of light that collided with the Iskalloni ship, cutting through its shields and hull, vaporizing the ship in a flash and left no remains.

"Charge the weapon and target the Borg ship." Grievous ordered, watching the Borg cube that had suffered damage from the Iskalloni and Separatist weapons.

The Borg Cube begin regenerating the damage it suffered and scanned the weapon the _Inferno_ had used.

 _Scanning Energy Signature_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Scan Complete_

 _Results: Polaron/Gravitic Hybrid weapon that releases coherent gravity waves that attacks target on the subatomic level and tears it apart_

 _Power Levels Recharging_

 _Adjust Shields to Compensate_

 _._

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 _._

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 _Continue Mission to Assimilate_

 _._

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 _Sending Drones to Retrieve Representative_

()

" _Desa droids and Grievous leave. Jar-Jar say dat Grievous got very scared when droid say something called da Borg were here._ "

"The Borg?" Padme asked, her eyes widening.

She had read about the Borg from Starfleet's records and Anakin had told her about his encounter with the cybernetic species that was considered one of the most evil and dangerous species in the Milky Way Galaxy. Were the Borg really here? Are her people in danger from more than just a Separatist invasion?

A scream answered her questions as in a flash of green appeared humanoids dressed in black armor with cybernetic modifications, including a few of them having prosthetic arms and scanners over one of their eyes and all of them were surrounding her. She pulled out her blast and managed to shoot one of the drones, killing one but a female drone grabbed her and in a flash of green light she was gone.

()

Padme opened her eyes and found herself in what appeared to be a maze of corridors and lining these walls were Borg drones, seemingly deactivated or recharging themselves. Taking a few cautious steps Padme walked through the hall, keeping an eye on the drones in case they tried to attack her and stepped out onto a bridge where she saw endless rows of Borg drones in what appeared to be a giant Borg ship.

" _Senator Amidala._ "

Padme's head shot up, hearing thousands of voices speaking at once.

" _We are the Borg. Life as you know has ended. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us._ "

"I demand to know why you have kidnapped me. Taking a Senator of the Galactic Senate is an offensive crime."

" _Your Galactic Senate is irrelevant. We are here to offer ascension the planet Naboo. You will be our representative to the people. You will bridge our worlds and bring Naboo into the Collective._ "

"Naboo is a peaceful world that has done nothing to provoke you." Padme protested. "We will not submit to slavery which is what you offer."

" _Peace is irrelevant. Submission is irrelevant. You will comply._ "

"I would rather die." Padme retorted.

" _Death is irrelevant. This world and this galaxy will be one with the Collective._ "

Padme spotted two drones approaching her from both ends of the bridge and quickly pointed her blaster, pulling the trigger. However the blue blaster bolts were ignored by the Borg drones thanks to their shielding as they came up to Padme who upon seeing her blaster didn't have any effect turned to the railing, planning to jump.

But she never got the chance as she felt a pinch into her neck.

And then she felt her body go numb before she was suddenly enveloped in a green light…

And strapped down on a table with Borg drones hovering over her and then she heard the _voices_.

" _You will be our representative, Senator Amidala. You have been chosen to be the new Queen of the Collective in this galaxy. You will unite all with the Collective._ "

Padme tried to scream but she couldn't.

'ANAKIN!'

()

'ANAKIN!'

Anakin had been chasing after the Gungan traitor Rish Loo when he heard his wife screaming through the Force, stopping and looking up at the sky. 'Padme.'

Something had happened to her.

He needed to get back to Otoh Gunga now.

()

"What's it doing?" Grievous growled, his eyes probing the Borg Cube that was doing nothing. "Why is it floating there?"

"Uh, I don't know." The B1-Commander Droid shrugged.

"Then find out!" Grievous barked, almost ready to take one of his lightsabers out and cut the annoying droid in half. "And prepare the weapon. We will blow them out of the sky."

If the Borg were distracted he would take advantage it and destroy them now.

"General, something is launching from the Borg ship."

Grievous watched what appeared to be a smaller ship launch from the Borg Cube and headed down to the planet surface, recognizing it as a Borg probe. "Fire as soon we're in range. Take that thing out!"

The _Inferno_ 's gravitic polarized cannon fired on the smaller ship, destroying it instantly.

"Unknown ship destroyed, General." The pilot droid reported.

"Obviously." Grievous said in a sarcastic tone.

The pilot droid perked up as its console beeped. "General, we're receiving a transmission from the Borg ship."

Grievous narrowed his eyes as the holo-communicator activated and stepped back in shock when he saw who it was. "Naboo's Senator…"

" _I am Amidala of Borg. From this day forward, you will service us._ " Padme Amidala now looked like a Borg with implants on the right side of her face and Borg armor covered her torso over a black skin tight bodysuit.

()

Count Dooku watched in fascination at Senator Amidala who had been transformed into a Borg. " _The people of Naboo will become one with us and we shall begin a campaign of ending the Clone Wars by bringing all into the Collective._ "

()

The people of Theed watch in horror at what their beloved former Queen and Senator had become. " _The forces of the Separatist Alliance will surrender and be assimilated or be destroyed. This is your first and final warning._ "

()

The Gungans in Otoh Gunga looked on in fear at the image of Padme. " _I have ordered the Collective to not use the nanovirus to convert this world and allow you to willingly become one with us but do not mistake my mercy for weakness. The capital Theed is now our main base and all will be expected to accept assimilation. Resistance is futile._ "

()

"BLOW THEM OUT OF THE SKY!" Grievous shouted.

The Separatist fleet opened fire, turbolasers and ion cannons shooting at the Cube with enough fire power to devastate the surface of an entire planet. The Borg Cube returned fire, plasma beams and torpedoes burning through shields and hulls, destroying the smaller ships instantly while the larger ships like the _Providences_ and the _Inferno_ managed to survive the first barrage. Droid fighters were launched and peppered the Cube with lasers, bombs, and even missiles carrying buzz droids that scattered across the surface and began wreaking havoc.

"How long until the cannon is ready to fire?" Grievous shouted as the bridge shook.

The battle was not going well as Grievous had hoped as the Borg ship was resilient and destroyed more than half the fleet while the cube seemed to suffer minimal damage. Only the _Inferno_ and the _Providence_ destroyers were doing the most damage due to their heavy fire power. It was frustrating to see a single ship able to shrug off the fire power of an entire fleet but Grievous knew that the battle with the Iskalloni had damaged the Cube enough to the point that the fire power from the Confederate fleet was inflicting severe damage.

Only the Borg could regenerate their ships and Grievous knew it was a matter of time before Borg recovered and then they would destroy his fleet.

"Twenty seconds."

The Borg Cube fired a gravimetric torpedoes that slammed into the front of the _Inferno_ , causing a large explosion and tore through the hull.

"Shields are failing, General. We have multiple hull breaches in the bow section."

Grievous would have barked more orders if not for the Borg drones appearing on the bridge. However Grievous had ordered Commando Droids and Magna Guards to the bridge and all vital sections of the ship so when the Borg drones beamed in they were quickly attacked.

"Stay at your positions!" Grievous ordered to the bridge droids. "Fire as soon as the weapon is charged."

"We're losing power, General. We might not be able to get the weapon to full power." The pilot droid reported as the Commando Droids and Magna droids destroyed the Borg drones in under a moment.

"Divert all power to the weapon, including life support!" Grievous latched out and slammed a Borg drone's skull onto the floor. "Just fire the blasted thing!"

()

 _Warning_

 _Gravitic Discharge Weapon Firing_

 _Shields Not Sufficient Enough To Stop_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _'Begin Beaming Down to Theed.'_ Padme commanded.

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _We will Comply_

()

The _Inferno_ 's forward gravitic polarized cannon fired hit the Cube's shields, despite the Borg's effort to adapt the weapon was too powerful as it shot through the hull and burned through the other side, leaving a hole large enough for a frigate to fly through. A second later explosions sprouted across the cube as it slowly started to break apart before it exploded.

"Borg Cube destroyed, General." The pilot droid reported.

"Contact Count Dooku and inform of our success. Begin repairs immediately." Grievous stated.

()

Dooku sensed a great amount of death in orbit but the feeling of emptiness he had come to expect from sensing the Borg was still there as Grievous contact him. "Report, General."

" _My Lord, the Borg ship was destroyed despite the casualties we suffered._ " Grievous bowed his head in respect.

"And yet, I sense the Borg are not gone. Scan the planet for any Borg life signs. They are too cunning to be simply destroyed and ensure none beamed onto the fleet." Dooku stated.

" _Yes my Lord._ " Grievous said before the image faded out.

Dooku tapped the switch on his communicator and this time the image of his master appeared. "My Master. There has been a development on Naboo."

" _The Borg._ " Sidious answered.

Dooku didn't bother to ask how his master knew. "They assimilated Senator Amidala, using her as some kind of representative before Grievous destroyed the ship. However I suspect the Borg used their transporters to beam down to the planet."

" _This is unexpected but perhaps we could use this as an opportunity. Where is Skywalker?_ " Sidious asked.

"My informant stated he turned around, possibly returning to the Gungan City. I have ordered Grievous to scan the planet for Borg life signs." Dooku answered.

" _If you can confirm the senator's status as living or dead contact Skywalker and inform him._ " Sidious said.

"My Lord?" Dooku raised an eyebrow.

" _If Skywalker believes the Borg killed the Senator or if they assimilated her he would be driven to strike back at them. Perhaps if he even sees what they have done to her would push him to use the Dark Side to avenge her. And the Separatists can gain from this as well as saviors by defeating the Borg._ " Sidious grinned. " _Order Grievous to begin landing his troops once the Borg have been found. Saving Naboo from the Borg will cause the people to be grateful and perhaps even demand that Naboo leave the Republic._ "

"It shall be done, Master." Dooku bowed again.

()

The city of Theed was considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in all the galaxy. Though not nearly as big as the city that was essentially Coruscant it was built and shaped like elegance and grace one would find in a painting made by an artist. There was no army aside from security volunteers and small garrison of clone troopers set up by the Republic to protect the planet from another invasion but no one believed the Separatists would come for them.

They were right that the Separatists wouldn't attack them.

The city was attacked by something much worse and it was being led by the one person who had dedicated her life to protecting it and the rest of Naboo. Borg drones marched down the street, grabbing anyone they could and injecting nanites into them, converting them into drones instantly. People ran for their lives while security volunteers tried to defend themselves but the Borg had adapted to their blaster fire, forcing them to fall back. Several volunteers on armed speeders fired, taking out several groups of Borg drones and saving more than a few civilians from being assimilated.

It was a losing battle though they could only save as many people as they could by getting them out of Theed.

Inside the palace Queen Neeyutnee and Captain Panaka stood near the window with Padme, the both of them having been assimilated instantly and now supervising the royal palace being upgraded with Borg technology.

 _Modifying Palace Reactor to Power Regenerative Alcoves_

 _._

 _._

 _._

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 _Extracting Plasma for Energy Source_

 _._

 _._

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 _._

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 _Preparing Construction of Atmospheric Control Towers_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

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 _Preparing Nano-Virus to be Released Through Atmospheric Control Towers_

Padme's knowledge of the planet, its resources, and even its security forces allowed the Borg to take Theed instantly with the people scattered and almost completely assimilated. Theed was the highest technological location on the planet aside from Otoh Gunga but the Collective had deemed the Gungans as too primitive and Theed was directly over the plasma reserves the planet had and thus was the perfect place to see up a base.

And yet even though Padme was assimilated there was a small part of that was fighting to take back control and was screaming for help.

'Anakin, help me!'

()

Anakin gritted his teeth, hearing the screams and pleas of his wife through the void in the Force he only felt when he sensed the Borg. He had just contacted Otoh Gunga and had been informed that Padme had disappeared and he knew who were responsible.

The Borg.

They were here and he could sense them in the city of Theed. So now he was heading to Theed on his speeder bike, racing through the forest.

'Padme, I'm coming.'

()

On the grassy fields surrounding Theed C-9979 landing in the clearing, deploying AATs and MTTs while lines of B-1 battle droids marched out of the landing craft. The MTTs opened up, deploying squads of B-2 super battle droids that quickly mobilized themselves into formation as General Grievous stepped out of the lead landing craft, escorted by his Magna Guards.

Grievous held his holo-communicator and Dooku's image appeared. "We are deploying our forces, Count Dooku."

" _Good, General. Wait until it is confirmed Skywalker has entered the city to begin the assault. The Borg will be divided between stopping him and defending themselves against your armies. Prepare the Defoliaters for use. The Borg will helpless against a weapon that destroys organics._ " Dooku ordered.

"As you wish, my master." Grievous nodded, before looking at his assembled army. "Be ready to attack on my word. Once Skywalker is in the city we begin our assault and we will eliminate the Borg."

 **Other Side of Theed**

Anakin emerged from the forest and approached Theed, seeing the buildings that had been altered, now covered in black and green machinery. He could see people running through the fields and saw Borg drones pursuing them, catching people and injecting them with Borg nanites and turning them into drones. Narrowing his eyes in hate Anakin shot towards the enemy, thrusting out a hand and sending a Force blast, knocking them off their feet. Igniting his lightsaber Anakin left off his speeder bike and landed in the hoard of Borg drones where he proceeded to fight his way through them with his lightsaber and power over the Force.

Remembering the danger of complacency against the Borg Anakin alternated between using the Force and his lightsaber skills, taking them out quickly before they could retaliate and even using drones as shields when he was fired upon. He pushed his way through the small Borg army, right to the bridge leading into Theed and rushed into the city, using his Force sense to reach out and find his beloved wife.

As this happened a probe droid happened to record the Jedi Knight breaching the city.

()

"General, our scouts report Skywalker has entered Theed." The tactical droid acting as Grievous' second in command reported.

"Commence the attack." Grievous hopped onto a STAP and shot forward, leading the droid armies towards the city.

The AATs fired their forward cannons, blasting the front buildings and sending debris flying everywhere. Borg drones in their alcoves activated and began moving to intercept the threat, their shields are already adapting to the blaster fire from the droids.

"Fire the Defoliator!" Grievous shouted through his built in communicator, shooting past the drones on his STAP and moving deeper into the city.

The Defoliator tank fired the first shell that fell upon the approaching drones and exploded, burning all organic matter away and allowing the droids to advance. Grievous rammed through any drones in his way, acting like a beacon for the Defoliator cannon that would clear the way right through to the palace. The AATs had been ordered to cause mass destruction and he had left standing orders to the remaining CIS ships in orbit to bomb the city on his orders. A green disruptor bolt slammed into his STAP, forcing Grievous to jump off as it spun out of control and crashed into an alcove.

Landing on his feet Grievous took out a pair of lightsabers, one blue and one green, and started a path of carnage and mayhem through the streets of the assimilated Theed. Blaster bolts peppered the Borg drones followed by larger bolts from the AATs and rocket launchers from B-2 Super Battle Droids and Commando Droids. Though the Borg were adaptable Grievous realized they used the same tactics over and over again, almost like the stupid battle droids he was forced to use. And if there was one thing Grievous knew it was how to outwit a stupid droid.

He utilized the full potential of his cyborg body, combining brute force with enhanced reflexes and attacks from angles that would be impossible for an ordinary humanoid to perform. The streets became littered with dead Borg drones as Grievous left no survivors in his wake. The Collective utilized the minds of those it absorbed as its power and so Grievous would kill the drones, depleting the Collective of its power.

If the Collective believed in bringing order and everlasting peace to the universe by making all one with it Grievous was chaos and death incarnate. He would spare no one. Man, woman or child were simply soulless automatons and they would be granted a swift death.

At the very least he was compassionate enough to liberate them from the hell of being mere meat puppets.

()

Anakin kept on pushing through the Borg drones that got in his way, sparing no one as he rushed to the palace. He finally reached the entrance and by then it seemed the Borg had stopped paying attention to him because he found no one at the entrance waiting for him. He couldn't care less and smashed open the entrance with the Force, knocking the doors off their hinges. The palace looked worse on the inside than it did on the outside just by looks of the walls filled with Borg equipment alone.

There were dead drones that looked like they were being cannibalized for parts while other drones were setting up more equipment in the palace. Anakin moved quick, knowing Padme would be in the throne room and spared no drones, even ones that didn't seem to be paying attention to him. He could feel her, even though her presence was being corrupted by the Borg. Her voice was being drowned out by the Collective that was controlling her body like a puppet, forcing her to commit horrible crimes against her will and worse, against her people.

He had to move and safe her.

He would not lose her like he lost his mother.

He reached the doors to the throne room and let out a scream as he pulled them off their hinges with the Force, knocking them down and stepped into the throne room.

That was when his heart stopped when he saw her.

She was standing at the window, her skin pale and wore a black gown with cybernetic implants covering her but not to the extent of the other drones. "Anakin Skywalker. You have become a threat to the Collective."

"Padme." Anakin whispered, his heart breaking over seeing what the Borg, those monsters had done to his wife.

"You will be assimilated." Padme stated, her voice cold and machine like. "Resistance is futile."

"Padme, you got to fight them. Look at what they have done to you and to Theed." Anakin pleaded, unable to bring himself to harm his beloved wife.

The Borg used that against them as a green light came down on Anakin, trapping him behind a force field.

"You will be contained until you are assimilated into the Collective." Padme said as the former drone known as Panaka came to inject nanites into Anakin.

"Padme…Please…" Anakin begged, closing his eyes as he felt despair and…anger.

Anger at the Borg.

Anger for turning his wife against him and her planet.

Anger for corrupting Naboo and its people.

Anger for tearing families apart and making them into soulless machines.

He had to save her.

He had to _save_ her.

He WILL save her!

His anger centered on the drone about to assimilate him, imagining the drone and the equipment holding him being crushed. The anger manifested as the Panaka drone was lifted off the ground and slowly crushed by the weight of the Force under Anakin's anger. The equipment holding him was next as he reached out through the Force, crushing and destroying the equipment in the room which freed him and released his rage on the remaining drones in the room, even destroying the drone that had been the Queen of Naboo. The drones were immediately killed, leaving only Padme whom Anakin fell upon and hugged with all his might.

"I won't leave you, Padme." Anakin closed his eyes, reaching out through the Force and felt his wife still alive but was a prisoner in her own body that was trying to assimilate him.

She was trying to fight but the Borg Collective was too strong. They were inside her, controlling her. Anakin concentrated on the machines controlling her, destroying them but be careful to avoid harming Padme.

He would _never_ harm her.

Padme shook, the Borg implants short circuiting and disrupting the Collective's hold over her. Her hand that had reached to inject the Borg nanites into her husband fell to her side as she opened her mouth…

And let out a scream as she fell to her knees, clutching her husband who held her tight and wouldn't let go for possibly the rest of his life.

()

Dooku smirked as he felt Anakin's anger through the Force that had weakened the Collective's hold over the Naboo senator. His master would no doubt be pleased at this but in the meantime now would be the time to wipe out those cybernetic abominations.

Holding out his holo-communicator he was not surprised to see Grievous fighting Borg drones. "Grievous, it's time to retreat. Order your ships to bomb Theed into the ground and do not stop until there is nothing left."

Deactivating the communicator Dooku turned to his Solar Sailor, his work on Naboo done. Lord Sidious would demand to know Skywalker's status and Dooku was sure he would know about Skywalker using the Dark Side to save his secret wife. It had been like a furnace burning out of control in the Force that engulfed the Borg and turned them to ashes.

And the bombardment from orbit would vaporize those ashes.

()

Anakin held Padme close to him as he rushed out of the city, using the Force to increase his speed to beyond human capability. His wife has fainted from being freed from the Collective and she needed medical attention to remove the implants on her body. Just as he rushed out of the city great lights fell from the sky and scorched the city, instantly telling Anakin who looked over his shoulder for a mere second that Theed was being bombed. The city had been standing just as Anakin got out and one moment later it was burning to the ground with whoever that was bombing it not stopping.

Smoke filled the sky, blocking out the sun as the most beautiful city on the plant was reduced to a smoking crater. It didn't matter to Anakin how or why Theed was bombed to extinction along with the Borg that infested the city like a disease. All that mattered to him was getting his wife to a place where she could rest and be healed.

He vowed never to leave her alone again.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant**

Chancellor Palpatine grinned as he felt the void that was the Borg Collective vanish from Naboo and at the same time he sensed the deaths of the thousands of people who died in the bombing. The Borg had been an unexpected interference but he welcomed it, especially when he felt Skywalker's anger.

"Good, Skywalker. Good." Palpatine threw his head back and laughed.

This was even better than he could have hoped.


	18. Chapter 18

**Milky Way  
Gateway Alpha  
USS _Tourmaline_**

 _Captain's Log USS Tourmaline, Admiral K'Reth recording._

 _A new Starbase has almost finished construction at the first portal leading into what is now called the Skyriver galaxy. We have been conducting scans on both sides of the portal since there have been reports of subspace disturbances no doubt caused by the portal's creation. I guess it comes as no surprise that the Devidians gave no thought to the possible repercussions of creating a portal to another galaxy, or even another universe._

 _End Log_

Admiral Dola K'Reth sighed as she stretched herself on her bed, her habit being an influence of her Caitian heritage. It had been a trying last few months in dealing with the Borg and at the same time dealing with the Voth that had invaded the Solanae Dyson Sphere and tried to take its Omega producing facilities for themselves. In addition to that was the situation in the other galaxy, the Skyriver Galaxy, which was not making things easier. Neither the Galactic Republic nor the Confederacy of Independent Systems seem to be eager to make peace any time soon and they seemed intent on hounding the Milky Way Galaxy to choose a side.

The Alliance had managed to replicate the hyperdrive technology used in the new galaxy but many were disappointed to find out that hyperdrives were nearly useless in the Milky Way. The reason why was because the subspace in the Milky Way was too wild because of several things, including Omega particles produced by the Solanae Dyson sphere, distortions caused by earlier warp drives, possibly the Solanae and maybe more which made subspace too dangerous for hyperdrives. The crew on the ship that was testing the hyperdrive was lucky to get off the ship before its engines overloaded and destroyed the ship. That also meant that if anyone from the other side of the gate wanted to travel through the Milky Way they would have to create a new form of FTL.

" _Bridge to Admiral K'Reth._ "

Dola sighed, fighting the urge to smash her commbadge but answered. "Go ahead."

" _A Republic ship has emerged from the gateway. It's carrying representatives who are here to conduct negotiations Alliance._ "

Dola stood up, straightening her uniform. "On my way."

The USS _Tourmaline_ was an _Avenger_ class battlecruiser, designed by Starfleet during the conflict with the Klingons following the breakdown of the Khitomer Accords and was later refitted with the latest in anti-Borg weaponry, including anti-proton weaponry, transphasic torpedoes, and ablative armor generators. It had seen action against the Borg since Task Force Omega's founding, even taking part in the mission to stop the Borg from gaining a foot hold in fluidic space and invading the Undine. Dola arrived on the bridge just in time to watch the Republic cruiser emerge from the gateway and slowly approach the fleet of starships. Given the large amount of ships there was a chance that the Republic diplomats were afraid that the Alliance was preparing an invasion of their galaxy, even if they explained why they were posting a fleet on the other side of the gateway.

Of course there was a reason why there was a saying about fear making people unreasonable.

"Admiral, the cruiser is hailing us."

Dola nodded. "Let's hear it."

Though both galaxies used subspace communications they were both different in the fact that holographic communications used in the Skyriver Galaxy was incompatible with the view screens used on most Milky Way ships.

" _This is the Republic Diplomatic Vessel **Voice in The Wilderness**_ , _carrying Republic diplomats to the capital of the Federation and the Klingon Empire._ "

"This is Admiral Dola of the USS _Tourmaline_ , we will be your escort and since your hyperdrive will not work in our galaxy I suggest you cut power to your engines." Dola answered, standing in front of chair even though the crew of the Republic ship could not see her.

" _Understood._ "

The _Voice in The Wilderness_ powered down its engines as the _Tourmaline_ came up towards it, slowly turning around and activated a tractor beam.

"Your ship is now safe under the tractor beam and we are extending our inertia dampening field around you. We will be going to warp momentarily but perhaps we should receive your diplomats now." Dola suggested. "Our transporter is standing by to beam them aboard."

" _Oh, right. That transporter thing you guys got._ " The pilot said, sounding hesitant about the transporter. " _Uh…the ambassadors are standing by._ "

Dola sighed as the transmission ended, knowing a lot of people from the other side of the gate were still uncomfortable with the transporter. "Set course for the Jouret System."

"Yes Admiral."

"I will go and meet our guests."

()

Senator Bail Organa and Riyo Chuchi honestly felt like screaming as they were beamed away but a second later it was all over and they were standing on a large pad next to Master Luminara and Ahsoka with a furry looking alien at the console. Luminara looked down at herself, having never experience the transporter before and was somewhat surprised to see how efficient it was. For the first time Luminara felt the Force in the Milky Way and it was…

Different.

Not as encompassing and vibrant as it was in their home galaxy but it was there. Luminara remembered that Anakin and Ahsoka had both experience visions when passing through the portal leading to the Milky Way but for some reason she did not. Did the Force decide that its message would be passed through those two? Or was something blocking it now?

The doors opened and in walked humanoid female cat with a tail with an air of authority around her.

"Admiral, the ambassadors are here." The Tellarite said.

"Good work, Chief." Dola nodded and looked at the ambassadors. "I am Admiral Dola of the starship _Tourmaline_. Welcome to the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Thank you, Admiral." Bail stepped of the transporter pad, taking the chance to look himself over. "That transporter of yours…I've never seen anything like it."

Dola smirked. "That's the general message we've been getting lately, Mr…."

"Organa. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan." Bail answered and gestured to Chuchi who bowed her head in greetings. "This is Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora." Bail then gestured to Lumina. "This is Master Luminara Unduli of the Jedi Council with Padawan Ahsoka Tano who has already been to this galaxy."

"Welcome aboard the _Tourmaline_. We are already heading to the Jouret system to where the gateway is. I'll have someone show you the guest quarters and then we can discuss the conference in the briefing room." Dola offered.

"Thank you, Admiral." Chuchi nodded.

()

"As you can see the Iconian space gate in the Jouret system leads to what we call a Dyson Sphere. It is essentially a gigantic construct built around a star that powers the structure and allows the surface on the inside to be habitable. The outer surface of the sphere is made of an alloy consisting of carbon and neutronium, effectively making it immune to any known weapons and it barely registers on sensors. The starship Jenolan was lost when it crashed into the surface of one nearly a century ago because it was unable to detect the Dyson Sphere before it was too late." Dola said, showing the Republic delegates images of the interior of the Solanae Dyson Sphere. "The inner surface measures over one astronomical unit around a brown dwarf star and the inner surface is approximately five hundred fifty million times the surface of Earth and Coruscant, coming to close to two hundred fifty M-class planets if our readings are correct while the entire structure is measured to be over two astronomical units in diameter. The interior is habitable to most humanoid life forms with a temperature of five to thirty degrees celsius at all times and the structures are powered by radiation from the star."

"That's amazing." Chuchi stated, awestruck by the fact that a construct like a Dyson Sphere could even exist and her awe was shared by the other Republic delegates.

"Such a massive station surely must have taken centuries to build." Organa commented, impressed.

"We do not know the precise age of the sphere but since it was on the other side of the space gate we can only assume the Iconians or one of their servants built the Dyson Sphere for reasons that remain unknown since the technology resembled the Solanae base the _Obelisk 1_ was stationed at. Starfleet has been working with the Klingons and the Romulans to discover the sphere's secrets in the last few months but it hasn't been easy. A technological advanced race known as the Voth had discovered the Dyson Sphere and tried to take control of it by force which has led to an and off struggle with them until the Undine forced them out. In our struggle with the Undine we discovered a second Dyson sphere connected to the gateway orbiting the star inside the Solanea Dyson Sphere leading another Dyson Sphere that was discovered nearly forty five years ago by the _Enterprise_ -D when it discovered the fate of the USS _Jenolan_. The activation of the Iconian gateway moved what we call the Jenolan Dyson Sphere through subspace and into the Delta Quadrant." Dola said, bringing up an image of the galaxy and showing previous location of the Jenolan Dyson Sphere and its new location. "Both Dyson Spheres have the ability to 'jump' through subspace and we've established Operation Delta Rising with the interest of exploring the Delta Quadrant. Before _Voyager_ 's seven year journey we had no knowledge on the Delta Quadrant which is why Rear Admiral Tuvok, a former officer of _Voyager_ is heading this operation and he was the one who called for the conference since _Voyager_ was the first Federation ship to encounter the Undine. He knows how dangerous they are which is why he called for a conference between the major powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. What is decided at the conference could affect the entire future of two quadrants and our standing you galaxy as well."

"And the fate of the Republic in our galaxy, Admiral. For reasons unknown these Undine infiltrated the cloning facilities on Kamino and nearly destroyed the DNA template for the clone army. Fortunately there are still samples that have been saved or remain in storage at other Kaminoan cities or colonies but the damage could be major to our ability to maintain our army." Luminara spoke up. "That is why we wish to be part of the conference."

"Can you think of any reason the Undine would suddenly attack you? Though they are a threat the Undine have only ever attacked if they had been provoked or believe they have been threatened." Dola stated, remembering that it was the Borg and the Iconians who provoked the Undine into attacking the Milky Way.

"We have had no major contact with the Undine so we do not know for sure if they were not somehow provoked by anyone from our galaxy but the Republic would never have willingly provoked them." Bail answered. "The Senate is furious with the attack on Kamino and many believe they might be a greater threat than the Separatists, especially because of the fact that they can shapeshift."

"Hmm…." Dola frowned. "Perhaps the Undine are attacking because they were led to believe you were a threat to them."

"What do you mean, Admiral?" Chuchi asked.

"The Undine started infiltrating us because the Iconians attacked them and framed us which provoked the Undine into believing we were a threat. It is likely the Iconians have done the same, provoking them and framing the Republic." Dola explained.

"If so than perhaps we can reason with them and explain we are not their enemy." Bail suggested.

"That won't be easy. The Undine are perhaps the only species in fluidic space and see all other species as inferior to them. They distrust humanoids and hate the Borg with a passion. For all their telepathy and infiltration abilities listening is not one of their better skills." Dola shook her head. "For them anyone is either a threat or weak and they have stated numerous times that the weak will perish. They did threaten to purge our galaxy when they first fought the Borg and if they believe you to be a threat they will likely attempt to do so with your galaxy."

"What can we do to stop them?" Luminara asked.

Dola sighed. "I'm not sure yet. Perhaps the answer will be found at the conference."

" _Bridge to Admiral Dola. We are three minutes out of the Jouret System and we've transmitted our codes._ "

 **Azure Sector  
Jouret System  
Gateway to Jenolan**

The _Tourmaline_ emerged from warp, slowly approaching the gate which was surrounded by countless ships that either protected, entered, or came out of the gate. The _Tourmaline_ went through the gate once it transmitted its security codes to the fleet guarding the gate and vanished through the extradimensional portal.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Solanae Dyson Sphere**

The Republic delegates stared at the view screen, showing the interior of the massive station which looked like another planet instead of the interior of a space station. It could possibly hold a population of billions or maybe trillions. Not even Master Luminara could hide the awe at seeing such a creation before her.

"Set course for the Jenolan gate." Dola said, sitting at the captain's chair. "Maximum warp. We don't want to be late."

"Aye Admiral."

The delegates watched as the _Tourmaline_ went to warp, leaving the surface and moved towards the star which made the delegates slight uncomfortable about how close the gate was to the star but the Starfleeters did not seem worried so they tried to remain calm. The ship approached the gateway and vanished into the portal.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Jenolan Dyson Sphere**

The Jenolan Dyson Sphere was not much different from the Solanae Dyson Sphere but it was just as impressive. The delegates wondered just how advanced the Iconians or whoever built the spheres had to be to build not one but two gigantic constructs around entire stars. No doubt many in the Republic and the Separatists would give a hand or leg to be here and discover what secrets both the giant space constructs might be hiding.

"The conference is being held at the command station which is being used for Delta Command." Dola stood up. "I'll escort you to the transporter and beam down with you to the conference. Rendezvous with the fleet and maintain position."

 **Coruscant  
Centax-2**

Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin was a man who was considered a rising star in the Republic military.

Born on the planet Eriadu to the wealthy Tarkin family Wilhuff that had helped settle Eriadu and founded the police force and later the militia. Wilhuff took these lessons to heart, understanding respect, discipline, and obedience were the most importance. Wishing to make a name for himself Wilhuff enrolled in the military academy and was hailed as a prodigy. Though proud of his family name he resented the fact that the Tarkin family did not have the respect it should have and worked to change that.

Having degrees in multiple fields, tactical, starship design, new grounds in xenobiology theory, and even demonstrating great talents for poetry and philosophy Tarkin had a vision where the Republic that he considered to be a decaying institution and replaced by a militaristic and authoritarian government ruled solely by the only species capable of maintaining order in the galaxy: Human.

That was why he believed the Separatists needed to be defeated and destroyed at all costs. They undermined the Republic's authority and plunged the galaxy into chaos and anarchy. He considered the Jedi to be relics that had no grasp on the present situation in the galaxy and their code prevents them from doing what must be done. However that did not mean he was not capable of respecting a few Jedi that knew how to get things done such as Anakin Skywalker.

He clearly was not tied down by the Council's archaic code and was not afraid to utterly defeat the enemy. Perhaps he could call on Skywalker's assistance for dealing with the dilemma of finding a way to keep the Republic strong but right now he was on a mission to Naboo with Senator Amidala. The senator of Naboo was another person Tarkin believed was bringing the Republic down, being a vocal opponent to his ideas and was someone who was blind to what was happening. She believed peace could be brought through negotiation and diplomacy but for all her talk she clings to the past of morals long since dead.

It was a good thing that she was not here for the moment and people like her, Bail and Chuchi were absent, attending a conference in the Milky Way Galaxy to deal with the current threat. Now in addition to the Separatists these new alien menaces were a threat to the Republic and its legitimacy as the ruling government in the galaxy. Tarkin vowed that they would pay for their treachery, even if it meant fighting them in both galaxies to show them the error of daring to challenge the Republic.

At least Starfleet, the Klingons, and the Romulans are planning to do something about the threat but sitting around and talking about the problem was not an effective strategy in Tarkin's mind. What they needed to do was take the fight to the Undine in their dimension and ensure their total subjugation. The Undine were a threat, pure and simple and they would be dealt with as such. And if the Milky Way factions couldn't do it the Republic that had stood for centuries would do it.

He looked over the reports and found them to be for the most part promising but it was not enough. The Chancellor had secured a second more secret way to produce clone troopers but it was understandably kept hidden from the Senate and the Jedi. Obtained from the planet Cartao the Spaarti cloning cylinders were capable of creating and growing clone in less than a year, faster the Kaminoan cloning technology. Already billions were being grown but it would take a year and if the DNA template was any further contaminated the Grand Army of the Republic would suffer serious decline.

They needed a way to keep clone production continuing as fast as possible with the quality of the clone troopers in no way altered.

"Admiral Tarkin?" Tarkin looked up from his paperwork, seeing a man with white hair and small beard that made him look almost as old as Count Dooku. "My name is Amar Singh. I am a researcher into genetics and I hear you are looking for help on the issue of the clone army decline."

"Amar Singh." Tarkin looked over the list of candidates. "Yes, your name is here. You offered your services in clone research."

"Yes, I am here to offer my assistance. Cloning has been a bit of a personal obsession of mine. I've looked over the Kaminoans and their work in cloning and while I am impressed I find it lacking. The work seems rushed, imperfect." Singh explained. "I believe with the proper modifications the lifespan of the remaining DNA samples can be not only extended but they will be stronger, smarter, and their growth acceleration could be altered so that the clones would grow faster but they would age like a proper human once they reach a certain stage."

"You can guarantee this?" Tarkin raised an eyebrow.

"Allow me to demonstrate it and you can make the decision for yourself, Admiral." Singh offered. "All I need is a lab and access to your cloning equipment. I will accept any supervision you may want."

Tarkin leaned back in his chair, putting a hand to his chin. "Very well. I personally observe this myself. There is a personal order the Kaminoans had brought to my attention."

"Thank you, Admiral." Singh smiled. "You won't regret this."

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Jenolan Dyson Sphere**

Ahsoka was uncomfortably reminded of the Solanae base in subspace when she beamed into the meeting area. Then again it was suggested that the Solanae who were a servant race of the Iconians were the ones who built both the Dyson Spheres in the first place which made them more dangerous than she thought when she and her Master followed the Milky Way people through the Iconian gateway on New Romulus and right into the Solanae base. Master Piell was still recovering from being dissected and the surgery that gave him a new heart. Ahsoka didn't even want to know what they would have done to her if she had been on that table.

That was why she and Master Luminara were here at the conference, believing the matter of the Iconians and the Undine needed to be addressed. She had been with Luminara when they were transporting Viceroy Gunray to Coruscant for war crimes but unfortunately the Viceroy escaped with the help of a traitor and Dooku's assassin Asajj Ventress. Ahsoka was chosen to be part of the conference because she had already been to the Milky Way and Luminara was already experienced with negotiations.

According to Admiral Dola representatives from both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants would be here and she already recognized the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan delegates because a few of them were the negotiators with the Republic Senate. Captain Shon of the _Enterprise_ was there along with Captain Koren of the _Bortasqu_ and Commander Jarok of the _Lliaset_ which was no surprise as they were captains of the flagships in the alliance. She even spotted Captain Kurt Malcolm breaking up an argument between two representatives, a Bajoran and a Xindi if she was right.

'I wonder what Master Skywalker would think if he was here.' Ahsoka thought idly as the conference began.

"The Undine represent a clear and present danger to not only the Federation, but also the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic. The damage done here by a handful of ships is clear evidence for the need for cooperation." Admiral Tuvok spoke with Captain Malcolm standing next to him.

"With respect, Admiral. The Republic is quite capable of leading exploration and security measure just as we have led efforts to secure the Solanae sphere. My militia-" D'tan spoke but was cut off by the Klingon representative, a Gorn if Ahsoka remembered correctly.

"I find it interesting that the Federation suddenly has concerns about the Undine now. Where was the Federation when the Empire discovered Undine infiltrators in the Alpha Quadrant?" The Gorn hissed. "Or is the Federation only interested now the Undine threaten something you want?"

"Give the exceptionally complicated nature of such…" Ambassador Sugihara spoke but stopped as Shon spoke up.

"Ambassador. Given what we know now, that was a mistake. The Empire recognized the Undine threat years ago. We didn't." The Captain of the Federation flagship said.

"You admit you were wrong?" The Gorn asked, sounding he wasn't expecting to hear what Shon said.

"The evidence provided by Admiral Tuvok and his team is sound."

"Thank you, Captain Shon. However, dwelling on past mistakes will not solve the problems of the present." Tuvok replied.

"If I may speak, representatives." Bail Organa spoke up. "Admiral Tuvok is right. The Undine have not only attacked you but they have declared aggression against us for reasons we cannot understand. We cannot fight these creatures while at the same time protect our worlds from the Separatists. It would be wise to consider a united front against them."

"Our fleet stands ready to protect both spheres from the Undine." D'tan spoke.

"The Undine can wait!" The Ferengi representative barked. "We have more important business to discuss. Who owns this sphere?"

'Seriously?' Ahsoka thought staring at the Ferengi. 'He's talking about business in the middle of a crisis?'

"I represent a consortium of businessmen on Ferenginar prepared to invest a significant venture capital into transforming this sphere into a vacation destination to rival Risa." The Ferengi continued. "I have a proposal of a half a million bars…"

"We are not here to discuss business or who owns these spheres!" Riyo Chuchi spoke up. "The matter of the Undine affects both this galaxy and ours."

"Senator Chuchi is right. The Undine has infiltrated our galaxy and has already attempted to weaken the Republic from the inside by crippling our only means of defending ourselves against the Separatists." Bail Organa took over, not eager to have a repeat of what usually happens in the Republic Senate. "If the Undine are now invading our galaxy we face a common enemy now. Now is not the time to discuss ownership of these spheres."

"That's your problem, huu-mans. My business here is…What is that?" The Ferengi representative stopped when the image of ships appeared on the main holographic display.

Tuvok tapped his comm badge. "Tuvok to _Voyager_. Report!"

" _A massive fleet of Undine vessels just appeared from a rift! They're setting a course for the gateway!_ "

"The Undine? What do they want?" D'tan turned to Jarok who pulled out her tricorder.

"Unknown." Jarok activated her communicator. "Jarok to _Lleiset._ Track their course."

" _Enterprise to Captain Shon. We're receiving a distress signal from Earth Spacedock!_ "

"Shon to Federation Fleet! Red Alert! Prepare for immediate departure!"

"The Federation is our enemy but the Undine attack like assassins in the night." The Gorn said to Koren.

"We will crush the qav'mek'quv!" Koren vowed.

Tuvok looked at the image. "A significant force of Undine forces is headed for the Sol system. We must stop the Undine from breaching Earth's defenses."

"I wonder if the Undine aren't planning an attack in our galaxy right now?" Ahsoka whispered to Luminara who frowned.

"You are right, Ahsoka. I sense dark intentions aimed at our galaxy as well. We must return immediately." Luminara replied, frowning as she sensed a powerful hatred.

 _A creature, an Undine stared with yellow eyes and there was flash before a world appeared. A world that was on fire._

 _A world that was covered by an entire city._

 _'The weak will perish!'_

Luminara's eyes shot open. "Coruscant! They are launching an attack on Coruscant!"


	19. Chapter 19

**Journal of the 501st – Assault on Coruscant**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _At the time of the third year of the war things were taking quite a turn. A new galaxy just popped up in the middle of the fighting, causing all sorts of heads to roll. The Republic and the CIS both made efforts to accommodate the governments from the Milky Way Galaxy and welcome them with everyone having their intentions of trying to help bring both sides to the table or convince them to join the war against the other side. But it became all too clear that the Milky Way had its own problems and their own enemies to deal with which we learned the hard way. First it was the encounter with the cybernetic Borg freaks that we stopped thankfully before they became too much of a threat, followed by the ghost aliens called the Devidians, and then it was those shapeshifter aliens from another universe or something like that, called the Undine._

 _We didn't know what problems those aliens had with us and we didn't really care. They came with an attitude and decided we needed to be wiped and naturally we disagreed. It was easier said than done, those freaks had some real Jedi like power, even managing to take on and kill a few Jedi while they were at it. It was almost a blood bath if we didn't have a helping hand…_

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

Master Yoda was meditating in his quarters as he often did when he was not teaching younglings or listening to the latest reports on the war effort. The last few weeks had been a bit more peaceful compared to the last year. The war had slowed down even though both sides had launched minor raids and skirmishes but they seemed focused on the new galaxy for the most part. Aside from the battle of the Mygeeto which had been fought for several months the battles were slowing down but that was only because both sides were focused on the Milky Way Galaxy and they were likely using the slight halt in the to build up their forces.

The chance for peace seemed possible now but Yoda knew otherwise. So as long as Dark Lords of the Sith were alive they would not stop the conflict until the Jedi were destroyed. Count Dooku would only continue to fan the flames of war with allies like Grievous and Savage Oppress spreading destruction the galaxy and there is another matter. He sensed something rising, something sinister but he could not see what it was yet.

 _A tear in the fabric of space and the Force opening up and ships pouring out, filled with malice and hatred._

 _"The weak shall perish!"_

Yoda's eyes shot open as alarms rang and the door opened, revealing Mace Windu with an urgent look on his face. "Did you feel that?"

"Felt it, I did. In danger, Coruscant is." Yoda nodded. "Get to the Senate we must!"

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

Chancellor Palpatine was in the middle of a meeting with the captain of Anakin's clone unit who was responding to Anakin's call for immediate transport back to Naboo. It seemed poor Senator Amidala had been assimilated by the Borg but luckily for her Anakin came to the rescue, like a knight saving his dear princess. The city of Theed had been bombed to ensure the Borg had been completely destroyed which would be perfect. The people of Naboo, a bunch of soft hearted peace loving fools would rally for more protection against the Borg and when they had found it that it was the Separatists led by Count Dooku and General Grievous that had saved them it would be possible that Naboo would even denounce the Republic in favor of the Confederacy.

He could play the role of the broken hearted Chancellor forsaken by his home world but with a firm resolve to ensure such a tragedy would never happen again. In fact things in the Senate had been stirred up by the recent arrival of a holo-diary detailing the various crimes committed by the Hutt Empire. The Senate was screaming for the Hutts to pay for their crimes, especially the ones whose systems had been wronged the most by the Hutts. He did not expect this but it would give him the excuse to dispatch armies, led by Jedi into the Hutt territories to bring them to justice. Even though Jabba allowed the Republic access to the hyperspace lanes in Hutt space Palpatine knew a great many people resented the Republic's presence in their territories.

The sudden crack down on them by the Jedi would cause more conflict as various gangs and crime families would fight the Jedi, perhaps even negotiating with the Separatists for help in repelling the Republic and the Jedi. This was an unexpected but welcome surprise and the Chancellor was already discussing what would be done about the Hutts for their crimes. In addition that amount of good news the fact that Skywalker had used his anger to save his wife would make him all the more easier to manipulate and mold into the perfect apprentice for when the time was right. He would no doubt call for complete and total destruction of the Borg, claiming them to be a greater threat than Count Dooku and the Jedi Order, in all their so called 'wisdom' would likely decline, believing that for the time being it would be too dangerous to act in aggression against the Borg.

Just as he thought things couldn't get any better the Force screamed at him, almost breaking his mask as he sensed a tear in the Force coming from somewhere close by and with it came feelings of hatred.

' _Your galaxy will be purged!_ '

Creatures that he never before seen and yet felt the power that was pouring off them waves as they came into existence.

The doors opened and in rushed a clone guard. "Chancellor, we're under attack!"

 **Coruscant  
Orbit**

It had happened so fast.

One moment everyone on Coruscant were going about their everyday lives, despite the problems caused by the war and the next moment everything had descended into pure anarchy. What looked to be a tear in space appeared and out of poured ships that attacked anything in their sight. Civilian transports, cargo ships, Republic cruisers, and anything else was attacked and instantly destroyed by yellow-ish beams fired by the incoming ships. There were a few Federation, Klingon, and even Romulan ships in orbit of Coruscant that instantly recognized the ships and who they belonged to.

The Undine had come to Coruscant.

Thousands of ships landed and took from Coruscant every day and they happened to be in the Undine's way which unfortunately meant an instant death by the Undine as they blasted through anything in their way. Nearly all Republic patrol ships were destroyed while the Coruscant Defense Force scrambled to repel the sudden invasion. It was too slow as the Undine tore apart ships in their ways, blasting away the few patrol craft that survived and fired on them. The few Federation ships, led by the _Seraphinite_ which happened to be a _Sao-Paulo_ class tactical escort and a 25th century refit of the famous _Defiant_ class and its captain who was a veteran of combat against both the Borg and the Undine.

"Attention all Milky Way ships, this is Captain Nathan Creed. There are a lot of civilian ships in the area so protect them when you have the chance. These people have no experience against the Undine but we do. Keep them from the planet." The captain of the _Seraphinite_ said through the fleet channel as they engaged the enemy.

Republic fighters were launched from their ships as the Republic fleet scrambled to intercept the Undine fleet that was now fighting off the Milky Way ships. Unfortunately the Undine were more than prepared as they opened rifts, vanishing into Fluidic Space and reappeared back in real space behind enemy lines where they proceeded to wreak havoc on the Republic Defense Fleet. The Republic had no knowledge or weapons on how to defeat the Undine's bio-technology which was able to shrug the majority of their plasma laser weaponry. The Undine seemed to know the Republic were not as experienced at fighting them as the inferiors of the Milky Way and that their ships were not as fast as their fellow inferiors which they took advantage off by firing on the Republic cruisers, blowing them apart and scattering the defense fleet.

"Captain, there is something odd about the Undine's attack." Commander Troy, Captain Creed's first officer remarked as the _Serapinite_ 's cannons blew apart a bio-ship.

"What is it, Number One?" Creed asked.

"The Undine, they don't seem focused on invading or destroying the planet. They're just attacking everything in sight." Troy explained.

Creed frowned. "You think there's an alternate motive?"

"If they wanted to destroy the planet they would have sent a larger fleet to take out the defense force while several ships would form up and fired a planet killing beam." Troy pointed out and pointed at a nearby scanner. "They're too spread out to come together and destroy planet."

"Scan the surface for Undine life signs. If they weren't here to destroy the planet they might have a specific target in mind." Creed ordered. "What's our status?"

"Not good, sir." The helmsmen reported. "We're doing damage but there are too many Undine and not enough ships from our galaxy to stop them. The Republic ships are fighting as best they can but against the Undine bio-ships they are like tissue paper."

"We have to keep pushing them back somehow." Creed said, watching the battle and it wasn't going well. "Try to coordinate with the Republic ships. We might be able to give them a little more time."

"Under-Sir, hyperspace contacts."

However to the relief of the Milky Way and Republic factions it wasn't more enemy ships, it was a fleet of Milky Way ships.

" _This is taskforce Omega. We are here to assist._ "

Creed smiled. "The cavalry has arrived."

()

Chancellor Palpatine frowned as he watched the sky light up with explosions, instantly knowing they were ships exploding.

"Chancellor, we must get you to the emergency bunker." The clone trooper suggested.

"Yes, very well." Palpatine nodded, allowing the troopers to escort him.

However Palpatine's senses were screaming danger to him and he knew that there was something close by.

Something dangerous.

Screams were heard down the hall and the troopers raised their rifles as three security guards backed out of a corner, firing on something. The target leapt out, revealing a creature the Republic would soon know as an Undine and with one swipe killed the security guards in a matter of seconds. It turned its eyes to the clone group escorting the Chancellor and Palpatine could feel its anger and hate that seemed to scream through the Force.

"Get the Chancellor out of here! We'll hold it off!" The clone commander shouted, shooting at the Undine as it approached the group.

The clones pulled the Chancellor back, going down another way as the rest of the troopers fought the Undine, their blaster bolts seemingly ineffective against the Undine's skin. To make things worse it wasn't the only Undine in the building as everyone would soon find out. Senator Burtoni of Kamino came out into the hall with several senators, including Lott Dod and the representatives of the Commerce Guild and the Banking Clan, quickly moving to find shelter but she would not find it. A screech filled the hall as a clone hit the wall, his body shattering on impact as an Undine marched past its body, spotting the Senators who screamed at the sight of the creature. The Undine let out another screech as it lunged at the senators, its three legs allowing it to catch up with the running senators and one swipe of its claws it killed more than half of them, releasing its cells into their bodies on instant contact which to other lifeforms outside of his own kind was literally toxic.

Clone troopers and Senate guards fired on Undine intruders who fought back with their psionic attacks while their bodies shrugged off the blaster bolts. The major powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants had spent years now dealing with Undine infiltrators and had created weaponry designed to fight the Undine whose bodies were immune to conventional weaponry due to their dense structure being resistant to many forms of energy. The Republic sadly had never encountered a race like the Undine and therefore had no weaponry capable of killing or even fighting one of the most dangerous species the Milky Way Galaxy had encountered.

()

" _Attention! Attention! Undine forces have beamed down to the planet and are attacking the Senate building! All MACOs and Honor Guards to the transporters for emergency transport!_ "

Kendar who had been practicing on the holo-deck with her holo-lightsaber looked up, hearing the call and quickly ended the program. She exited the holo-deck and rushed to the nearest transport room, already armed with a disruptor and daggers like all Klingon warriors did.

The Empire would crush the qav'mek'quv.

()

Palpatine's guards rushed the Chancellor down the levels of the Senate Building, into a secret tunnel with a capsule ready to transport Palpatine to a secret bunker prepared in case of attack.

"We are moving the Chancellor to the bunker. Units Eight and Nine will keep those aliens off our backs. Once the Chancellor is secured we'll-"

A series of purple bolts shot out of the darkness, impacting the clones and killing them instantly, except for one. Palpatine whipped his head around as several hulking humanoid creatures appeared, holding advanced rifles and all of them pointed at him.

"Good work." The clonetrooper muttered as its body changed, becoming liquid for a mere second before becoming a strange human. "This attack was unexpected but welcome."

Palpatine narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"

"I am Laas, leader of the New Dominion." The creature stated. "And you are the leader of the solids in this galaxy. The Iconians documented everything in advance."

The Iconians? Those creatures with the advanced gates? Palpatine took a chance to look at the other humanoids and recognized them as the Jem'Hadar, the military arm of the Dominion and clones themselves. This Laas was obviously a Milky Way Changeling and an ally of the Iconians.

"And what do you want from me?" Palpatine asked.

"Your Republic, your armies, your fleets, all of which will be modified of course to be used in the creation of the New Dominion. The solids will be made to be obedient to my people and the Milky Way will belong to us once the Supreme Chancellor has modified the fleets and become strong enough to invade." Laas smirked as he morphed again, taking Palpatine's form. "It will be easy. The Confederacy will be no match for the New Dominion. Your cloning facilities will make suitable hatcheries for the Jem'Hadar which I will breed and when the time is ready, impose real order in this galaxy."

So that was its plan. Well, too bad for the Changeling its plans would not come to pass.

"You're right about one thing. When the time is right, true order will be imposed in this galaxy." Palpatine grinned, dropping his Chancellor façade as something slipped into his hand. "But not by you."

There was a flash of red light and in a mere instant the Jem'Hadar fell to the ground, dead. A burning slashs mark was left on their bodies as Laas stepped back in shock, having lost sight of the Chancellor who landed on the ground before him.

"What are you?" Laas whispered.

Palpatine…Darth Sidious looked up with a bloodthirsty grin. "I am…the future."

Laas shot out an arm that morphed into a liquid whip at Sidious who dodged and slashed at the arm but to his surprise his lightsaber did not cut off the arm. The arm was liquid and thus could not be cut off like a regular organic. Laas changed both arms into whips and attacked, whipping them at Sidious who dodged with agility that would be as impossible for a man his age. Seeing as his lightsaber didn't work Sidious held out one hand and from the tips of his fingers came bolts of blue lightning that slammed Laas, stunning the Changeling.

Oddly he enough he did not scream like Sidious expected, rather he grunted loudly thrust his arm in the form of a tentacle out at Sidious who cancelled his lightning attack and dashed to the side. Laas growled as he rushed towards Sidious whipping his formed tentacles at the Sith Lord who dodged each attack and fired Force Lightning at the Changeling, obviously affecting Laas but not to the degree that Sidious wanted.

"You cannot hurt me…Solid!" Laas growled but Sidious knew that his lightning was hurting the Changeling.

"Oh? My apologies. Allow me to actually start trying." Sidious laughed as he fired a huge bolt of Force Lightning that slammed into Laas and actually caused him to scream.

Sidious watched in morbid fascination as Laas's form began to peel away, the Changeling's screams growing weaker its human form peeled and melted into liquid that slowly flaked away. "…Well, that was fascinating. So the Iconians intent to shape this galaxy as their own? They will find it to be more difficult than they think. At least now…" Sidious looked at the bodies of the Jem'Hadar. "Now perhaps we can begin to understand more about the Milky Way."

()

Master Windu watched as the Senate Building grew closer as the gunships approached. The clones and the Jedi were ready as they landed but even they had been unprepared for the massacre that was happening inside and outside the Senate building. Clone troopers and Senate guards continued fighting against the creatures that had suddenly appeared and attacked for no apparent reason. The creatures seemed immune to blaster bolts and they killed anyone in their way easily.

"Pilot, take us over the battle." Windu said, igniting his lightsaber.

"Yes sir."

The gunships hovered over the courtyard in front of the Senate building, earning the attention of the Undine who looked up and saw Windu jump out of his gunship along with Masters Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Adi Gallia, Eath Koth, Barriss Offee, Tsui Choi and Saess Tinn along with several Jedi Knights, landing on the ground and ready to fight.

"Stand down monsters." Mace Windu stated, pointing his lightsaber at an Undine wearing strange armor who seemed snarl.

The Jedi could feel the hate of the Undine and heard them speak through the Force.

' _You are weak. You contaminate our universe and ally yourselves with your enemies. Your galaxy will be purged for your crimes._ '

None of the Jedi understood what the creatures meant but there was no time to speak as the Undine went on the attack as their leader and several of them fired yellow/orange beams. Most of the Jedi dodged but Master Tsui Choi was unfortunately not fast enough and tried to defend with his lightsaber. The fluidic anti-proton beam shot through the lightsaber and vaporized the Jedi Master instantly. Windu charged towards the apparent commander who raised an arm and fired a beam of yellow light from an apparent wrist cannon.

Windu jumped to the side and rushed the captain, slashing his lightsaber but the creature's armor shrugged off the plasma blade and the creature swiped at Windu with its large arm. The Undine quickly demonstrated themselves as dangerous opponents, their skin immune to lightsabers and their claws deadly enough that with one touch they would easily kill them. Plo Koon stepped back, avoiding his head getting knocked off its shoulder and raised his hand, lifting an Undine off its feet and fired a bolt orange lightning from his hand. The creature seemed to scream as the electricity coursed through its body and seemingly weakened it.

Plo Koon was prepared to fire another bolt when the Undine warrior's eyes looked onto his and Plo Koon felt something slam into the walls protecting his mind. The Jedi Master steeled himself and held out against the creature's attack however it was unprepared for being lifted off the ground by the creature's own powers which surprised him into letting it go. The creature landed back on its feet, seemingly completely healed from Plo Koon's attack and rushed forward to kill the Jedi. Plo Koon nimbly dodged each swipe from the creature and lashed out with the Force but the creature countered with its psionic powers. The Jedi were fighting back hard against the Undine but the creatures from fluidic space were able to shrug off lightsabers, heal themselves from any wounds, and not only did they have power psionic abilities but they also had advanced technologies that worked with their biology that pushed the Jedi back. It was only thanks to their combat skills that they were able to fight and hold off the Undine fighters.

The clones shot at the Undine but they only succeeded in agitating the aliens so the clone pilots aimed the forward cannons on the gunships, angling them to avoid killing their fellow clones and Jedi commanders and fired. That was when the Republic troops seemed to finally gain the advantage over the aliens, blast a few back and seemingly killing them. But then the armored Undine struck back with their anti-proton weaponry, blasting the gunships out of the sky and leaving them to plummet to either the platform or the ground far below. The Jedi and clones scattered, most managing to avoid being flattened by their own aircraft but a few were too slow.

That was when things went from bad to worse as the Undine continued their assault matching the Jedi in speed and agility, matching their powers with the Force with their psionic powers, and knocking them off balance with their organic weaponry. A few Jedi were even killed by Undine weaponry or forced to endure being eaten alive from the inside by Undine cells from their claws. Reinforcements would be coming in the next five minutes but the Jedi and clones might not be able to hold the Undine back for that long.

Taking that into account Windu and several Jedi Masters thrust her hands forward, launching a single powerful Force blast that slammed into several Undine that launched them off the ground and sent them skidding across the courtyard. However that seemed to only anger the Undine and the Jedi could feel their anger and hate intensify which actually seemed to increase their psionic power which was proven as one Undine lifted a Jedi off the ground before grabbing him by the head and slamming him onto the ground, shattering his head on impact. The Undine renewed their attack pushing the Jedi and clone troopers back, killing several more Jedi and a dozen clones and Republic guards who fell with just a single swipe from an Undine claw.

That was when reinforcements came.

The Undine stopped as Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan personnel appeared, all of them wearing advanced dark armor that covered them from head to toe and when they fired their rifles, several Undine warriors were killed by orange and green bolts. The Milky Way soldiers had come equipped with weapons and technology designed exclusively for fighting the Undine and they had proven to actually work. The armor they were wore was designed to be resistant to psionic, toxic, and energy damage while amplifying physical strength and increasing their speed at the same time. Their weapons were enhanced bio-molecular phasers and disruptors that released streams of unstable energy that upon contact with the target would cause a powerful explosion that would injure even the Undine.

It was at that point that the Undine decided the battle was no longer worth it and those that survived vanished in flashes of red, most likely using their own transporters to escape.

"Secure the perimeter! We don't any Undine lingering!" The MACO chief quickly shouted before walking up to the Jedi. "Is everyone all right? We got here as soon as we could."

"We appreciate the effort, officer." Windu looked at the bodies scattered across the platform surrounding the Senate Building. "We've suffered a lot of casualties."

"Medics. See what you can do for the ones still alive. Use the special nano treatment on the infected one." The commander quickly said.

"Yes commander." The MACO units quickly got to work.

"Hmph! As expected of the qav'mek'quv. Running from a real fight." A Klingon Imperial Guard spat. "They run like cowards back into the darkness."

"The ones we know of. There must have been infiltrators to organize an attack like this." The MACO commander remarked. "We detected Undine ships in orbit before we transported over. We don't know how bad it was but it wasn't good last we checked."

"Then we need to get in contact with the fleet and find out what the situation is." Plo Koon suggested.

"Agreed. I will go check on the Chancellor." Windu stated. "If the attack originated from inside the senate the Chancellor and the other senators are in grave danger."

()

Chancellor Palpatine felt the Undine retreating from Coruscant following the counterattack by the Milky Way factions that helped the clones and the Jedi which was good and beneficial. It was good they were driven away for now and the attack itself had been beneficial as the amount of death and destruction the dimensional aliens had caused would promote fear and paranoia on Coruscant, the center of the Republic that had not been attack in over a thousand years and recently it had been disproven by the Zillo Beast's rampage and the Separatist terrorist attacks. The Undine attack was a blessing in disguise for the Chancellor who could spin it as a way that more enemies meant the need for more protection…and more allies.

Even if the Milky Way factions would not participate in the Clone Wars perhaps they could of help against threats like the Borg and the Undine. With the fear of the unknown gripping the people he could make any proposals he wanted to calm and reassure them. They would support any proposal he made as he made himself out as a man of the people and would not question whatever decision he made, especially in whatever projects he made and where he got the funding. It would go especially well for worlds whose senators were killed in the attack.

He fought so hard not to grin at the fact that a great deal of senators were murdered by the Undine, even though it wasn't even a quarter of the Senate that was killed.

Among the Senators who were killed were Mee Deechi of Umbara, Halle Burtoni of Kamino, Lott Dod of the Trade Federation, Gume Saam of Tibrin, Nix Card of the Intergalactic Banking Clan, and Onaconda Farr of Rodia with his aid Lolo Purs.

While it would be an inconvenience to lose political pawns like the Trade Federation and Banking Clan senators they would be easy to replace and the Kaminoans could use Burtoni's body which had been infected by the Undine as a way to research ways to create weapons against the Undine while the late Senator Farr could be used as a martyr that would encourage Rodia to continue supporting the Republic. Worlds would rally for protection against the Undine and perhaps a few more would defect over to the Separatists for protection which he would make sure that his apprentice encouraged. The more worlds that defected the more the Republic would have to deploy troops to stop the Confederacy from gaining the upper hand. The Umbarans would be the most difficult to predict but they would likely defect and that would lead to an instant Republic counterattack due to the fact that Umbarans sported advanced technology that would be dangerous in the wrong hands.

And then there is the matter of the Milky Way itself.

They had helped the Jedi fight off the Undine and force them to retreat which would make them be seen as saviors and heroes for stopping the invading aliens. He believed an alliance was in order and even the Prime Directive the Federation lived by prevented them for aiding in the war they would be of use against the Borg and the Undine as well as other threats like the Iconians. Palpatine had been considering this for some time as he sensed possible threats on the horizon which forced him to make adjustments to the plan, one of which was allowing Dooku to take back Asajj Ventress as an apprentice if he could for the time being.

Though Dooku claimed to have only trained her as an assassin Palpatine knew that Dooku was looking for an apprentice he could train to one day overthrow him and become the Master. It amused the disguised Sidious that Dooku could even think he could try and subvert him but he allowed it anyways as the threats of the Milky Way prevented him from allowing any wild cards like Ventress or the Nightsisters to exist. They would either be of use as allies or exterminated before they could become a problem. Along the holo-diary that had been delivered to the Senate combined with the fallout of the Undine attack Palpatine was in the perfect position to launch a full out strike and take the Hutt territories for the Republic, using their resources to continue the war and after, eliminating any third parties quickly.

Sidious grinned as he realized this could work to his advantage.

 **Journal of the 501st – Assault on Coruscant**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _With the help of the Milky Way factions we held out against the Undine aliens and drove the survivors off Coruscant but the victory was bitter-sweet. A great deal of people including clones and senators were killed in the attack and left a lot more people afraid that those aliens would come back and cause more trouble. Heads started rolling, fingers were pointed, and mouths were screaming about what was to be done about the recent attack, an attack that not even the Seps were able to pull off. A few people even believed the Milky Way was to blame for the attack but to our surprise the Chancellor stepped in and stated they were not to blame and should be praised for saving him and the Jedi from being killed._

 _In response to this attack the Chancellor petitioned the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans for an alliance against enemies like the Borg and the Undine, especially when he learned of the Undine attack on the Federation and Klingon homeworlds. Needless to say a lot of blame was pointed at the Jedi for not being able to anticipate the attack but no one had the time for that because later General Skywalker returned from Naboo with Senator Amidala who was rushed to the sick bay in the Milky Way Embassy due to an attack on Naboo by some old and possibly new enemies._

 _And if that wasn't enough General Undulli and Commander Ahsoka Tano came back from the Milky Way with some grim news of their own._


	20. Chapter 20

**Milky Way  
Beta Quadrant  
Qo'nos  
Great Hall**

Ahsoka Tano and Master Luminara Undulli had been through a hectic day starting with visions of the Undine attacking Coruscant. They had of course informed Admiral Dola but the Federation could not spare the ships to take them back to their galaxy as there had been reports of Undine attacks all over the Alpha and Beta Quadrants that had all been diversion for an attack by an Undine planet killer on the Klingon Homeworld. Fortunately the planet killer had been destroyed by quick thinking from Captain Shon, Admiral Tuvok with some help from Admiral Dola.

And they had received word the Undine attack on Coruscant had been repelled which was a relief but the Jedi Master and Padawan sensed a disturbance through the Force even if it felt different here. The shroud of the Dark Side was absent here in the Milky Way but there were feelings of darkness that were not associated with the Sith. The Jedi had gone to Qo'nos to simply represent the Republic with the Senators in what appeared to be an end of hostilities between the Klingons and the Federation which was a good sign.

Chancellor J'mpec stood in the center of the stage as he addressed the assembled audience after Admiral Quinn joined him and shared a salute, earning many cheers from the gathered audience. "Many fine warriors have earned their places in Sto-Vo-Kor today. They died with honor, fighting against one of our most formidable enemies. The Undine brought the battle to our very threshold. The fine warriors standing before me pushed them back. Let us honor our sacrifices and accomplishments by ending-"

Suddenly the Chancellor stopped in mid-speech as a flash of light and darkness appeared at the very top of the stairs, resembling a spiraling a galaxy somewhat. The Jedi held hands over their lightsabers, feeling something from inside the strange anomaly. Out of it came something, some kind of being but it was different as well as intimidating. It floated out of the strange swirling light and landed on the stairs, looking across the audience.

Its skin was black and yet it was moving like waves of an ocean as if it wasn't made of organic skin but energy. It wore no clothing but segments of bio-mechanical armor covered its body that resembled a female humanoid and wore a metallic head dress. A sphere glowed where its heart would be if it was human and instead of two eyes it had six glowing eyes that stared the audience down, studying them, probing them, and finding them wanting.

"Master…" Ahsoka whispered, sensing a great malevolence and power from the creature that she didn't think possible for something not sensitive to the Force.

"Steady, Ahsoka. Steady." Luminara whispered back.

" _So you are the heroes of the Milky Way._ " The creature spread its arms out, as if making a grand gesture, its voice ethereal and mocking. " _You have come farther than we expected. But still you chase our shadows._ "

A Klingon councilor stood up and addressed the creature. "We are not here to impress you, demon!"

The other councilors stood with him, ready to attack at the first sign of trouble.

The creature turned its head to the councilor as he spoke again. "We stand united and there is no one who can-"

The creature raised its hand at the councilor and he was lifted off the ground with the two councilors next to him. They struggled as their bodies were surrounded with a great light. The creature did the same to the councilors on the right and with a mere gesture of its hand they exploded in flashes of darkness of light. The entire council chamber gasped in horror, Worf and Koren letting out screams of anger at the deaths of the council members.

Ahsoka and Luminara ignited their lightsabers but did not attack, trying to probe the creature for weakness but it did not seem to have any. It was pulsing like a beacon through the Force and yet at the same time its presence was like a black hole.

" _We give you a single warning. Do not attract our attention again._ " The creature spoke as the portal reappeared back into it and it stepped back into it, vanishing from the chamber.

"What was that?" Ahsoka asked once the portal vanished.

"That, Miss Tano…Was likely an Iconian." Admiral Tuvok said grimly as people rushed to help Admiral Quin, Captain Shon, and Chancellor J'mpec.

"An Iconian?" Luminara deactivated her lightsaber.

"Yes and likely the reason for its appearance now was because the Iconians did not anticipate such resistance from us. The Iconians use servitor races and other species to do fighting their fighting for them. Species 8472 has been an unwilling catspaw of the Iconians for some time. This time however, the Undine were defeated and it was our combined strength that allowed us to prevail." Tuvok explained. "Thousands of years ago the Iconians were defeated by an alliance of races. I predict their ultimate aim was has been to prevent such an alliance from happening again."

"If that is true why do they wish harm on our galaxy? Surely they do not believe they are strong enough to defeat too galaxies." Luminara pointed out.

"The Iconians are an ancient and powerful race that we know little to nothing about. If what we have seen here today was but a demonstration we cannot underestimate them."

"That was…That was the reason we need to work together." Captain Shon said as he stood up. "It's time for our feud to end."

"Agreed." J'mpec stated. "From this day forward all hostilities between the Klingon Empire and the Federation will cease."

They sealed the deal with a shared salute.

"At the very least something good has come to this." Dola commented solemnly. "With the fighting over perhaps we will one day recreate the Alliance made from the Khitomer Accords."

"There have been periods in our combined history when the Federation and the Empire have not been at war, but they have not been allies either. This may be the beginning of such a time. It will be up to us to determine what happens next." Tuvok replied.

"What will happen now?" Kurt asked.

"I will return to _Voyager_ and head back to the Delta Quadrant. There is still much to do there and the Jenolan Sphere will need to be protected from further Undine assaults. I am sure I will see you all again. You have all been worthy allies we will need all the courage and skills of our officers and allies to survive the coming days." Tuvok stated.

"We have to contact Coruscant as well. The Jedi Council needs to be informed." Luminara nodded.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
Hospital**

"We managed to remove the majority of the Borg equipment from the Senator but even then it will be close call. Fortunately Master Skywalker you severed her link to the Collective without endangering her life and that is rare. She wasn't assimilated for long so almost all of the implants were removed and her biological immune system is working again. We will work to regenerate the rest of her organs once she recovers more of her strength and by the end of it she will be one hundred percent human again." The doctor, whose name or race Anakin didn't know explained as Anakin watched the sleeping senator who looked human again. "She will recover but it is best that she spends the next few weeks resting and not doing anything strenuous. It will be just as hard mentally so she'll need people she is familiar with to help her cope with the effect of being assimilated. Since her time as a Borg was brief she'll have no trouble remembering what it's like to for her be a free individual which is the best I can make of this situation."

"Thank you, doctor." Anakin nodded, not taking his eyes off Padme as she slept.

The doctor nodded and left the room to check on his other patients. Once he was gone Anakin touched his wife's cheek, promising himself he would never let her down again.

'I'm so sorry, Padme. If I had stayed with you this never would have happened.' Anakin thought silently.

He stayed at her side for what felt like hours be he reluctantly had to leave to answer a call from Obi-Wan with a mix of good and grave news.

Ahsoka and Master Luminara were contacting them.

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor Palpatine's Office**

"As you can see both the Borg and the Undine are capable of attacking at the cellular level. The Borg assimilation process begins by injecting nanoprobes into the bloodstream of the victims and spreads like a virus, taking control of the body's functions. The Undine on the other hand, their blood kills anything foreign that comes into contact with them, including any organic, technological, and even energy. They are both extremely difficult to counter or cure which is why we're thankful to the crew of the starship _Voyager_ who dealt with these beings for over seven years." Doctor Lea lectured the gathered Jedi that included Yoda, Windu, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Aayla Secure, Obi-Wan and Anakin, Tarkin, and the Chancellor who were silent during the presentation. "We've made strides in countering them but it's still a long way to go."

With them was Captain Nathan Creed who was representing Starfleet in the lecture.

"Perhaps we can design a new form of armor to block the injection probes and blood cells?" Tarkin suggested. "We are making progress in synthesizing the armored skin from the Zillo Beast."

"Unlikely as the Borg injectors have punctured all known defenses. We believe the best way to fight them from within." Doctor Lea replied. "The Undine have proven to be immune to Borg assimilation and there have been ways to sever a drone from the Collective. On occasion they can be severed following contact with a powerful electromagnetic pulse but that is also capable of killing the drones rather than saving them."

"We can use that. Our scientists have been working on ion cannons and bombs to be used against the droids. Perhaps they would be our best defense against these Borg." Palpatine suggested. "But what about these Undine?"

"Well, when the Undine first came to the galaxy they had almost completely destroyed the Borg during their conflict. Captain Janeway's doctor found a way to program Borg nanoprobes to attack the Undine at the cellular level. However the Undine might have found ways to counter considering that was around thirty years ago." Lea admitted.

"Then perhaps we need to design our own nanoprobes to be a weapon against these creatures. It wouldn't be difficult to engineer nano-droids as a weapon against these creatures." Tarkin stated.

"Their immune system makes it nearly impossible to work. _Voyager_ 's doctor modified the nanoprobes to mimic the bio-signature as the Undine. There is no way to know for sure if the Undine have not modified themselves to be immune to it." Lea replied.

"We will have to consider all alternatives at this point. If the Borg or the Undine attack again we must be ready." Mace Windu stated. "How are your governments responding?"

"There is discussions of establishing a forward base in the Delta Quadrant using the Jenolan Sphere. Admiral Tuvok is leading the expedition and he is experienced in dealing with the Borg and the Undine. I do not currently know how Admiral Tuvok plans to respond to this but I know there is much he plans to do in the Delta Quadrant." Nathan answered. "He's the current leader of Federation operations in Operation Delta Rising so he would know if there are any plans to counter either side but we're not in a position to truly stop them. The Borg are too strong and numerous in our galaxy and if the Undine were to launch a full attack on either galaxy it would be next to impossible in stopping them. Both sides are too advanced to truly be repelled by Starfleet or the Klingons and Romulans."

"Perhaps an alliance of our own should be considered." Palpatine suggested. "An alliance against the Borg and the Undine? And what about the Iskalloni? Have you learned anything about them"

"We scanned the remains of the Borg cube at Naboo and found a module. The information labels the Iskalloni as Species 9948, a cybernetic race that's disturbingly similar to the Borg. They fought the Borg near their home planet in what is labelled Wild Space and apparently these Iskalloni had some sort of adaptable physiology combined with some sort of mutagen that allows them biologically adapt to anything foreign in their bodies, including Borg nanoprobes. Their bodies and their own nanites absorbed the Borg probes that were injected them and apparently downloaded the information they carried, meaning they were gained instant access to perhaps all data in the Collective. They already developed a form of bio-technology that was enhanced by reprogramed Borg nanoprobes when the Iskalloni gained their knowledge." Dr. Lea answered. "The Borg label them as a threat to them, possibly as great as the Undine due to the fact that Iskalloni now know everything the Borg in this galaxy know. The reason they attacked Naboo was they wanted to gather up forces and launch an attack on the Iskalloni who seemed to have the same plan. The similarities between the Borg and these Iskalloni is striking which makes it all the more frightening."

"Then I suggest we work together and end these threat before they become too powerful to be stopped." Palpatine said.

"Chancellor, are you suggesting an alliance between the Republic and the Federation?" Creed asked.

"And even the Klingons and Romulans. The situation seems to be that serious." Palpatine replied.

"Our diplomatic corps would be willing to meet with you but what about the Separatists? They could interpret this proposal as a way to bring us into the war against them." Creed pointed out. "We have a truce with them at the moment but if they believe we are aligning with the Republic they could be provoked enough to declare war against the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. There is a portal close to Separatist space leading close to New Romulus."

"I remember but even if that is true the Separatists would have to realize how dangerous the Borg and the Undine are. My intelligence network has reported to me that there have been Borg raids in Separatist space, close the Maw where they have been building their base. I doubt the Separatists want them in this galaxy any more than we do." Palpatine said with a confident smile.

"If there is a way into the Maw we must find it and deal with the Borg as soon as possible." Mace Windu stated.

"That's easier said than done. Attacking a single Borg cube is difficult enough but attacking a unimatrix? It would take perhaps thousands of ships and even then the casualties would be high." Creed stated. "We don't have enough ships launch such an attack."

"Perhaps for now we concentrate on shoring up our defenses. We can speak of dealing with the Borg once we have dealt with the damage here. Naboo has particularly suffered here." Palpatine said sadly.

"My condolences for what your home planet has gone through Chancellor. At the very least it was not outright assimilated. The people are still safe." Creed said, keeping a straight face. "We'll return to the embassy and make our report."

He would not say it out loud but something about the Chancellor was unnerving and he did not like it.

"Thank you, Captain." Palpatine nodded, watching the two Federation officers leave. "Now there is another matter." Palpatine turned to the holographic image of Luminara. "Master Luminara, you stated you encountered an Iconian?"

" _Yes, Chancellor. Following the Undine attack on Earth and Qo'nos the Klingons invited those from Starfleet and the Romulan Republic who helped fend off the attack to their home planet to discuss ending the conflict between them for their bravery in saving the Klingon homeworld. I elected to be there to represent the Republic when a portal, possibly created by those gateways we had learned from Skywalker, appeared and out of it came what we believe now to an Iconian who issued a warning while murdering the Klingon council members. This Iconian warned the Milky Way races to not 'attract' their attention again_." Luminara explained. " _The Iconian showed powers to be almost Force-like but at the same time it was different. It converted the bodies of the council members into pure energy and made them explode with a mere wave of its hand. What I sensed through the Force was…feelings great anger and hate and it felt like a literal black hole in the Force with its power coming off it in waves. These Iconians have great power and they do represent a grave threat to not just the Milky Way but our galaxy as well._ "

"How do we stop them then? Surely they are not invincible. They must have a weakness." Palpatine asked.

"Perhaps we use their technology against them. We found one of their bases once. If we find another gateway and use it we can find their bases and invade." Tarkin suggested.

"That could seriously downplay our ability to deploy our troops in vital sectors." Mace Windu pointed out, ignoring Tarkin's scowl. "We cannot forget about the Separatists. They could be emboldened by this attack to test us for weaknesses."

"Of course, Master Windu." Palpatine nodded in agreement. "We must not forget the current pressing threat to us. Especially since the Separatists could be seen as heroes for destroying the Borg and the Iskalloni at Naboo and preventing an all-out invasion. Even if their intent was to invade they no doubt will use this as propaganda against us. I suggest we make sure such an event never happens, starting with removing the Borg and the Iskalloni as threat."

"How do you suggest we do that, Chancellor?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We cannot reach the Borg at the moment but the information provided to us by Starfleet already has already showed us where the Iskalloni homeworld is. We cannot allow an enemy as dangerous as the Borg to attack us without some form of retribution. They must answer for what they had done." Palpatine stated firmly.

"Is it necessary, Chancellor? These Iskalloni will no doubt be dangerous if they are advanced as the Borg." Ki-Adi-Mundi pointed out.

"Perhaps but given that the Borg were defeated by General Skywalker and his fleet in the first encounter," Palpatine smiled at Anakin who returned it with a small smile of his own. "These Iskalloni can be defeated. Perhaps if more than one Jedi is to lead the assault against them they will be defeated quickly."

Yoda closed his eyes. "Dangerous threats, the Borg and Iskalloni are. Grave care we must take when fighting them."

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

Count Dooku looked out the window his castle, his eyes closed as his mind went over recent events. The invasion of Naboo had not gone as planned due to the unexpected interference of the Borg and new enemies known as the Iskalloni. Fortunately General Grievous had prevented it and even defeated the cyborg monsters even though his fleet had suffered heavy casualties and damage to the _Inferno_ but nothing too bad. The Borg and Iskalloni had damaged themselves in their fight, allowing Grievous to take them out and Skywalker had even helped before Theed had been bombed to destroy any surviving Borg.

Dooku speculated that Senator Amidala had managed to somehow keep the Collective from taking over the entire planet. The information on the Borg stated they acted like a colony of insects and like any insect colony they had a Queen. It is likely the Borg made Amidala into their Queen if the history records showing the Battle of Wolf 359 when Captain Jean-Luc Picard was assimilated and changed into Locutus of Borg is any lesson to go by. Now these Iskalloni were an apparent threat that needed to be dealt with before they became an even bigger threat.

He had already reviewed the designs for the newest ships that was being built in response to the Milky Way factions. The first one was two hundred meters in length, beetle like in design with thrust built into the blocky wings for extra maneuverability and four sublight engines in the rear end that would make them fast enough to hopefully match Milky Way ships. Armed with thirty turbo-laser cannons and four beam cannons on the bow and military grade deflector shields the new _Onslaught_ Attack Fighter would be a force to be reckoned with. Since droids could not be trust to pilot and the CIS lacked experienced pilots the Attack Fighter used a built in droid brain, the kind used by _Vulture_ droids and _Hyena_ bombers which allowed them to travel at speeds fatal to organics.

They even came equipped with magnetic clamps that could attach them to other ships like _Vulture_ droids were capable of which made it easier carrying them and they came equipped with their own hyperdrive units. They were based on the appearance of the Federation's _Defiant_ class attack ship and the Dominion Jem'Hadar Attack fighter while at the same time using the ideas of the Corellian CR90 Corvette for coming up with a ship fast enough to match Milky Way ships. Though larger than a fighter the _Defiant_ and Jem'Hadar Attack craft moved like fighters and were armed with considerable fire power. The design was modular and could be easily refitted with more weapons but for now their current design would do.

Their fire power is great enough that three of them would be a match for a _Venator_ class Star Destroyer on their own which was promising for the plans for renewing the war. General Grievous was already gathering forces for the next assault which would be on the Wookie homeworld Kashyyk for the purpose of subjugating the Wookies ahead of schedule. His master had plans for the Wookie and it was easy to convince the Separatist Council and Grievous due to Kashyyk being part of a major hyperspace route. The lull in the war allowed the Separatists to build up their droid armies in preparation for the attack and their numbers would be needed for possible conflicts with the Borg and Iskalloni in the futre.

The second design was for a much large ship known as the _Leviathan_ , utilizing the central sphere of a _Lucrehulk_ class battleship and the 'neck' that connected it to the engines but the neck had been increased in length by nearly a thousand meters and size by adding addition armor and weapons. Additional engines had been added and attached to the sides by three large armored struts connecting were cylinder like pods used as hangars and launch bays, modeled after the old style warp nacelles used by early twenty third century Federation ships that would contain fighters, tanks, and troops. The _Leviathan_ was armed to the teeth with over a thousand turbo-laser cannons, ion cannons, flak cannons, two large laser beam cannons at the front and missile launchers, essentially a dreadnaught battle cruiser version of its _Lucrehulk_ counterpart that carried enough fighters and fire power that could possibly overwhelm an entire system. In addition to the heavy armor they sported smaller reactors to power the already powerful shields for extra protection and the heavy laser cannons at the front which would be powerful enough to cripple a Republic Star Destroyer in just one shot.

The third design was a frigate, modeled after the droid Tri-Fighter acting as escort for large warships with a single forward high-powered laser cannon and cluster missile launchers. These larger Tri-Frigates operated using the same droid brain as their smaller sibling fighters but they would be just as maneuverable thanks to the thrusters built into their wings. They would be useful in large numbers but they would be formidable never the less.

In addition to these new ships the Techno Union has come up with plans for a machine capable of creating almost anything from raw materials called the Fabricator. It worked by taking the material given to it, scanning it and then using it to assemble weapons from its databanks. It was a giant machine that worked like a factory compared to the replicators used by the Milky Way factions but it would be useful in building up weapons and even droids if possible. Endless resources, even from junk worlds such as Lotho Minor and Raxus Prime could be shipped in and the Fabricator would use them to create endless weapons and droids.

It would certainly save money and funding and it could be seen as economically better for the economy that would silence a few annoying senators. Dooku's thoughts were interrupted by the beeping on his console and when he activated the comm he saw that it was the replacement for Wat Tambor contacting him.

" _Count Dooku._ " The Skakoan bowed.

"Minister, what is the progress on our projects?" Dooku asked.

" _The Fabricator's progress is on schedule, my Lord. We've been studying ways to upgrade and improve our shielding and we are pursuing several theories. We can improve the jammers to prevent transporters but without proper testing we cannot declare it a proper success._ "

"How long to you estimate the time for proper testing?" Dooku frowned.

" _A month at least._ "

Dooku narrowed. "Considering our current situation we might not _have_ a month, Ministor."

The Skakoan seemed to flinch. " _We will double our efforts._ "

"See that you do." Dooku said before ending the transmission.

The Techno Union had been charged with designing and creating new forms of deflector shields while the other Separatist corporations concentrated on building weapons and ships designed for the purpose of fighting ships from the Milky Way. Of course it would take time and time was perhaps the one thing they did not have. The Borg, the Undine, and the Iskalloni had already proven to be dangerous threats on their own and there was the matter of the Iconians and their gateway technology. However his master said he had a plan to deal with them which was comforting.

When Lord Sidious said he had a plan it was wise never to doubt him.

Looking up Dooku saw the ships were already arriving, just in time.

()

Dozens of ships landed in the massive courtyard surrounding Count Dooku's palace and from the ships disembarked dozens of beings who watched as Count Dooku approached, escorted by two Magna guards. Looking across the crowd Dooku could already make out faces more familiar than others.

Cad Bane, the Duros Bounty who was currently hailed as the top Bounty Hunter in the galaxy.

Aurra Sing, a Jedi-killer who was wanted for killing a dozen Jedi and hated them almost as much as Grievous did.

Embo, the Kyuzan hunter who was one of the best hunters, second possibly only to Bane.

And surprisingly, Boba Fett, the clone and son of the late template for the clone army Jango Fett whose presence was unexpected and yet welcome.

In addition to that came a dozen more hunters who hailed as the best and most dangerous beings in the galaxy.

Rako Hardeen.

Derrown.

Sugi.

Sixtat.

Onca and his brother Bulduga.

Twazzi.

Jakoli.

Sinrich.

Mantua.

Latts Razzi.

Oked.

C-21 Highsinger.

"Welcome, everyone. Thank you for accepting my invitation." Dooku greeted grandly. "As you are no doubt aware by now there has been a great change in the galaxy. Now I have invited you all here to take place in perhaps the greatest find in the history of our galaxy." Dooku held up a small holoprojector and it showed the image of an Iconian gate. "This is gateway, created by an ancient race from what I am sure you all know to be the Milky Way Galaxy."

No one spoke up but Dooku knew that they knew about the Milky Way.

"This ancient race, the Iconians apparently visited our galaxy thousands of years ago and was confirmed to have left behind their technology in the form of this gate. Do not be fooled by its appearance. It has been learned this gateway technology allows for instant transportation to almost anywhere in the universe. Just a single step through it and you would be somewhere else entirely and the size of these gates range from being large enough to transport a person to allowing entire ships to pass through." Dooku explained. "One was found in the Hoth system but unfortunately it was destroyed. It has been confirmed that the Iconians left thousands of gates in the Milky Way, meaning it is possible that there may be more gates in our galaxy. That is why you are all here. A single gate could change the entire outcome of the war and allow complete domination of the galaxy."

Dooku could see everyone was listening intently now.

"Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to search the galaxy for more of these gates. Do not stop with merely searching planets for there may be gates hidden in asteroids. There will be a reward of over thirty million if you find one of these gateways and for those of you seeking more than just money the gates can bring you what want and perhaps more." Dooku adjusted the holoprojector. "The base in the Hoth System provided possible locations of more gates or people who use them on these planets. Yavin IV, Dantooine, Tatooine, and Manaan including worlds with ruins dating back to the time of Rakata Empire. That is the start and from there you will perhaps find the trail leading to another gateway. Be warned though, the Iconians may no longer be in this galaxy but they are considered dangerous in the Milky Way so if you find a gateway do not tamper with it. It could be dangerous if the gateway suddenly activates and summons something dangerous or causes a catastrophe." He deactivated the projector. "You will be provided with intelligence from me as I learn more about the Milky Way. This mission is of the utmost importance and should you be captured by the Republic I will see to it that you are unable to tell what exactly you were doing."

He let the threat hang but by now everyone was considering the mission, if only for the money while a few were wondering what they could with one of these gateways if they actually find it.

"If these gateways are so powerful and these Iconians are so dangerous why do you want it?" Aurra Sing challenged.

"To simply ensure the Republic does not find and use them. If used right these gateways can revolutionize the galaxy as we know it." Dooku calmly answered. "Does anyone wish to decline this offer?"

No one answered that questioned.

"Good." Dooku smiled as his droids handed pads to all of the hunters. "These pads contain all available knowledge on the Iconians and the possible worlds they possibly left a gateway on. Be warned that a gateway can be almost anywhere. Earth, air, fire and water." Dooku stated. "If you are unable to find a gateway within…a month or after I shall consider alternate assignments with same reward. Even if a gateway cannot be found in this galaxy there are many in the Milky Way and I have plans to have a representatives there to learn as much as they can about that galaxy and its people and there are gateways there as well. This is more than a simple assignment, you can be considered my secret army, travelling to places that I and the Separatist Alliance cannot. Aid me and once we control the galaxy your criminal records will be wiped." Dooku looked at each bounty hunter. "Now, are you all ready to begin?"

The bounty hunters all murmured in agreement.

"Then let the first mission begin."

With that said, the hunters departed, carrying out their mission for the money Dooku was offering. Dooku walked back to his palace, his mind going over the plan. The Separatists and the Republic are too busy to be conducting searches for possible Iconian gateways. Bounty Hunters had no allegiance except to the highest bidder and with the amount he was offering they would stay silent unless offered a larger reward which neither the Republic or the Jedi would do. All though he was loathe to call on Hondo's help he had connections across the Outer Rim which made him important…

For now.

His master had showed him the recording of the Iconian in the Klingon Grand Hall killing the council members, quite impressively Dooku silent admitted. These Iconians showed themselves to be advanced and powerful. They could be powerful allies or dangerous enemies. Dooku understood the need to find a gateway and understand their technology but the danger in provoking them.

He had read up on the reports his master had received from the Jedi in the Milky Way on the Iconians and their servitor races, including the gigantic space constructs large enough to hold a star. Dooku briefly thought of postponing the war in favor of completing the Ultimate Weapon to better prepare for the Iconians if they were planning on invading the galaxy. Lord Sidious had already moved the Weapon and diverted a few supplies to hasten its construction and he had done the same but even then it would take time. That was why it was important to build their forces while maintaining the war, weakening the Jedi and continuing the Grand Plan set in motion by Darth Bane thousands of years ago.

The Undine attack on Coruscant had been unexpected but his master would use it as a benefit to the plan, playing on the fear of the populace at the very thought of a race of invading shapeshifting aliens attacking them again. It even helped that the Undine had killed several Jedi and Senators during the attack.

And there was another matter.

Dooku held out his projector and the image of a droid, the bounty hunter droid known as AO-327 who bowed its head. " _Count Dooku._ "

"I want you to track young Boba Fett and when you have the chance take a DNA sample from him without him knowing." Dooku ordered.

" _Yes, Count Dooku._ " The droid nodded.

Satisfied Dooku cut the transmission. Boba Fett's unaltered DNA would provide longer life to the clone army. Jango Fett's 'son' had everything they needed to create future clones in the future. That was another matter settled for the time being.

For the moment all was according to plan.

Dooku walked back towards his palace, ordering the servant droids to bring him some tea so that he could relax for a mere moment. There was still the matter of continuing the war and the Separatists had gained a significant victory at Naboo by defeating the Borg and Iskalloni. Though not the victory he was expecting a victory was still a victory and he planned to capitalize on that. His master ordered that the construction of the Ultimate Weapon be hastened and to do more workers and resources were needed.

The plan was already set in motion and Grievous should already be on the move.

 **Location Unknown**

A dark portal opened, allowing a robed creature to float through it, escorted by the two artificial guards as he walked onto the surface of the dead planet. He stopped in the clearing, noting the surface to be completely dead, like the world his masters had once called home.

The masters who summoned him appeared in flashes of darkness, surrounding him as he bowed in complete submission. "You summoned me, Great Ones?"

" _The Iskalloni represent a danger to our plans. They must be dealt with immediately. Go and wipe them out._ "

"As you command, Masters." The servant bowed as its masters vanished back into the darkness.

The robed creature turned his six eyes to the gathered army behind him, all of them waiting for his orders. "Prepare the gateways and assemble our fleets and ground forces. We go to exterminate the Iskalloni threat."

He watched in satisfaction as the army moved through the portals that appeared, allowing the army to leave the staging point. The ships were already prepared, waiting for the order from their commander to begin the operation.

 **Wild Space  
Iskadrell**

Failure.

The Iskalloni homeworld received information that their ship sent to enslave and convert the planet Naboo had been destroyed following a confrontation with the Borg and a fleet of Confederacy ships led by their flagship that was armed with an advanced weapon. The Iskalloni ship had been distracted by the Borg, not considering them a threat and they paid for it when the Separatist flagship used a weapon that was so powerful that the Iskalloni had no time to adapt their shields and the power output suggested that it would have been destroyed anyways. The Iskalloni had failed but reports suggested the Borg had been defeated as well which was fortuitous. Once all data from the defeat had been downloaded the Iskalloni set about building more ships, using their knowledge gained from the Borg, and transwarp gates to launch a full scale invasion of the galaxy.

Only hyperdrives were used in this galaxy by the species who had no experience in detecting transwarp signatures. The new ships the Iskalloni were planning to build were giant spheres around the same size as a Borg cube with advanced turbo-laser/disruptor hybrid arrays, missiles containing nano-warheads that would release an Iskalloni version of the Borg nano-virus. The transwarp gates would send the Iskalloni's new fleet to every corner of the galaxy and infect every planet in a matter of days, converting the populations into converted Iskalloni. The entire galaxy would be brought together under a new order by the cold logic of the Iskalloni and they would destroy the Borg.

However what they did not expect was the sudden appearance of over a dozen anomalies around the planet, identified by scanners as a strange form of portals and from these portals came ships of unknown origins that fired the instant they emerged from the portals. Beam of dark purple energy that scorched and tore through ships, buildings, incinerating dozens of denizens who suddenly realized they were under attack. The Iskalloni quickly moved to fight back, using their data from the Borg to identify their attackers.

 _Species 47_

The weapons used by the attackers were advanced, using a combination of dark energy and anti-protons that was extremely effective as the Iskalloni's adaptable shielding fell against the enemy. Portals opened all over the planet, releasing pulsars and solar flares that devastated the surface of the planet. The Iskalloni worked with cold logic to repel their attacks but they were too disorganized and their adaptable technology proved useless. More portals opened on the surface, and out came an army of humanoid creatures, all of them wearing tight armor over their grey skin and covered everything except their heads which showed three pairs of eyes, elongated faces, and three fingered hands carrying weapons in the shape of glowing staffs, swords, and hammers.

"Destroy them." The apparent leader said in a cold voice. "Destroy them all. Burn them away and leave nothing alive."

He watched as Iskalloni drones approached, firing their blaster/disruptor hybrid weaponry that was easily blocked by his troops' shielding.

"Pathetic." He held up his hand and the drones were lifted off the ground. "Kill them."

The drones were quickly incinerated by dark-energy anti-proton weaponry, disintegrating them into thing. The armies swept through the cities, battling against the Iskalloni and winning with frightening ease. It happened in every corner of Iskalloni space as the warriors of the Demons of Air and Darkness arrived and exterminated all in their path. The Iskalloni were fighting a losing battle and they knew it but they had no allies to call upon and their fleets were destroyed easily.

The enemy fleets rained fire down on Iskadrell, using the armaments on their ships along with portals that released solar flares and energy pulsars that incinerated much of the planet's surface. The Iskalloni population was dwindling fast and even the underground complexes were not safe. The enemy armies used their portals to slip past all their security, attacking from within and without mercy. In just under a day the planet Iskadrell had been reduced to a scorched ball of fire in space and the enemy disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, leaving the remnants to perish.

The Iskalloni planned to convert the galaxy to their form of order but they did not realize that out in the depths of space were those who whispered for chaos and blood.

And now they came for the blood of the Iskalloni.


	21. Chapter 21

**Wild Space  
Iskadrell  
Three Days Later**

A fleet of Republic/Federation/Klingon/Romulan ships emerged from hyperspace, entering what was believed to be Iskalloni space, armed and ready for battle. They were under orders from the Supreme Chancellor and Milky Way Command to enter Iskalloni space and test their strength as a threat to the galaxy. The Republic of this fleet was under the direct commander of Commander Thrawn who was experienced with the Milky Way and was given this mission as a test his skills.

Or possible because he was expendable.

Therefore it came as a small relief along with surprise that upon Iskalloni space they wrecks of multiple ships as they moved deeper into Iskalloni territory. They made sure to scavenge what they could from the wreckage while looking for answers on who could have attacked them.

"Has there been any progress, captain?" Thrawn asked, staring out the window.

"We've looked over the wreckage thoroughly, Commander. The weapon signatures do not match anything we have in our database, not even Borg. Whatever did this, it's not anything we've come across." The clone answered.

Thrawn closed his eyes. "The Iskalloni have been attacked but by a new enemy…Or perhaps one we have encountered."

"Sir?" The clone captain questioned.

"Continue moving forward and I want active scanning." Thrawn dismissed the clone's question.

The fleet continued, even coming close to the Iskalloni home world which should have been avoided but the fleet continued and they found more wreckage of Iskalloni ships. It was obvious that whoever the Iskalloni fought they won. The cybernetic race lost by a landslide as the Iskalloni homeworld came into view, looking utterly devastated.

"Take as much as we can and then set course for Geonosis. Tell the Milky Way ships they are free to return to their portal or Coruscant." Thrawn said, taking in the information they had found.

The Iskalloni had been defeated by an unknown enemy but the wreckage from their ships which utilized bio-technology and were advanced as the Borg would go a long way to upgrading and enhancing the Republic fleet. Of course they would make sure the remnants would not somehow come alive and infect them like Borg technology was capable of according to Starfleet. With this new technology they would be stronger and more powerful which was needed in light of recent events surrounding the Milky Way Galaxy. If Thrawn was right then the mysterious enemy that destroyed the Iskalloni were the same ones who commanded the aliens that had captured him and had built the mysterious but powerful gateway technology.

The Iconians.

 **Arkanis Sector  
Geonosis System  
Geonosis**

Admiral Tarkin watched in admiration of the giant construct the size of a moon surrounded by hundreds of ships over the Geonosian homeworld, being built by thousands up thousands of the bugs. The skeleton frame was nearly completed but was still a long way from being operational. The system was completely locked down to make sure no one entered see the massive station still under construction. Geonosians, construction and worker droids, clones that been put into maintenance work and workers supplied through secret channels were at work 24/7 to build possibly the largest space station to exist in the universe.

But it was not going fast enough.

That was why the Chancellor appointed Tarkin as head of the project who was free to supervise the project in any way desired. And right now Tarkin needed more workers to speed up the construction and the Chancellor promised more workers immediately. Tarkin only grinned as he imagined the station complete, acting as the ultimate form of power in the universe. If only it was finished now the Separatists and any other threats lurking out there would be utterly eliminated instantly.

This station would become the living incarnation of what Tarkin imagined as the future.

The ultimate enforcer which would keep any rebels in line through the only method that worked.

Fear.

Tarkin grinned as he watched the construction, unable to wait for the day he would first walk across the decks of the Ultimate Weapon. That however was just the beginning. There were other threats than just the Separatists and were possibly more dangerous than a band of alien rebels. Tarkin had already submitted several plans for the creation of a secret army and fleet while memorizing all information in the Unknown Regions provided by Thrawn.

The Weapon remained at Geonosis simply to gather the necessary resources before it would be moved to a more secure location. While being moved Tarkin planned to create a secret fleet to protect the weapon and build up an army to be prepared against any of the Republic's enemies. Already Rothana and Kuat Drive Shipyards were producing at a hundred percent because of the war but Tarkin knew of a dozen corporations in the galaxy with scientists and engineers he could find and bribe with the right promise to take part in the project. Already he had contacted the top designers from Republic Siener Systems, Rendili Stardrives, Rothana Heavy Engineering, Corellian Engineering Corporation, and even made contact with smaller corporations such as MandalTech, MandalMotors and Mandal Hypernautics that had suffered a decline because of Duchess Satine's policies.

It was surprisingly easy to convince them send their top designers without Satine even knowing which was not surprising in the slightest. Oh well, it was Satine's loss and Tarkin's gain. In addition to that designers, engineers, and scientists from Blastech Industries, Trilon Inc, Athakam Medtech, Crozo Industrial, CoMar Combat Systems, Chedak Communications, Mer-Sonn Munitions Inc, Cybot Galactica, Genetech Corporation, Industrial Automaton and even survivors from Theed Engineering that had survived the Borg attack on Naboo that wanted to help protect their planet from anymore threats and even a band of Kaminoans with the Jango Fett genetic material needed to create clones were part of the project. The purpose of this joint venture would be the creation of the most advanced force in the galaxy.

Tarkin mused that the reason the Federation was so advanced was because it employed the scientific minds of thousands of thousands of people from its multi-planetary alliance and so Tarkin planned to model this new force after the Federation in a way. They would analyze the information on the Borg, the Iskalloni, the Undine and any other enemies in the Milky Way supplied to them from either the Federation or from the remains of the Iskalloni and few Borg ships that had been destroyed in the last few encounters. Every day would be devoted to building, designing, and creating a fleet powerful enough to equal and perhaps surpass the technology of the Milky Way at its peak. Basic information on Federation and Klingon technology was provided and even if work was slow Tarkin predicted they would advance faster than either the Republic or the Separatists quickly in just one year.

They would concentrate on communications, medical research, weaponry, sensor, shielding, cybernetics, and so much more. So many theories that were put aside because of issues like money or simply because they were considered useless and too expensive due to pathetic bureaucracies would be given the chance to florish where they were going. Plans for numerous shipyards, bases, and research facilities would be built in the few systems that had been charted and kept hidden from public eyes were made and the resources already on their way with thousands of workers and construction droids. A great many people signed on simply to leave the devastation of the Clone Wars and they were convinced by the idea of colonizing new worlds far from the war, thus making it safe for their families.

It was surprising how many civilians volunteered, numbering in near thousands that all had experience in one job or another that could contribute to the project. Tarkin believed that this secret force would be perfect for use against the Separatists depending on how long the war might last but the point of this project was to develop far from the eyes of anymore potential enemies, including the ones from another galaxy.

Perhaps Tarkin should call this Project: Enterprise considering the history of the famous starship of the Federation.

Of course that was not the only plan to advance the Republic. The Chancellor was making requests to send scientists and troopers to the massive constructs known as Dyson Spheres to examine the technology. After all if the Iconians were advanced enough to build a massive sphere meant to hold a star that made the knowledge hidden in those spheres invaluable. Perhaps they could learn how to build an ever larger weapon with a star as its power source which would make the Republic the most powerful force in the universe.

This would ensure the safety and order of the galaxy which was threatened each and every day by the Separatists and the unknown enemies in the Milky Way.

"Hyperspace contacts, sir. Security codes confirm them to be Admiral Thawn's taskforce. Admiral Thrawn's ship is opening a channel. Priority One."

"Accept the transmission." Tarkin replied.

If Thrawn was back so soon he either was forced out of Iskalloni space, he was victorious, or something else happened.

 **Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Officer**

" _The Iskalloni homeworld was devastated. There is little life left and it is below the surface. The remaining Iskalloni are struggling now to survive but with the civilization in ruins it will be centuries before they fully recover on their own._ " Thrawn explained.

Palpatine frowned. "Did you identify the attackers?"

" _There was nothing left we could use to identify whoever attacked. However I believe that it was the Iconians who were behind the assault. The ability to open portals to any corner in the universe for ships and armies would lead to complete surprise and near total domination in battle. For whatever reason the Iconians are the most likely suspects._ "

"Any reason why they would destroy the Iskalloni?" Palpatine questioned curiously.

" _Perhaps they do not wish to see either galaxy dominated by the Borg or the Iskalloni. Thus they eliminated one threat before it interfered with their plans. My fleet collected much debris and dead Iskalloni before we returned to Geonoses. Even mere wreckage will provide us with many answers on how advanced the Iskalloni were and will aid us in advancing our own technology._ "

"Yes, you are right. Good work, Commander Thrawn." Palpatine nodded and ended the transmission before leaning back in his chair and pressing his fingers together as he turned his chair around and looked out the window.

Once again it seemed the Iconians were lurking in the darkness, planning something for both galaxies which no doubt threatened his own plans. It was obvious that if the Iconians destroyed the Iskalloni it was because the Iskalloni was a threat to their plans and so they were eliminated before they could become a threat and allowed that shapeshifter Laas to try and take control of the Republic and start a war with the Milky Way. It was precisely what Sidious would do if he were in their position and a part of him actually applauded the Iconians for their deception, strategy, and their cruelty. He had heard what they had done in the Milky Way, including creating a super nova that destroyed the original Romulan homeworld and manipulating various factions of the Milky Way Galaxy into fighting each other.

In many ways what they had done were literally Sith tactics but at the same time it showed how dangerous they could be.

He briefly wondered if the Iconians were possibly the Milky Way's version of the Sith but discarded those thoughts. Regardless of whatever they were the Iconians and their abilities made them all the more a threat to Sidious and his own plans to transform the Republic into an Empire. He did not know what their plans exactly were except from what Admiral Tarkin and Skywalker had told him. They wished to subjugate the Milky Way and re-establish their own galaxy spanning empire which was defeated centuries ago when their home world was bombed.

The Iconians had survived, likely due to their gateway technology and had spent centuries planning their return. It was actually similar to the Grand Plan started by Darth Bane after the destruction of the Brotherhood of Darkness and the establishment of the Rule of Two. The Federation and Klingon Empire speculated the Iconians had recruited races like the Elachi and Solanae to serve as soldiers and scientists and manipulated other races like the Undine to serve their needs in causing conflict. It was similar to how the Sith had worked on manipulating events in the galaxy for the last thousand years, accumulating knowledge and resources, amassing influence to undermine the Republic and the Jedi, and use the war to slowly tear down the Republic and weaken the Jedi by forcing them to fight in the war and die slowly over the course of the war while suffering from decreased faith by the public in their ability to maintain peace and order.

Sidious wondered just how strong the Iconians' influence in the Milky Way really was. Did they have agents in every government directing their agenda? Were they behind the portals that led to this galaxy? Could they have manipulated the Borg and the Devidians to do it and thus leading to contact between the two galaxies?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

His apprentice had suggesting sending bounty hunters to search the galaxy for more Iconian gateways and he approved of the plan but there was no possible way to confirm a gateway would ever be found in this lifetime. They needed another army, ready to fight for them against the Milky Way. The Republic and the Separatists weren't the only forces in the galaxy. Species like the Gungans and the Wookies were warriors with their own armies while the Death Watch and the Nightsisters were a force to be reckoned with in their own right.

Of course neither Death Watch nor the Nightsisters would willingly ally with the Sith and had proven to problems that needed to be removed sooner or later. Science and engineering divisions in both the Republic and Separatists were working to develop ships and weapons to stand against the Milky Way while refitting the current fleet to give them a better chance. Palpatine already looked over the designs for a new ship based of off the Klingon and Romulan bird shaped vessels and it was impressive looking. The new design was over seven hundred meters in length with the bridge connected to a long neck like body with an X-shaped split wing structure at the rear end.

A hangar bay based off of the hangars on the new _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer was located at the ship's rear end, on the 'belly' underneath the main reactor. The engines and maneuvering thrusters on the wings allowed the new ship to be extremely maneuverable at sublight speed. The armaments consisted of fifty five turbo-lasers, five laser beam cannons, eleven torpedo and missile launchers, eleven point defense laser turrets, and ten ion cannons while able to carry over a single fighter squadron while using multiple shield generators for better protection. The secret weapon through was the composite-beam laser that focused the laser beam cannons from the tips of the wings into the forward laser cannon at the very front, creating a more powerful and deadly laser beam that was exceptionally powerful and destructive.

It was a little ironic to be building powerful ships for fighting the unknown while already fighting a war but Sidious was not taking any chances with this new galaxy's presence.

A second larger ship was modelled after the Star Destroyers used by the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War known as the _Harrower_ class dreadnaught which measured over eight hundred meters in length and sported reinforced heavy armor and four shield generators for protection while being armed with heavy turbo-laser batteries, quad laser cannons, ion cannons along with launchers for proton torpedoes and concussion missiles. The most powerful weapon would be a Plasma Cannon, which acted like a Romulan Plasma Torpedo, capable to obliterating any unshielded starships instantly. In addition to its impressive armaments it carried over nearly a hundred starfighters, specifically the new T.I.E. fighter class that was still in testing stages but would be ready very soon.

Raith Siener had expressed interest in looking over the technology used by the Milky Way factions, having visited the Milky Way Embassy on Coruscant and Sidious considered somehow finding a way to acquire samples somehow.

A third new ship would act as an escort carrier, modeled as a nimble narrow hulled design with an arrowhead bow and three thrusters in a vertical row on the stern, making it fast enough to engage even Milky Way ships despite their speed. It was armed with two singled barreled cannons on the dorsal centerline and two double-barreled weapons mounted on the vertical centerline, fifteen forward torpedo and missile launchers with two hangars for launching fighters. The escort carrier was designed upon reading on the Federation's tactical escort class, specifically the famous _Defiant_ class that played a pivotal role in the Dominion War. It showed that even the Federation, an organization dedicated to peace and exploration was capable of building full-fledged warships.

There were even plans for two new Star Destroyer type ships that were at the moment in construction at Kuat Yard Drives. The first was labelled the _Tector_ -class that was as large as the new _Imperator_ class but had no ventral hangar. Instead of hangars the design used additional armor that covered areas normaly used for main hangar operations and the reactor core. It was desgined to be more efficient for ship-to-ship combat with less internal weak spots but it would need fighter carriers to provide any fighter support.

They would have additional fire power and shielding with the same modifications being made to its sister designs. The second was the _Secutor_ class that would act more like a carrier, carrying over a hundred fighters due to its large size. It would serve along side the _Tector_ and _Imperator_ , increasing the number of fighters and bombers, giving the 'Republic Navy' a vast advantage in numbers and fire power. They would serve him well in the future.

Of course he would order them to continue to improve the design, seeking to overcome any possible weaknesses that might be exploited but that was further down the road.

In addition to that the bodies of the Jem'Hadar he killed and their weapons were sent to a secret facility. The Jem'Hadar were clones like his clonetroopers and thus learning about the genetic engineering that created them could possibly improve designs to the clones. Their weapons were apparently plasma and polaron based with an anti-coagulant that stopped the natural healing process and even disrupted attempts by medicine to heal the target if they had not already died which was something he actually admired for its ruthless effeciancy. The polaron based weapons could even pierce deflector shields, at least the ones used by Droidekas which would be very useful for the Republic.

Clearly the Dominion was not much different from the Iconians and possibly the new Empire he was forging, however it was no doubt that the Dominion would not ally with him, or stay allies for very long from what he had read. It would take time but it would lead to a considerable advancement in blaster technology. The Dominion was advanced, more advanced than the Federation had been before the start of the Dominion War but even if the Alpha and Beta Quadrant factions were strong enough to face their ships and armies the Dominion still had the advantage in numbers.

He had looked up all non-classified information regarding the Dominion War, learning about their their tactics and what the Federation did to counter them. Advances in weaponry and shielding was proceeding at a slightly increased pace since the discovery of the Milky Way but they needed more. They would need to create new armor for their ships, stronger than durasteel which even though was stronger than duranium it fell short of the ablative armor that the Milky Way factions had produced through the years against enemies like the Borg and the Dominion. They had not managed to replicate the armored skin of the Zillo Beast yet but there was a planet with an armor stronger than durasteel.

'The Besker on Mandarlore…But it's a neutral planet for a moment. The phrik on Fest could be used but using armor for ships would waste these resources.' Sidious grimaced.

There was also the matter of the fact that it was possible the Republic was compromised by the Undine and the Dominion so he needed to crack down on this before it ruined his plans. His thoughts went over to Captain Thrawn and his knowledge of the Unknown Regions. A chance to expand the Republic secretly into the unclaimed sector of the galaxy would be perhaps the best he could do at this time. Secret bases and shipyards could be built there and when they were ready he could call upon them to aid the Empire.

It was a start but they needed to advance just as much and the Milky Way factions were surprisingly vigilant in protecting their technology, even in a new galaxy. However Sidious came up with an alternative to simply building up their forces, a proposed alliance with the factions of the Milky Way against the Borg, the Undine and the Iconians.

And it was time to see how the Senate would react.

Bringing his hood over his face he activated the holo-communicator and as expected Count Dooku answered his call. " _My master._ "

"Lord Tyrannus, have the bounty hunters accepted their new assignment?"

" _Yes, my Lord. They have been given all the information we have on the Iconians and possible planets where a gateway might be located. However given the fact that a gateway was not discovered until it was used to abduct people, including two Jedi will likely be some time before we ever see results._ " Dooku answered.

"Very well. In the meantime we will build up our forces for the possibility of conflict with the Milky Way or the Iconians. Building up ships is one thing but we'll need weapons and resources. Is the operation for the strike into the core worlds still proceeding on schedule?" Sidious asked.

" _Yes, Master. Grievous has been assembling the fleet without drawing suspicion from the Republic. He will be ready by the end of the solar cycle._ "

"Good but I am adding an additional target. I want a fleet ready to take the planet Bespin." Sidious stated. "We will need the additional tibana gas for our weapons but you will not need to hold the planet. Take as much as you can and disperse it to all our factories. The Republic will not allow Bespin to remain under Separatist control for long."

" _I understand. Is there a plan to deal with the Borg and the Iskalloni?_ "

"The Iskalloni are no longer a threat. They were destroyed by an unknown threat, possibly the Iconians."

Dooku raised an eyebrow. " _The Iconians? They destroyed the Iskalloni? This is unexpected._ "

"Yes. It is possible they believed the Iskalloni a threat to their own plans and eliminated them. Their planet was devastated to the point that very little could survive. Any survivors will either die out or be use of use to us under our science division for study. And during the Undine attack I was assaulted by a shapeshifter, a Changeling from the Milky Way, the same ones that lead the Dominion." Sidious stated, smirking at the look of small surprise on Dooku's face.

" _Do you believe they know you secret identity?_ "

"No. The Changeling was merely planning to replace me, change the Republic into a new branch of the Dominion and then make war on the Milky Way. Fortunately his plan failed and the bodies of the Jem'Hadar are being stored in my secret research facility. However the fact is that they infiltrated my security quite easily." Sidious answered. "We will have to begin checking to see if anyone else in the Republic Confederacy have been replaced."

" _I understand, Master. I shall discreetly began checking for signs of infiltration. I believe my acolytes will have the best chance of finding any infiltrators, Undine or Changeling._ "

"Of course now there is the matter of the Borg which is still a current threat. The information provided by the Jedi states the Borg have established a base in the Maw. A place that will be difficult to the reach, perhaps which is why the Borg chose the Maw has their staging grounds."

" _We can still reach them, Master. The Borg are not the only ones who know of the secret safe route through the Maw._ "

"Yes but for now the Borg are irrelevant. It is the other factions that are a more current threat." Sidious actually smirked. "We truly live in interesting times."

" _What is your plan, Master?_ "

"The Federation and the Klingons have ended their conflict in favor of preparing for war against the Iconians and now they have been forging relations in our galaxy. We must do the same, my apprentice. The Jedi Master Luminara and Skywalker's apprentice are already in the Milky Way with a handful of Republic Senators. Have you found senators to represent the Confederacy?" Sidious asked.

" _Yes, Master. The candidates are perfectly capable of representing the Confederacy and will not in any way compromise the plan._ "

"Good. They'll get a perfect…layout of the land." Sidious said. "The more we understand the more we will be prepared. However we still need to learn more about other parts of the galaxy, specifically the Delta and Gamma Quadrants. The Dominion controls most of the Gamma Quadrant and the Borg are among the larger powers in the Delta Quadrant."

" _That will not be easy, Master. Hyperdrives are impossible to use in the Milky Way and Alliance has only just begun exploring the Delta Quadrant, following the data provided by the seven year journey of the starship Voyager._ "

"Perhaps there is another portal…" Sidious absently commented.

" _Master?_ "

"We still don't know how the Borg found their way into our galaxy. We are aware of the portals that were created by the Dividians near Naboo and the portal leading to the Azure Nebula. The Borg appeared out of nowhere, meaning they possibly know a way back to the Milky Way. That is what we must discover."

" _But how, Master?_ "

"I am making plans to propose a…Alliance with the Milky Way faction, at least against threats like the Borg and the Undine. If we give them more reign in this galaxy they will no doubt find out more about the Borg, especially since Starfleet's first duty…Is to the truth." Sidious said with a small grin. "Their curiosity could be used to our advantage. And their Prime Directive will still prohibit them from becoming involved in any political or military affairs."

" _Foolish of them but they will be of use to us._ " Dooku replied.

"Yes and we will continue with our plans to weaken the Jedi. Is the next operation ready?"

" _Yes, my Master. The operation is already underway._ " Dooku bowed.

"Good." Sidious grinned.

Everything was still going according to plan.

 **Milky Way  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
San Francisco  
Starfleet Academy**

Though _Earth Spacedock 1_ had suffered tremendous damage from the Undine attack Starfleet was already at work on repairing it as well as removing wreckage from the attack before it could cause damage to Earth. The few times Earth had been attacked was devastating to both the planet and morale even though Earth and the Federation endured. The first time Earth had been attacked was before the Federation was formed by the Xindi who had built a planet killing weapon, directed by the Sphere Builders that failed thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Archer. The second time had been when the Borg sent another cube six years after the battle of Wolf 359 which was narrowly prevented by Captain Picard and the _Enterprise_ -E by destroying the cube and stopping the Borg's attempt to alter history.

The third time was during the Dominion War when the Breen launched a surprise attack on Earth, causing mass destruction before they retreated. And now the Undine had attacked Earth, destroying several starships and damaging the space station that had been in orbit of Earth for nearly two centuries. Fortunately the Undine had been repelled, having only attacked Earth as a diversion so they could wipe out the Klingon homeworld with a planet killer. That attack failed thanks to the brave efforts of the three main factions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and ended the war between the Klingons and the Federation in wake of their bravery and understanding of the greater threat.

The Iconians revealed themselves and it was only a matter of time before they arrived and when they did there would be a war far worse than the conflicts with the Klingons and the Undine.

But despite the threat they represented they were not the current problem at the moment. There was the matter of the Skyriver galaxy which was accessible by the portal in space shared by the Federation, Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic which was still in the middle of an intergalactic war that the Milky Way wished to remain neutral in. For the moment all evidence suggested that the Clone Wars as what it was called was being waged far from the portal and their method of FTL did not work in the Milky Way, easing the fears of many that believed it was only a matter of time before the war came to their galaxy. That was part of the reason the Republic officials were here along with working on a way to protect their own galaxy from the Undine and possibly the Iconians.

Jedi Master Luminara had come with Padawan Ahsoka Tano had come to Earth as well, seeing the planet that was to the Federation what Coruscant was to the Republic. At the very moment Ahsoka was touring the Starfleet Academy, watching the numerous cadets in the courtyard. At the very least the place was calm and peaceful which was a rare sight for her given how long the war had been going on in her home galaxy. Earth was similar to Naboo in many ways but had more cities and more oceans.

The city she was in while visiting Starfleet Academy was big and it had long and impressive looking bridge that could easily spotted while looking out at the ocean. Originally they had settled down in Paris but when asked to see the Starfleet Academy which was stationed in San Francisco Ahsoka's requests was surprisingly granted with very little hassle. She had the option of traveling by shuttle or transporter and Ahsoka preferred the shuttle, just to get a better look at things from the air. Luminara had decided to accompany her, if for the sake of keeping Ahsoka company and the chance to better understand the people of this new galaxy.

It was also just as peaceful as Naboo despite the last few years of conflict. Ahsoka did not doubt that the Separatists would love to take Earth for themselves, not just for Federation's technology but its resources. Still Earth was about several hundred light years away from the portal and with hyperdrives useless in the Milky Way it would be impossible for the Separatists to launch an invasion of the Federation or its allies, especially given how an alliance of the two quadrants would be a nightmare to the Separatists if they entered the war.

Right now she was here because…

Actually she didn't have a reason. She only felt she had to be here for some reason.

"Excuse me?"

Slightly startled Ahsoka turned around, facing the man who spoke. It was a man, dressed in a Starfleet uniform but it was different from the ones she had seen before. He was bald with a small goatee, dark skin, but his eyes held considerable wisdom and intelligence.

There was something else though.

This man's presence seemed to shine bright in the Force, not like a Jedi or regular Force sensitive but his presence was different than anyone she had ever met.

"Forgive me, I saw you just standing here and was wondering if you were waiting for anyone." The man said and Ahsoka heard the honesty in his voice.

"I…I think so." Ahsoka said with a small smile. "It's…It's not easy to explain but I sense I'm supposed to be here for something."

"Oh?" The man tilted his head. "So you're not here to smell the flowers?" He gestured to the garden. "The gardener, I know his grandfather who worked here when I was a cadet and he was a very wise and kind man. His grandchild decided to take over and has done a merry job of looking after the place and it's done all by hand. No advanced technology."

"Oh no, not that." Ahsoka shook her head but admitted the flowers looked beautiful. "I'm here…Actually I have no idea what I'm waiting for. I came here, feeling something and…" Ahsoka shook her head. "Forget it. It's probably nothing."

"I wouldn't be so sure. It's not a good idea to reject your instincts." The man remarked amusedly.

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know, Mr…"

"Benjamin Sisko. And I'm not Force sensitive, but I know a few things. For starters…" Sisko suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Ahsoka who spun to face him and saw that the academy disappeared, now becoming a tropical island in the middle of an ocean. "I know a few calming locations to have a nice chat."

Ahsoka stepped back but still sensed no hostility from the man. The Force suddenly felt like it was shining around her now, like the swirling blue light of a hyperspace tunnel but at the same time it was cradling her protectively like a lost infant reunited with its parent. "Who are you?"

"I told you, I am Benjamin Sisko. I served in Starfleet before I became the Emissary to the Prophets of Bajor." Sisko answered calmly.

"The Prophets?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Beings who live outside of linear time inside a wormhole near the planet Bajor." Sisko explained.

"I remember hearing something about a wormhole. Bajor, isn't it one of the planets in the Federation?" Ahsoka asked.

"It is and it played an important role in the Dominion War. The Prophets, they are not easy to describe but they are seen by the Bajorans as benevolent Gods who have shaped much of their culture and founded their faith. They live outside of normal time and can only communicate by possessing someone's body to communicator or…Through their Emissary." Sisko explained softly. "The Prophets, normally do not interact with beings outside of the wormhole unless there is a matter of great importance concerning Bajor which is why I am here now, speaking with you."

"I don't understand. We're on Earth…At least we were on Earth. Why would these Prophets be interested in me?" Ahsoka asked, looking at the island.

"Just because there are no Jedi or Sith in the Milky Way does not mean the Force does not exist here. I am sure you can still feel the Force." Sisko stated and continued when Ahsoka nodded. "Well to simply put the Force in this universe works along the lines of what the Prophets refer to as chaotic evolution. There are no Jedi and no Sith to divide it into Light and Dark sides and more difficult to grasp because chaotic evolution can be divided into many more than two divisions. The Prophets see the Force as, to put it simply, the matrix of reality."

"Matrix of reality?" Ahsoka asked.

"Basically it is the raw psychic energy of the universe or perhaps the multi-verse that goes by many names. Being like the Prophets can tap into this matrix that is basically part of their power. When the portals leading to your galaxy were created the Prophets sensed it and they asked me to ensure that Bajor is not affected, specifically by the Sith or the Jedi." Sisko answered.

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka tilted her head. "It sounds like these Prophets don't trust the Jedi."

"That is because they don't. Don't take it personally, Ahsoka but the Prophets had me look into this galaxy because they sensed the boarders between our galaxies breaking down. Before I became their Emissary the Prophets had no understanding of linear time and could only interact through the orbs in the temples on Bajor. However even though they did not understand time they were capable of sending objects through time so as long as it was in the wormhole." Sisko said, pacing slightly and gestured to the island. "This place exists inside the wormhole but it is modeled in a way your mind can comprehend. As the Emissary and a human I have learned how to look into the past, present, and future and see infinite possibilities of what can, could, and will happen. It was not easy as I had to learn by myself and through that the Prophets have relied on me to ensure the perfect possible for Bajor. However though Bajor is one planet what happens to the Milky Way can also effect Bajor and its people, including the conflicts in your galaxy."

"Is this about the Clone Wars?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes and no. It is not just the Clone Wars, it is also the matter of the power behind the war." Sisko answered.

"Huh?"

"The Prophets know of the Jedi and Sith and have seen in the many possible futures that the conflict between them will expand beyond your galaxy. They believe that Bajor will be in danger of being destroyed by either side." Sisko stated, stopping in front of Ahsoka.

"We wouldn't do that." Ahsoka said sincerely.

"I know you wouldn't which is why the Prophets are interested in you." Sisko smiled. "They believe you will play a pivotal role in the coming days."

"Me? Why me?" Ahsoka asked, surprised that these Prophets would believe in her.

Sisko smiled as the landscape changed into a more familiar place. "Do you remember this place?"

Ahsoka did indeed. "This is Mortis!"

She could see the Citadel in the distance where the Father lived with his children, the Son who represented the Dark Side and the Daughter who represented the Light Side.

"Why are we here?" Ahsoka looked at Sisko.

"Do you remember what happened here? Do you remember what happened…To the Daughter?" Sisko asked carefully.

Ahsoka closed her eyes for a second. "The Daughter…Anakin said she gave her life to save me."

"Yes by transferring her life force into you and in doing so has given you a unique connection to your Force. The Prophets sensed your life force the first time you entered our universe because they could sense a dormant power in you, power that may have been transferred into you when the Daughter transferred her life force into you." Sisko continued as the landscape changed back to the tropical island. "The Prophets believe with your help Bajor and possibly the entire Milky Way will be protected from the Sith."

"Why not ask my master? He's the Chosen One. I'm sure the Prophets know of him." Ahsoka pointed out.

Sisko shook his head. "They do but they do not believe he is capable at the moment. At the moment the Prophets believe you can help us stop a war so great it would consume both galaxies. That is why we're here now. What would you say if I offered to show you how the Prophets and I have learned on how to interact with the Force?"

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "You're offering to train me?"

"More like give you an insight on how the Force works in the Milky Way and let you decide if you want to learn more. I'm the Emissary but I'm not going to force you here against your will to show how things work here or take over your life and tell you what to do. It's up to you." Sisko replied with a chuckle. "Though I should warn you, I'm not the only one who has noticed your presence here and suddenly pop into your life. If you decide to say yes just say my name and I'll hear it and if you see someone calling himself Q…Punch him in the face."

Ahsoka was about to ask another question but Sisko and the island she was on vanished, leaving her back at the Starfleet Academy as if nothing had happened.

'I'm not sure what my master would say if I told him this.' Ahsoka silently thought.

"Ahsoka."

Blinking Ahsoka spotted Luminara walking towards her. "Master Luminara."

"Are you all right? I thought I lost you for a moment." Luminara stated.

"Oh, I'm fine." Ahsoka smiled to assure that everything was all right. "I was just…Well, taking in the nice view around here."

She wasn't sure if Luminara bought but the Jedi Master did not question her further. Ahsoka made a mental note to look up Benjamin Sisko while she was on Earth. Clearly there was a lot more to the Milky Way than the Jedi Council had thought.


	22. Chapter 22

**Earth  
Paris**

Senator Riyo Chuchi found herself a little too restless to remain still for the moment to study on what to expect on a totally alien world. It wasn't every day that a senator could say she was in another galaxy. She had to admit the city was beautiful and the large metal structure known as the Eifel Tower was a work of art not seen on many planets in her galaxy. Better yet she had no need to worry about the war for moment but there will be talks regarding the war.

She had heard that the Separatists were sending their own representatives which would no doubt cause trouble. Though she personally doubted the Separatists would try to convince the Federation or the other factions to join the war. They were not fools and they were not blind so underestimating whoever the Separatists were sending seemed pretty unlikely. Personally as long as no one like General Grievous or Count Dooku she was not completely worried.

She would much rather spend her time touring the Earth, treating the time she had before the conference.

Paris was beautiful looking city, reminding her of her own home planet. Perhaps a trade could be established between her galaxy and the Milky Way. She knew of many planets that needed help and could easily see many forms of Milky Way technology flooding her galaxy. Their transporters and replicators alone could change just about everything.

The implications were massive and worrying, especially if the Separatists used the transporters and replicators for their own benefit. If they had those replicators they could probably make a thousand battle droids in a matter of seconds, which was very frightening when you think about it. They could already make thousands of droids by strip-mining a single planet in a matter of days. If they could make a million battle droids in a single day the Republic wouldn't stand a chance.

And they were still advancing.

An alliance between the galaxies could be seen as beneficial if the war didn't cause either galaxy to suddenly stop negotiations or spill over into their territories like the Milky Way factions wanted to avoid happening.

'Only time can tell how much things will change.' Chuchi thought as she looked out the window, seeing the beautiful city and the star-lit sky.

She gathered her stuff for an evening stroll on the city to take her mind off of everything. Perhaps Ahsoka was here now and they could enjoy a tour of Paris.

"Chuchi, are you ready?"

The Chairman's daughters had come with Chuchi to see Earth for themselves, acting as official representatives of Pandora and she almost forgot they were here.

"Coming!"

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant Orbit  
Scimitar Class Dreadnaught - RRW _Jenova  
_ Bridge**

 _Commanding Officer's Log, Earth Date July 11th. The Jenova has been assigned to aid orbital cleanup of debris surrounding Coruscant from the Undine attack. It was a mere stroke of luck that Alliance ships were here and Task Force Omega arrived to assist or the Republic fleet would have suffered more casualties. It is saddening to see another galaxy suffering from the manipulations of the Iconians who were responsible for the destruction of Romulus but at the very least this world along with Earth and Qo'nos was saved._

 _End Log_

"Admiral Denola, we're receiving a transmission from the embassy. Priority One."

Denola stood up from her command chair. "I'll take it in my ready room."

Denola was rather young to be an admiral but she had proven herself in fighting against the Elachi and the Tal Shiar that had been raiding Romulan space, taking command of an older T'liiss light warbird and fended off an Elachi fleet attacking her home colony. From then on she assisted the Republic fleet in establishing the newly formed Romulan Republic and protecting the colonies that had been left isolated when the homeworld was destroyed. She had even gone up against Empress Sela who denounced the Republic as a terrorist faction but like many of her people Denola was sick of the old ways and thus refused to recognize Sela, a woman who was too selfish, arrogant, and hateful to be even command a single warbird, as Empress. It was people like Sela that led to Romulus being destroyed, committing horrible acts and quick to justify them for the good of the empire while thinking of nothing of the lives and dreams of the people they destroyed.

Denola personally hoped one day to bring in Sela to put her on trial along with Taris to answer for their crimes against the Romulan people they nearly destroyed because of their selfishness and lust for power.

Once she was in her ready room Denola sat down at her desk and watched as the monitor showed Federation Admiral Dola of Task Force Omega. " _Admiral Denola, earlier the embassy on Coruscant and Raxus were contacted by a Togruta colony known as Kiros. Apparently they are concerned that the Confederacy planning to use their colony as a military base and have asked for our help, even going as far to ask for membership of the Alliance if it means protection._ "

"Membership?" Denola repeated in surprise.

" _Well the Alliance is composed of the Federation, Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic and they believe by joining us they will be able to remain out of the war. Before the war started they aligned with the Confederacy because the Republic abandoned them to suffer at the hands of pirates but when the war started the Confederacy abandoned them as well._ "

"Abandoned twice by both the governments they counted on." Denola said solemnly, knowing such a feeling.

The old Romulan Empire under Empress Sela had abandoned several colonies and those colonies were actually lucky to not be captured and enslaved by Sela who ordered the Tal Shiar to brainwash captured Romulans to serve the Empire. It was only thanks to Federation, Klingons, and Romulans aligned with the Republic that this was stopped and these colonies joined the Republic after Sela vanished.

" _Sad to say it is true. We have not contacted the Chancellor or Count Dooku yet because we want to look into his matter before informing either side. If either side learns of this before we get to the truth of the matter we might end up causing an incident with the colonists ending up paying the price. The Jenova and handful of ships will go and investigate._ "

"Understood, Admiral." Denola nodded. "May I ask which ships?"

" _The USS Seraphinite, under the command of Captain Nathan Creed who led the counter attack against the Borg invasion of Defera and has been in over twenty engagements with them. Then there is the I.K.S. Kurla's Bane under the command of Captain Kyren who has been in several engagements with the Borg and the Undine._ "

"Understood. We will be on our way immediately." Denola said before the transmission ended.

 **Anoat Sector  
Bespin System  
Bespin  
Cloud City**

As a planet in neutral space and in a strategically unimportant region of space Bespin had not been exposed to the horrors of the Clone Wars as much as the rest of the galaxy had been. It had been invaded by the Separatists in the first year of the war and was repelled by the Republic not long after. Though it had supplied the Republic with tibana gas Bespin and its resorts stayed out of the war, taking in refugees who all wanted to get away from the fighting. Cloud City had become home to many people, finding jobs and even settling down to have a family.

Only they did not realize how far the war had spread.

Near orbit of Bespin emerged a fleet of over thirty Separatist ships, ranging from frigates to capital ships and all of them carrying enough droids to invade the entire planet. Landing crafts were launched and escorted by fighters, gunships, and bombers as they entered the planet's atmosphere and converged on the coordinates of the vital locations of the planet. The people of Bespin thought they were safe but they would soon learn that the war had come back to Bespin.

They swarmed Cloud City from above, bombing any place that had weapons or security details as the landing craft released legions of battle droids that marched through the city, securing Cloud City in under an hour.

The planet was taken a day later.

The Separatist secured all the tibana gas platforms and occupied Cloud City, putting the terrified citizens into make-shift prison camps heavily guarded. The droids, led by a Nemoidian commander who was now in charge of the city worked on enslaving the workers and forcing them to continue their jobs, collecting tibana glass only it would be for the Separatists while at the same time taking all money and resources they could get their hands on.

Count Dooku had ordered that any tibana gas they could get their hands be shipped to CIS bases and factories immediately and the droid armies had every intention of carrying their orders out.

 **Expansion Region  
Kiros system  
Kiros  
RRW _Jenova_**

The Milky Way factions had wasted little time in creating their own version of the Skyriver Galaxy's hyperdrive even if they could not use it in their own galaxy. The shock and surprise of the Republic and Confederacy who got to know a few of the factions quickly their hyperdrive was actually faster and more precise even though they only recently created it. It was actually one of the things that the Milky Way factions offered with medical technology as improved hyperdrive for both sides wouldn't be against the Prime Directive.

"We are secured from hyperspace. Now entering Kiros system."

The _Jenova_ along with the _Seraphinite_ that brought along a _Galaxy-X_ class dreadnaught and the _Kurla's Bane_ with a Mogh class dreadnaught escorted by several B'rel class Birds of Prey and a _D'deridex_ class battlecruiser with two _Valdore_ class warbirds.

"Assume orbit and prepare to beam down. Hail the colony and inform them we are were." Denola said, standing up from her command chair. "As soon as we are orbit inform the task force I will be beaming down to speak with the colonists."

"Yes Admiral."

 **Kiros  
Togruta Colony**

Governor Roshti had quickly stood with a welcoming committee as their guests appeared in flashes of light from their amazing transporter technology. He had heard of the Milky Way as no doubt the rest of the galaxy as news of their arrival had spread like wildfire across the Holo-net. Needless to say the discovery of a new galaxy brought forth a level of excitement not seen since before the war began and everyone was eager to know more about the mysterious new world that was little more than a step away. He and his people had come here and built this colony to live in peace, away from the corruption that suffocating the galaxy.

However their hopes were all for naught when the Separatists had contacted them and stated their colony would be used as a military base and the colonists would…Relocated for their own safety. Obviously no one wanted that and Roshti did not trust the Separatists or Count Dooku to ensure the safety of his people but who could he turn to for help? He did not trust the CIS but he did not trust the Republic either.

If he asked the Republic for help he'd end simply switching one military aligned base for another. That was why he kept a close eye on the Milky Way factions that had established embassies on the capital worlds of the Republic and the Confederacy. Like him and his people they had no wish to become involved in the war and that was when he got the idea to contact them for help. It was a little risky but it was best decision he could make, given the circumstances.

Roshti stepped forward as a female Romulan wearing a Romulan Republic uniform who looked to be in a position of authority. "Greetings and welcome. I am Governor Roshti."

"I am Admiral Denola. Our governments received word you were asking us for protection." The woman nodded, gesturing to her landing party, consisting of Federation and Klingon officers along with her own Republic officers. "May I ask what exactly are you asking from us?"

"Admiral Denola, my people came here to live in peace with no intention of entering the war. Unfortunately the Separatists plan to use our home as a military base and relocate us elsewhere. I do not know what you have heard, Admiral but when worlds are occupied by the Separatists the people are often enslaved. I do not want my people to become slaves on some distant Separatist occupied world." Roshti explained, his voice becoming desperate as he spoke.

"Why not ask the Republic for help?" Denola questioned.

"We do not trust the Republic any more than the Separatists. The Republic would be no different, they would want to establish a military base in this sector. We do not want to be part of either side in this war. We only want to live in peace." Roshti answered, gesturing to her people who looked fearful and hopeful at the same time.

Denola could literally sense their emotions due to being one of few Romulans with telepathic traits and she see the fear rolling off these people in waves. "Governor, are you asking us to protect you from both the Republic and the Confederacy? We've made our position clear that we do not want to become part of the war in this galaxy."

"I know which is why I am asking for membership of your alliance or at the very least allowing this colony to be a hub for your governments in this part of the galaxy." Roshti quickly answered.

Denola and her landing party looked surprised and shared a few looks. This was surprising but not completely unexpected.

"Is that possible?" Denola asked.

"This colony is not affiliated with either the Republic or the Separatists. They can petition for membership and it can't be disputed by either side without provoking the alliance into the war." Nathan Creed pointed out. "They can apply for refugee status and then we'd be obligated to protect them."

"The Empire will support this colony." Kyren said passionately, her fellow Klingons nodding in agreement with her.

"Then you will help us?" Roshti asked, hope filling his voice.

Denola nodded. "If you ask us for help we will oblige it."

That answer was met with cheers from the colonists.

()

The Confederacy flagship _Invisible Hand_ emerged from hyperspace, escorted by several _Munificents_ as it entered the Kiros system.

"Sir, we are approaching Kiros." A battle droid repored.

"Good." Count Dooku stated calmly as he stood up from the command chair. "Prepare my ship."

"Sir?" The droid spoke up, stopping Dooku from leaving the bridge. "Our sensors are picking up ships in orbit of the planet. They look like Federation, Klingon, and Romulan."

Dooku turned around. "What?"

As the _Invisible Hand_ approached the planet Dooku was able to make out the distinct configurations of the main Milky Way factions currently present in this galaxy. This was not expected. What were those ships doing all the way out here?

"Contact them. I want to know why they're out here."

()

" _Jenova to Admiral Denola. A Separatist fleet has arrived and Count Dooku is demanding to know why we are here._ "

The Togruta looked afraid now as Denola replied. "Inform them that the Togruta here are now under our protection. If Count Dooku wishes to object he'll have to contact the ambassadors at the embassy on Raxus or come down and speak with me."

" _Understood, Admiral._ "

Needless to say Count Dooku elected to come down himself in a shuttle with small group of battle droids and a creature that Roshti identified as a Zygerian who looked unhappy.

Admiral Denola walked up to greet the Separatist leader with Roshti standing next to her. "Count Dooku, this is an unexpected pleasure. We did not expect to meet Conferderacy Head of State."

"I did not expect to see Milky Way Alliance ships this far out either. The officer on your ship stated that are here at the behest of the colonists." Dooku answered, looking at the assembled Starfleet/KDF/Republic officers standing with the Togurta colonists. "I am sure this a misunderstanding that can be easly resolved. This is after all a Separatist colony."

"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed to hear that colonists have petitioned for membership of our alliance in this galaxy. We were just discussing it when you arrived." Denola answered calmly.

Dooku raised an eyebrow. "Membership? Is that even possible? As I said before this is a Separatist colony."

"It _was_ a Separatist colony, Count Dooku." Roshti spoke up, earning Dooku's attention. "However, you and the Separatists left us on our own when the war started, forcing us to fend for ourselves. This colony has been not aligned with either the Republic or the Separatists and thus we're are able to decide if we want to part of any government, including governments of the Milky Way Galaxy. That is why I've asked for petition into the Milky Way Alliance, they are a neutral government in the war between the Republic and Separatists and attacking this colony or forcing the colonists to relocate to establish a military while it is under protection from the alliance would be seen as a provocation."

"He is right, Count Dooku. At the very least this colony is under our protection as we discuss properly this colony's membership into our alliance." Denola replied in agreement.

Dooku narrowed his eyes and both the governor and the admiral wondered if he was about start a fight but he simply closed his eyes. "Very well."

Without another word he stepped back onto his ship, followed by his battle droids. The Zygernian lingered for a moment, glaring at the colonists and Milky Way denizen before walking back onto the ship with a growl.

"That could have gone better." Nathan commented once the ship left the colony.

 **Hyperspace _  
Invisible Hand  
_ En-Route back to Serenno**

" _What do you mean you cannot give us the colonists? They were promised to us as part of our agreement, Dooku!_ "

Dooku narrowed his eyes at the angered voice but remained calm. "The colonists have petioned for membership or at least an alliance with the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic. I could not order the colonists to leave without provoking them into joining the war on the Republic's side."

" _How could a single colony join three governments at the same time? What does it matter if they join the war or not?_ "

"It seems you do not know the Milky Way galaxy as much as others. The Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans are the strongest forces in their side of the Milky Way galaxy and they are advanced enough to warrant a serious threat. As far as I am concerned the Kiros colony is no longer part of the Confederacy." Dooku explained, sounding like he was lecturing a child…

And not the Queen of a newly revived slave empire.

" _I will not stand for this, Count Dooku! You promised us slaves for our empire from that planet! It is why we joined your Confederacy in the very first place! Send your droid armies and take that planet!_ " Queen Miraj Scintel demanded.

Dooku was tempted to Force-choke the woman for her tone but stayed his hand. "You are in no position to demand anything from me. As far as I am concerned that planet is no longer suitable for your needs and I will not dirty my hands with an unnecessary fight nor will I bend over to please a Queen of tomfoolery."

" _Then we will take our slaves ourselves! We do not fear these Milky Way outsiders like you do!_ "

"Then you will do it alone. I will not send any help to aid your foolish attempt and if you attack that planet than you can consider our alliance done." Dooku stated.

" _Then the Zygerian Empire is no longer part of the Separatists! We will rebuild our slave empire without your help!_ "

Dooku watched as the woman cut the transmission, staring coldly at where the image had been. "A foolish woman indeed. At the very least we'll see how they deal with the Zygerians and their Queen."

This was an inconvenience at best as the Zygerians would have supplied a large amount of slaves needed for the Ultimate Weapon but they were still expendable at best. Still the fact that Milky Way Alliance had allowed the colony to join was unexpected and troubling. There were many systems that no doubt would ask for membership in order to stay out of the war. The last thing Dooku and his master needed was a third faction in the war.

Especially one that was as powerful and united as the main factions in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

On a brighter note Bespin was now under Confederacy control and Cloud City would soon be shipping tibana gas to Confederacy space but it was only a matter of time before the Republic discovered the lack of supplies coming from Bespin. They would have to move fast but luckily Dooku had sent an army lage enough to hold the planet long enough.

Dooku's thoughts were cut off as alarms started blaring. "What's happening?"

"I-I don't know! There's some kind of-" The battle droid was cut off as bright flash appeared before the Separatist flagship and it disappeared inside.

 **Milky Way  
Earth  
Paris**

Ahsoka hoped she wasn't late to meet Senator Chuchi at the place in Paris called the Louvre which was hard to pronounce for her at first and it was an odd name for a place but she wasn't one to judge. Now if she followed the directions right she would be right at the-

"Pardon me, madame but your service is required!" A loud voice shouted in her ear.

Just as Ahsoka spun around to see whoever shouted in her ear she heard the sound of fingers snapping and her vision was became a world of light.

And no one even noticed, that they would have from the beginning.

 **Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

"I must say this is very unexpected, Ambassador. Why did you not inform me of this before your fleet left?" Palpatine asked, remaining calm.

The Federation Ambassador, a blond haired woman dressed in a Federation Diplomatic Corps uniform named Alex Candice responded calmly. "The people of the colony asked that we not inform the Republic or the Confederacy of the matter. It was agreed that we wouldn't say anything on the matter until the governor of the colony offered an explanation."

"That's hardly a reason." Tarkin spoke up sourly. "Who gave you the right to suddenly decide to accept a planet from a galaxy outside of your own as part of your alliance?"

"The colony wished to remain neutral in the war and they have the right to decide whose side to join, even ones that are the main factions in this galaxy. It is not official yet but for the time being we have decided for their safety a fleet will remain to protect them." Alex answered smoothly. "I fail to see why you would be upset. The Confederacy apparently planned to use that colony as a military base in that system. By accepting their pleas for at least a temporary membership ensures that they remain neutral and Separatists are denied a base."

"What is upsetting is that you saw fit to keep us in the dark of the matter." Tarkin stated grimly.

"As I stated it's a neutral system and we were not under obligation to inform you of any neutral planets that ask for an alliance with us. The colony believed that neither the Republic nor the Confederacy could be trusted for various reasons. They were abandoned by the Confederacy at the beginning of the war whom they joined for the same reason that many other systems did, they believed the Republic was corrupt. We couldn't force them to join either side and they asked for us, not the Republic." Alex stated, her gaze meeting Tarkin's narrowed eyes. "If you believe you can convince the colony to join back with the Republic you are welcome to but we will not turn them away. The Klingons and the Romulans have agreed to this and they will not back down from this decision. Neither will the Federation no doubt and our representative on Raxus is no doubt having the same conversation with Count Dooku and the Separatist Senate and none of us will change our decision on this matter even if both the Confedarcy and the Republic protest this decision. No matter which side is recognized as the legitimate government in this galaxy if someone decides they wish to part of neither that is their decision to make."

Palpatine sighed but nodded. "Very well. At the very least the Separatists have been denied a base. However I would like to be kept in the loop for any future matters like these."

Tarkin looked like he would have argued farther but dropped the subject. Palpatine was about to say more but the office was suddenly engulfed by a flash of light.

 **Jedi Temple  
Council Chamber**

Anakin would rather be with Padme who was finally out of the hospital and back in her Senator Suite, still recovering her assimilatin by the Borg but was able to walk for the most part. However there was still a war happening and he had his responsibilities as a Jedi and a General. He had already been part of the battle on Umbara before suddenly being called back to Coruscant, leaving Jedi General Pong Krell to lead the 501st in his place.

" _And so I decree that our colony is now under the protection of the Alpha Quadrant Alliance from the Milky Way Galaxy for as long as we deem it necessary to remain neutral in the war._ "

The Jedi Council watched silently as the recording ended, leaving them to ponder what they had just seen.

"Well, this is rather unexpected." Obi-Wan stated.

"Unexpected and possible a sign of things to come. If the people of Kiros have joined the Milky Way Alliance it is only a matter of time before many more systems consider doing the same to remain neutral." Plo Koon commented.

"It is possible even Republic worlds will do the same to simply withdraw from the war and weaken us at the same time." Tre'jin stated. "Can joining a power from another galaxy be possible?"

"They are allowed to decide which side they want to join, even if it is not the Republic or the Separatists." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"Hmm…Possible it is." Yoda said thoughtfully.

"And what will the Senate say? They could protest this decision greatly." Ki-Adi-Mundi pointed out.

"We will have to wait and see." Mace Windu suggested.

()

"When the ships from the Milky Way appeared I knew it was going to generate a large amount of reactions but this one was unexpected." Obi-Wan commented as he and Anakin walked down the halls of the temple. "There are over a thousand neutral systems that might clamor for membership if only to ensure they don't become involved in the war. I cannot say for certain how the Senate or even the Separatists will react."

"Perhaps it is better. With threats like the Borg lurking out there it could be better if the Milky Way was more involved in our galaxy." Anakin pointed out.

"Speaking of, how is Senator Amidala?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing how important she was to his former Padawan.

"She's recovering. She can walk for a bit but she's in no shape to be attending any meetings. The Gungans have been helping Naboo's people set up new homes across the planet. It…Hasn't been easy. A lot of people are scared and angry." Anakin looked away for a second. "What the Borg did to the Naboo was horrible and it'll take them years to recover. And worst of all the Separatists are taking credit for saving Naboo from the Borg."

"As much as I dislike to say it they are not wrong. It was Grievous who destroyed the Borg Cube and led the assault on Theed." Obi-Wan said sadly. "And there was the matter of the mysterious new threat, the Iskalloni who are apparently from our galaxy. I cannot help but wonder what else is in our galaxy that has not been found."

Just as they reached the ground level of the Jedi Temple there was a sudden flash of light that spread through the Jedi Temple, surprising all the Jedi Masters, Knights, and younglings who closed their eyes as the light blinded them…

()

And when they opened their eyes to see themselves all in a massive chamber the size of a stadium with an audience of perhaps millions of people who were booing for some strange reason and every Jedi in the temple was seated before a massive podium.

A young white haired woman dressed in a twentieth century business suit stood in front of the podium and waved to the audience. "Welcome, one and all! All rise for his honor, Judge Q!"

There was massive cheer from the audience while the Jedi looked on in confusion. The Jedi were not the only ones that were confused.

"What is this? Where am I?!" Nearly all the Jedi moved to pull out their lightsabers when they saw General Grievous but to their surprise all lightsabers and weapons had vanished.

"Now, now, there will be no rough-housing here." The white haired woman stated, as talking to disobediant children.

"Ah do not worry your pretty head, Q. I took the liberty of making sure that such crude implements would not be brought here." A dark haired man said as he stepped into view, clad in a Starfleet uniform and bearing a mischievous smile on his face.

The woman rolled her eyes at the newcomer. "It is usually necessary to reinforce your point when it comes to these mortals, Q."

"Ah, true, true." The man known as Q nodded. "Point reinforced, conveyed and received, Q. Now let us get to the meat of today's matter, shall we?"

General Grievous turned on the pair and growled. "What sorcery is this?" He demanded. "And how dare you bring me here!"

"Did you hear something, dear Q?" The man asked without looking at the cyborg General. "It sounds like someone is trying to talk through a tube whilst suffering from a case of bad asthma-" He paused as he turned towards Grievous and donned a look of feigned surprise. "Oh! Why dear General Grievous, of course! I suppose not all toys can come off of the assembly line in perfect condition. Allow me to fix that."

The man snapped his fingers once and the General was consumed in a flash of light before he could even display his disdain at the casual insult. When it faded a much smaller but still impressively built figure stood in his place…that of a Kaleesh male.

"W-what just happened?" The Kaleesh murmured as he tried to adjust to the sudden change that had befallen him. "W…wait…" He looked down at his hands…his very much real and unmutilated hands. "What did you-" He turned, setting eyes on Count Dooku among the crowd of individuals that stood within the arena. "My lord, what has he done?!"

Dooku merely raised one brow in fascination as he analyzed the form of the now restored General Grievous. Before becoming a cyborg warrior the General had been a Kaleesh warlord of great renown…and now that same warlord stood before him looking as he had on the day before his body had been damaged beyond any hope of healing.

"It would appear that he has somehow restored you to your previous state, General." Dooku answered as Grievous continued to look over himself. "However if I were to venture a guess, the intent was more to show our host's capabilities rather than to be an act of charity."

"Ooooh we got a smart one here!" Q clapped his hands.

"Who are you? And by what power would you abduct us?" Chancellor Palpatine asked calmly, playing the part of an old man dealing with the annoying antics of some young troublemaker.

"Why I am so glad that you would ask!" Q replied, "This lovely spirited vixen next to me would be Q, that strapping young man who shall be recording every moment of this is my son Q Junior, and as for me…I am Q."

This explanation garnered stares from all before him.

"I think they are still confused, Q." The woman stated, causing Q to send her a curious glance.

"Really? How? I answered the question."

"This isn't the Milky Way, Q. They might be actually less intelligent than the usual mortals you fool around with."

Q snapped his fingers again and nodded. "By Jove you're right! Why in that case I should bring some qualified experts who are familiarized with our ways to better explain."

He snapped his fingers again, and this time several more figures appeared in the arena in flashes of light.

"What the hell-" Captain Kurt Malcolm blinked as he looked around and turned one shade paler as he set eyes on Q. "…Captain Creed, Captain Shon, Admiral Denola, Commander Jarock, Colonel Kerath, Ambassador Candice? Please tell me you all are not seeing the same thing and that that is NOT Q."

Next to him, Captain Nathan Creed sighed and straightened out his jacket. "I'm afraid that we can't, Captain Malcolm." He shook his head. "Belive me, I wish I could."

"So that is Q." Admiral Denola stated, crossing her arms. "I was told he would appear as a mundane man but I still had higher expectations."

"Oh my dear! Forgive me," Q bowed his head, "Perhaps I should take the form that I used to charm a Romulan Empress one time. And I don't refer to the blonde temporal mistaken maniac of a Starfleeter's daughter. Unfortunately you are not the center of today's agenda, I've merely brought you here to help…" He gestured with one hand. "Smooth the process along as we deal with your rather…backwards neighbours."

He pointed to the assembled group taken from the Republic and Confederacy.

Nathan looked them over. "The Chancellor of the Republic, two of the leaders of the Confederacy and the Jedi Council? Q I can't believe that I'm asking this but I actually want to know what the hell you're thinking this time."

Q shrugged innocently. "Oh that's quite simply my dear friend: myself and the Q Continuum intend to put the Jedi and quite possibly the whole of the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems on trial for crimes against intelligent life."

…

Kurt groaned. "Oh great…this song and dance again." He sighed, "You already tried this with Picard and now you're pulling it here too?"

"Ah but this is a very different matter Captain Malcolm. There is actually valid proof that these 'warrior monks' have caused catastrophic amount of destruction, possibly the most in the history of this galaxy and far more than any war or conflict in your own." Q explained. "And the Q Continuum feels that, given their track record in the past millennia it is necessary for them to answer both for what has occurred thanks to their Order…and what is to come if it continues to exist."

In a few seconds Q had gone from amusing and irksome to…intimidating in how he spoke. Each word carried a weight with it that could be felt by everyone.

The first to respond however was Anakin Skywalker himself.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, making sure to mind his temper despite the offence he felt at Q's words. "The Jedi are guardians of the Republic, what have we done to be put on trial?"

"Oh you shall be told every last gruesome detail of your order's checkered past and perhaps even its forboding future, Little Annie." Q replied sardonically.

"And who are you to put us on trial in the first place?" Mace asked, his expression and tone hiding any feelings he may have held on the matter.

"I told you: I am Q of the Q Continuum. But if you require a more…primitive answer, simply ask our guests from the Milky Way." Q gestured to the quartet. "They are here to help you after all."

Captain Creed stepped forward while shaking his head. "Oh joy…" He muttered, "Okay listen closely because this matter is more serious than anything else you'll have ever faced in your lives. Q and his people are a race of non-corporeal beings of complete omnipotence and possibly limitless power along with immortality. They've visited members of Starfleet in the past and once even put humanity in our galaxy on trial. Q may seem harmless and eccentric but trust me when I say that if he wished so he could snuff out your entire civilization with one thought while reciting all the numbers of Pi just to see if he could do both at once. He's also visited myself and Captain Malcolm in the past for varying reasons, but one pattern is that he was never just there to goof around even if he might want you to think he is."

He stepped aside as Kurt stepped forward next. "Q has done a lot of things that's earned him the disdain of just about every race in our Galaxy, but at the same time those people he visited were tested for a variety of reasons that usually had to do with how their civilizations would develop. I hate to say this but…him bringing you here undoubtedly has justifiable cause even if you might think otherwise. Right now your best hope is to do what we did: pass whatever test or trial he has set up…and to never expect this to be the last time you see him if you do."

Obi-Wan Kenobi approached the two. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly did he approach you two for?"

Nathan and Kurt exchanged wary glances before the former spoke. "I'd really rather not say what the end goal was, just that he did his best to annoy me the whole time. I looked up records about him and tried the one thing that I thought would get him to leave me alone."

"Which was…?"

Kurt answered. "He punched him in the face."

…

"I'm not kidding."

"Captain Sisko did the same thing and never saw the guy again," Nathan justified the decision. "But I do it and suddenly the guy keeps popping in every two or three months for some convoluted test of his. Now I know how Picard and Janeway felt only I don't have one tenth of the patience for dancing around in some verbal jousting match with the guy."

Ahsoka thought back to a particular meeting on Earth with a man who went by the name of Sisko. He had told her to do that exact thing should she ever meet a man by the name of Q and here she was now in his very court. Unfortunately his advice may not be as reliable, given Captain Creed's tale.

"What will happen if we were to fail this test?" Count Dooku inquired.

"Good question." Kurt said before looking at Q. "Q, what happens if your defendants are found guilty?"

"Simple: they shall be denied existence."

"Translation: he'll destroy you all." Nathan said.

"Oh no Captain, it will simply be that the Jedi will never have existed. And with that the Sith will have never existed either. Their eternal war across the ages will have never happened, no Sith Lord will ever rise up either by being tempted through the ghost of some fallen predecessor, no young ambitious Jedi shall discover some ancient secret and be consumed by a thirst for power. Nothing at all! They shall simply have never happened, reduced to an echo of a terrible memory from an erased timeline." Q explained, clearly enjoying each and every word he spoke.

Those from the Order were having an increasingly difficult time in suppressing any fears or worries at this information. Even Dooku and Palpatine felt disturbed by the notion of what would happen if the Jedi Order had simply never existed in the first place, how the Galaxy would be so heavily altered from its absence.

"However if they can prove just as you did that they are worthy of continuing to exist then they shall be left to their devices…for the time being." Q added, "But let us not waste anymore time. Court is now in session, and presiding shall be the honourable Judge Q himself!"

He snapped is fingers and vanished on the spot, reappearing behind the podium overlooking the arena. His attire had changed, becoming more regal and adding some form of headwear. He was surrounded by a group of duplicates of himself who appeared to be taking notes and analyzing those down below.

"Oh great, Qs as a jury too." Nathan sighed, "Q, you can't have members of the Continuum as members of the Jury!"

"And why not?"

"Besides being as far from being anything close to qualifying as compassionate or impartial…a jury has to be made up of people of similar standing, in this case that means mortals seeing as the word 'fellow peers' goes right out the window when you put this many people on trial."

"Are you offering to defend them, Captain Creed?"

Nathan looked at Kurt, who shrugged and took a step away. For added effect a spotlight was aimed down at the Captain as he glared up at Q.

"It's why you brought us here in the first place, isn't it? You wouldn't bring us here just to give an explanation about who you are to the defendants…you want us to be their appointed lawyers for this trial."

Q clapped his hands. "And he has it! I knew he would get it, Captain Creed is quite perceptive! Just as I predicted!"

"Q, if I ever get the chance I will punch you in the face _again._ " The Captain deadpanned.

Kurt set a hand on his colleague's shoulder. "Nathan, you do realize that this might be the exact reason that he likes bothering you so much: he knows he can get under your skin."

"I know and don't care. Besides him making my work a lot harder he offends me with his very presence as much as he claims mortals annoy him by existing." Nathan replied, "The worst part is that every time he does show up and turn what should be a normal day of research or travel into his own personal circus by the end of it he pulls the rug out from under me and reveals some lesson that I never would have seen coming. So if the only pleasure that I can get from his company is punching him in the face then so be it."

"I share Captain Creed's feeling on this matter." Colonel Kerath stated, crossing his arms. "Worf told me about the _Enterprise_ 's encounters with this Q and I see why Worf spoke with such disdain about him."

"Well then I suppose it would be too troublesome to find a jury. So instead of going through the trouble let's see if you are as good as Picard and Janeway at proving yourselves, only now you're protecting someone else this time." Q remarked and looked to the female Q. "Now that that is out of the way court is now in session. We will start with prosecutor Q since the defense decided that the jury is not needed."

The female Q grinned as she stepped in front of the podium. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Continuum. We have assembled here, observing the new galaxy found by our dear friends," The Milky Way denizens rolled their eyes or snorted at being labelled friends of the Q. "A galaxy that has been plagued by war and destruction. Now we all know that no galaxy or dimension has ever gone without so form a conflict. It's to be expected from mortals, they always have their little problems and always like solve problems with their grimy little paws and fancy gun sticks but this conflict is much worse. It is a conflict brought on…By a simple argument that manifested into pure spite that has continued for thousands and thousands of mortal years, culminating into the death of _trillions!_ " The lady Q spread her arms out dramatically. "Yes, this is no exaggeration on my part. The Jedi, the so-called Guardians of peace have played a direct hand in the greatest wars the Skyriver galaxy had ever experienced, denying the peace and prosperity they claim to bring, acting as judge, jury, and even exectutionar of anyone whom they believe to be a threat to the so-called peace. What makes it worse is that they claim to be compassionate when they are in fact indifferent to how greatly their own galaxy has truly suffered. And now we shall prove it…" She snapped her fingers and images of battles being waged by the Jedi were shown to the courtroom, ending with the bombing of a planet. "Behold their first crime. The outcome of the little spat known as the Great Hyperspace War, ending in the bombardment of the planet Korriban. This is their first crime against intelligent life: genocide or at least attempted genocide."

The crowd in the massive audience started booing at the Jedi.

"Now we skip a few thousand years later we come to another war that though the Jedi didn't start they certainly had no effort to help: the Mandalorian wars." Lady Q snapped her fingers, now showing images of Mandalorians invading and conquering dozens of planets. "The brutish fellows right here, Mandalorians who are pretty much glory obsessed barbarians, not too different from the Klingons."

Colonel Kerath's right eye twitched at the insult but said nothing.

"They invaded worlds, committed genocide and slavery while at the same indoctrinating many of their prisoners to join and fight for their new masters. The men were the lucky ones, they were only enslaved but the woman…Well the less about what happened to them said the better. And what did the Jedi do? Nothing!" Lady Q exclaimed, sending the crowd into another yelling frensy. "They sat in their towers, refusing to aid the thousands of worlds being invaded and subjugated, going against their code of being peacekeepers and compassionate for all life. Only a handful of Jedi actually went to aid their precious Republic in its times of need while the rest sat and waited for the war to end before demanding the 'renegades' to return to be judged for their disobedience. Once again going back on their so-called code believing themselves beyond any reproach or explanation and committing their second crime: depraved indifference." Lady Q grinned. "And onto their next crime, I don't suppose the Jedi ever told their Milky Way guests how they recruit people into their order to be trained? It was done…By child abduction!"

That seemed to cause an even bigger reaction from the crowd whose boos were even louder. Kurt glanced over his shoulder at Anakin who gripped his hands into fists.

"That's right, folks. They take children from across their galaxy, preferably infants and even take them _away_ from their families and it is not usually done by their consent. No, no, no. It is sometimes done by blackmail or bribery." Lady Q threw a nasty grin at the Jedi as she chuckled. "They are taken as blank slates, taught to suppress their emotions. To never feel anything that all sentients feel, even we Q and yet they are supposed to keepers of the peace and to treat all life as sacred. A bit hard to be act as protectors of the innocent when they feel absolutely nothing while commiting a third crime or rather a few more crimes: extortion, abduction, the trampling of a family's right and choice to remain together and keep their child, and even the crime of brainwashing!" She snapped her fingers, showing the image of Jedi Padawans…being killed by their own masters. "Even worse they are so sure of themselves that if they suspected their own so-called apprentices if they were even suspected of joing the so-called Dark Side which leads to the next crime: betrayal. But their greatest crime of all…Is that they are responsible for nearly each and every war that has happened in this galaxy, even the current war."

"That's a lie!" Anakin shouted, unable to hold himself any longer.

As Obi-Wan tried to calm him down Lady Q turned and faced Anakin with a smirk. "Does this defendant plead not-guilty to these accusations?"

Anakin opened his mouth to respond before Obi-Wan squeezed his shoulder, causing the younger Jedi to look over his shoulder and meet his master's stern gaze. "…" He inhaled slowly before responding calmly. "Yes."

"Ooh, don't stop there, I'm sure the Defendant had a lot more to say!" Q, the judge, called out. "I suppose the Prosecutor has more then made her case so would anyone wish to plead their own defence?"

Creed and Malcolm began to exchange hushed whispers. They were joined by Denola and Kerath who added their own words before approaching where the Jedi Council had gathered.

"I know that the following may sound displeasing to you all," Denola said, "But for the time being you may be required to put aside your differences with your foes from the Confederacy. It will be difficult enough to defend one group, but if both are continuously at one another's throats it will kill any hope of proving your innocence."

Mace frowned, "…I cannot argue with that…unfortunately." The Jedi Master confessed. "Our fate is theirs, and this trial clearly is beyond even our current conflict." He looked to where Dooku and Grievous stood away from the rest, the latter still examining his restored body. "Bring them over and we can begin…discussing our defence."

Anakin shook his head. "Can't believe it. Actually having to work with Grievous and Dooku of all people."

Yoda chuckled softly. "Discover you will, young Skywalker, in the darkest of times the greatest friend your oldest foe may become." He said before making his way towards the pair.

Grievous clearly did not approve of the ancient Jedi Master's presence, but Dooku reacted more calmly to his former teacher. They kept their voices low, speaking at room volume while Dooku would periodically gesture for Grievous to remain silent if he made any aggressive moves or statements. Nearly a minute later Yoda returned with them in tow.

"Master Yoda has convinced me that it would be in our best interests to cooperate with one another." Dooku said, "For the time being at least."

Colonel Kerath crossed his arms. "I just hope that you realize just how serious the Q can be, and more especially how dangerous they are. The Klingon Empire once never would have perceived working side by side with the Federation even in the most drastic of cirucmstances. Should you Jedi be as in control of your emotions as that Q has described you to be then this should be much easier."

"Well then I suppose we should begin by presenting a defence." Kurt proposed, "We'll need to be informed on the details behind what the Continuum has shown us, starting with the Great Hyperspace War."

Captain Creed nodded and stepped forward with Denola. "Your honour, we would like to call our first witness." The Starfleet Captain tried not to focus on how he'd just called Q 'your honour' or the look of smug satisfaction on Q's face.

"Oh? Well then do so!"

Denola cleared her throat. "We wish to call Grand Master of the Jedi Order Yoda to the stand first."

"Very well!"

One snap of Q's fingers later and Yoda appeared in the witness box, seated on a raised chair.

Denola approached and began her inquiry. "Master Yoda, despite not having witnessed most of the events in question you do possess a thorough understanding of the history of the Jedi Order and significant events in the Skyriver Galaxy, correct?"

"Familiar with them, I am. Taught for many years I was." Yoda nodded.

"Do you know of the events that led up to the Great Hyperspace War?"

"Indeed." Yoda answered, "Encompassed the entire Republic, it did."

"Were the Jedi responsible for the war?"

"No." Yoda shook his head. "Start the war, we did not."

"Could you please explain the events of the war?"

"Began the war did, upon discovery of the ancient Sith Empire. Led by Naga Sadow, the Sith pushed towards Coruscant. Fought back the Republic did, pushing the Sith fleet to their home planet. Ordered by the Supreme Chancellor to invade Sith space, the Republic was. Died, many on both sides did but victorious the Republic was." Yoda explained.

"The Republic and the Jedi ordered their forces to invade Sith space. Were they ordered to commit genocide?" Denola asked.

"No." Yoda shook his head. "Exiled, the surviving Sith were. Believed to have died out, the Republic did."

"So neither the Jedi nor the Republic started the war? They did not provoke the Sith in any way?" Denola asked.

"No." Yoda answered. "Lust for new territories to conquer, the Sith did. Believed they could conquer the Republic, they did."

"And the great Mandalorian Wars? Did the Jedi participate in that war?"

Yoda closed his eyes. "Did not at first. Sensed a greater threat, the Council of that time did. Believed best to wait for the threat to reveal itself, the Council did."

"What about the handful of Jedi that did participate? Does that mean that the Jedi did indeed take part in the war to stop the Mandalorians?" Denola carefully asked.

"Led by the fallen Jedi Revan they were. Disagreed with the Council's decision they did. Fought the Mandarlorians and defeated them, they did." Yoda answered. "Asked to retrun they were, but only one did."

"And what did the Council do?"

"Exiled the Jedi was. Known as the Exile in the archives she is. But exiled for aiding in the war, she was not." Yoda bowed his head. "Another reason there was. Lost in history, the reason is."

"Then we can only move on. The prosecutor showed us Jedi killing their students. Can you explain to us that event?"

Yoda closed his eyes, his ears lowering slighty. "Act of the Jedi Convenant it was. A secret group, meant to prevent the Sith from returning. Believed one of their Padawans would fall and become a Dark Lord of the Sith they did. Authorize their actions, the Council did not."

"So this group carried out these murders without knowledge or authorization of the Council. What happened when they learned what happened?"

"Dissolved it was, after attempting to destroy the Jedi Council."Yoda answered.

"So it wasn't in fact the Jedi Order but a secret group inside the Order that carried out these murders. In other words they were rogues, not official Jedi that committed these crimes." Denola stated.

"Yes."

"And are the Jedi responsible for the current war?"

"No. Start this war, the Jedi did not." Yoda shook his head.

"Objection!" Lady Q called out. "Master Yoda was not present at the beginning of the first battle that started the war. Even if he has reports of everything that happened he cannot be called upon as a witness."

"I'll rephrase it. What began that first battle?" Denola stated.

"Captured Masters Kenobi, Knight Skywalker, and Senator Amidala the Separatists did. Uncovered evidence that the Separatists were building a droid army and that behind the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala Viceroy Gunray was, Master Kenobi did. Intend to execute them, the Separatists did. Vote to give the Chancellor emergency powers, allow him to approve and create an army to counter the threat the Senate did. Visited I did, the cloners on Kamino to see the army they had created." Yoda explained. "Arrived I did with the army to save the surviving Jedi that had gone to rescue the prisoners on Geonosis. Attemped to stop the start of the war we did."

"So this was a response to the attempted assassinations and executions that the Confederay authorized. Did Count Dooku authorize them?"

"Yes. Discovered by Master Kenobi, it was." Yoda nodded.

"So this disputes the Prosecutor's claim." Denola faced the Lady Q. "The Confederacy allowed one of its leaders to hire assassins to murder a senator of the Republic before war was even declared. Building up armed forces might not be seen as a complete prelude to war but attempted assassination of a senator without proper provocation is hardly the Jedi's fault." Denola faced Yoda again. "Master Yoda, do you know why Viceory Gunray ordered the assassination?"

"Revenge it was for his capture in the Naboo occupation." Yoda stated.

"An occupation that was done without authorization of the Senate, correct?"

"Yes." Yoda nodded again.

"So this was a personal vendetta against a senator who was Queen at the time who was simply trying to defend her planet. And yet the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a government formed by systems that left to form their own government, believing the Republic was corrupt still allowed him to hire assassins to carry out the hit he placed on the senator." Denola stated, glancing at Lady Q. "It's hard to imagine how the Jedi could have been responsible for someone else's wish for personal vengeance. Unless you know something that disputes Master Yoda's statement."

Lady Q simply grinned. "No questions."

"Then the witness may step down." Q snapped his fingers and Yoda was back with the Jedi. "Call your next witness."

Kerath was next. "We call the Jedi known as Obi-Wan Kenobi to the stand."

Q snapped his fingers and Obi-Wan was now in the witness stand as Kerath approached him.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, you were captured on the planet Geonosis and you were present at the beginning of the Clone Wars, were you not?" Kerath asked.

"Yes, I was." Obi-Wan nodded.

"Can you explain the events leading up to the battle?"

"Following the failed assassination attempt on Senator Amidala I followed a lead based on information provided to me at the scene of the crime that the bounty hunter in question at some point had been to the planet Kamino. I discovered that the natives were using a bounty hunter named Jango Fett to build a clone army that was for the Republic. I tracked the bounty hunter to Geonosis where I discovered that Viceroy Gunray was behind the assassination attempts and that the Trade Federation and several mega-corporations had joined the Separatists and were building a massive droid army. I was captured while relaying a message to the Republic and sentenced to be executed in a Geonosian arena." Obi-Wan explained.

"Do you believe that your infiltration onto a world not aligned with the Republic was what started the war?"

"No. The Separatists were already preparing for war against the Republic. My presence there had no effect in that matter." Obi-Wan stated.

Kerath nodded and glanced at Lady Q. "Do you have any questions?"

"Yes. Just one." Lady Q smirked. "Who ordered the creation of the clone army?"

"A Jedi Master named Sifo-Dyas." Obi-Wan answered.

"And is he here now?"

"No. He was killed over ten years ago." Obi-Wan said carefully. "The Kaminoans claim he contacted them and arranged for the army's creation but he did not have authorization from the Jedi Council or the Senate."

"So a Jedi secretly orders a clone army for your Republic and then mysteriously dies? How could this army be continued for ten years if your Jedi has been dead? Surely the Kaminoans were contacted many times about the progress of the army. Why keep creating an army when no one was supervising them?" Lady Q questioned.

"…The bounty hunter, Jango Fett claimed he was recruited by a man named Tyrannus." Obi-Wan stated. "I can only assume he took over after Master Sifo-Dyas was killed."

"And how was he killed?"

"He was dispatched to the planet Felucia to negotiate with several warring tribes. The negotiations supposedly failed and he was killed." Obi-Wan said.

"Supposedly? Can you honestly say you know how he died even if he was alone?" Lady Q smirked. "Perhaps we should bring him here to ask him in person."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "You can resurrect the dead?"

"I'd like to think of it as picking him from before he died." Lady Q giggled. "That is, if his honor has no problems with that."

"Sorry, prosecutor. We can't get away with resurrecting the dead in their galaxy anytime we want." Judge Q said disappointingly.

Obi-Wan shared a look with Anakin and several Jedi. So the Q had some form of limits to their so-called omnipotence but the fact that they could bring back the dead was astonishing, even the Lady Q had worded it differently.

"You claim that the Jedi Council had no idea that one of their own ordered a clone army for the Republic and yet when you truly needed an army you accepted it without question. Did you not question how fortunate you were that an army was ready to help you?" Lady Q asked.

"It was perhaps a coincidence but Master Sifo-Dyas would not have ordered the army's creation without good reason." Obi-Wan reasoned.

"Of course since the Jedi rarely do things without reason." Lady Q snickered as she stepped back. "I have no further questions for this one. I have my own witness to call upon. I call…Chancellor Palpatine to the stand!"

Q snapped his fingers and in a flash of light Palpatine was in Obi-Wan's place while Obi-Wan was back with the Jedi.

"You are Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Galactic Republic, are you not?" Lady Q asked.

"I am." Palpatine nodded, keeping to his role.

"How did you come to be Chancellor?"

"I was nominated as Supreme Chancellor and sympathy for my planet's plight at the time allowed me to win the election." Palpatine answered.

"Your planet's plight, by which you mean the occupation of Naboo by the slimy mega-corporation known as the Trade Federation. Correct?"

"Yes." Palpatine nodded.

"Why was your planet occupied?"

"It was in response to the heavy taxation of trade routes and in protest to the matter the Trade Federation blockaded Naboo." Palpatine answered.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I misspoke. What I mean is why was _your_ planet the one that was occupied?" Lady Q clarified.

"Excuse me?" Palpatine asked.

"Out of all the planets they could have chosen why was your planet the one to be invaded and occupied?"

"I suppose it was because Naboo was a non-violent world. Without a defense force to resist them the Nemoidians could easily occupy the planet and spin any story they would need to justify the invasion to the Senate." Palpatine stated. "In addition Naboo has always possessed vast political strength and the Trade Federation may have been counting on their occupation to give their cause more weight."

"And what was the Republic's reponse to the blockade?"

"Two Jedi Knights were sent to negotiate a settlement but they were almost killed along with the Republic crew that escorted them to Naboo." Palpatine said. "They managed to get the Queen off planet and brought her to Coruscant to plead her case. Unfortunately the Senate was too bogged down in procedures and some were on the payroll of the Trade Federation to prevent a proper response. Eventually a vote of no confidence in my predecessor's leadership was called."

"All the while a planet was enduring a harsh occupation?"

"As sad as I am to say, yes." Palpatine said, sounding saddened.

"And I suppose that after you were elected you planned to do away with this corruption."

"Yes." Palpatine nodded.

"And yet how could you not prevent your Republic from fracturing?"

"Excuse me?" Palpatine asked.

"You are the current Chancellor and yet it was during your term that thousands of worlds began breaking way to form their own government. How could you have let that happen?"

"It was not my intention. For many years now there have been attempts to lower or eliminate taxes, grant graft in exchange for political favors, or withdraw from the Republic for isolationist or xenophobic reasons. I was forced to remain in office during the year I was to step down to discuss a Military Creation Act in the event of civil war." Palpatine said humbly.

"What about negotiations?"

"I was indeed preparing to negotiate with the Separatists in the interest of keeping the Republic from fracturing but upon discovering that the Trade Federation, Commerce Guilds, and the Corporate Alliance had pledged their armies to Count Dooku and the Separatists and were preparing for war the Senate became fearful and immediately voted to hand me Emergency Powers until the crises was solved."

"And you of course plan to hand that power back."

"Yes." Palpatine nodded.

"So tell me, if you claim to love democracy so much why do you refuse negotiations?" Lady Q asked dryly.

Palpatine raised an eyebrow but took a deep breath. "I'm afraid negotiating with the Separatists would only be seen as legitimizing their so-called government and that it took the countless deaths of many worlds and terrorist activities to force me to come to the table."

"So you would rather more die than sacrifice your dear pride to actually end a war." Lady Q smirked.

"It is not my pride that prevents me, it's my wish to stand against the atrocities the Separatist have committed." Palpatine stated.

"What about the autrocities you have committed?" Palpatine raised an eyebrow as Lady Q snapped her fingers and before him appeared the image of a familiar animal. "Do you remember what this is?"

"Why yes. It is a Zillo Beast." Palpatine answered.

"Yes, if I remember correctly you kidnapped the last of this species, brought it to Coruscant to be experimented on, and resulted in the deaths of thousands when the creature escaped and went on a rampage across surface of the planet Coruscant until it was killed." Lady Q smirked. "You ordered it brought there, your incompetence allowed it to escape and kill people in its rampage as it searched the city…For you!" She pointed at Palpatine's face. "Don't you think its odd that the creature managed to find you by meer coincidence? Or perhaps it was truly intelligent and it sought revenge against you for ordering it to be killed."

"There…Is a possibility." Palpatine admitted.

"Oh a possibility. Now it sounds like your pulling excuses out of your wrinkly old backside. May I ask what you did with the animal's body?"

"It was sent away." Palpatine answered.

"To be left to rest in peace or to be experimented on?" Lady Q narrowed her eyes. "Do not think you can lie to me, Chancellor? I am a Q and I can see through any form of deception. Though I must say, you have nice manners…For a politician, a murderer and a liar!"

"How dare you?!"

Lady Q grinned as she looked at the infuriated look on Anakin's face. "Can't take the truth huh? I suppose this will change your mind." She snapped her fingers and the image of Palpatine handing Dr. Boil a padd was shown as the Zillo Beast's body was taken away.

" _You want to…Clone the beast?!_ " _Dr. Boil asked in shock._

"As you can see, it was not enough to kill an innocent animal for its skin. He ordered its body to be used for creating more. Fortunately the cloning process has yet to yield any results or we'd be looking at more than one incident." Lady Q stated smugly.

Palpatine reined in his emotions, calling on years of arguments in the Senate to keep a cool head. "Yes…I did order that some of the Zilo Beast's DNA be taken for use in cloning. I did this in the hopes of one day recreating the species on its homeworld or another suitable and isolated planet. It was a tragedy for any species to die out, and I only ordered its death with a heavy heart."

"Such a bleeding heart of generosity," Lady Q mused, "No more questions."

"Does the defense have any questions?" Q asked.

Alex Candice stood up and approached Palpatine. "Chancellor Palpatine, you say you cannot negotiate on the fact that it would legitimize the Separatists and the atrocities they have committed. Can you list a few of the atrocities?"

"Well, there was the matter of the Dark Reaper, a weapon the Separatists found and attempted to reactivate with the intent of inflicting mass destruction. They invaded a moon in the Kasshyyk system and enslaved the Wookie population with the later intent to exterminate them. There were several similar attacks on Mon Calamari, Agamar, and Bakura. Then there were the harsh occupations on Christophses, Ryloth, and Mon Calamari where the population was enslaved and their resources stripped from them." Palpatine started. "They even used a peace summit as a way launch a sneak attack on Coruscant and assassinated Mon Calamari's king to bring it under their control. There was also the matter of the Blue Shadow Virus, a deadly disease they attempted to recreate on Naboo that would have led to the death of millions if it had spread. I would also like to bring up the number of planets attacked by General Grievous that left thousands dead, many of them civilians that were unable to defend themselves. These are just a handful of what the Separatists have inflicted on many worlds."

"So negotiations can be considered impossible due to the hard facts that many of the Separatists, including Count Dooku and General Grievous have no wish for peace?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Palpatine nodded.

"Thank you, Chancellor. I have no more questions." Alex stated.

Q snapped his fingers and Palpatine was back with the Jedi. "And who shall speak now?"

"I call General Grievous to the stand." Lady Q said, grinning as Grievous appeared on the chair. "Well, well, how's it feel to have a body of living flesh again?"

Grievous glared darkly at the prosecutor. "You don't actually expect me to participate in this?"

"You wouldn't talk, even with a chance to wipe out all Jedi, past, present, and future?" Lady Q asked smugly. "All I'm asking for is the truth."

"Truth?" Grievous narrowed his eyes.

"That's right. Tell us why the Jedi deserve to be denied existence and with a snap of the fingers they'll be gone and well…You'll never end up in the cheap metal shell." Lady Q ran a hand through her hair.

Grievous stared at Lady Q before deciding. "Very well."

"Tell us how the Jedi earned your undying hate." Lady Q stated.

"They tried to kill me. They planted a bomb on my ship and I barely survived. And before that they caused the death and starvation of my people." Grievous growled.

"Really? They claim to be an honorable sort." Lady Q commented.

"Honor?! Where was their honor when they forced my people into debt after they helped our enemies who invaded our world and enslaved us?!" Grievous shouted.

"Oh?" Lady Q smirked. "Please explain."

Grievous closed his eyes, his hands tightening into fists. "We were at war with the Huk. They call themselves the Yam'rii. My people, the Kaleesh shared a system with them and they invaded our planet, choosing to plunder and enslave our world. They oppressed us for generations until I finally united my people and fought back, driving them off our planet and chased them back to their homeplant, taking their colonies and almost their homeworld." Grievous glared at the Jedi, his eyes full of hate. "But they, the Jedi and their Republic stopped us! They told us we were the aggressors and that the Huk were the victims! They forced us to stop the war when we were so close! We needed their supplies and resources to help our people survive but they didn't care!" Grievous banged a fist down onto the stand. "They imposed sanctions on us and because of them thousands of my people starved and died! They didn't care! They only welcomed in worlds that could be of use to them, like the resources on the Huk's home planet!"

"Really?" Lady Q glanced at the Jedi, grinning. "So the Jedi cared not for the suffering of the Kaleesh at all? Goes against their precious code doesn't it? Thousands of innocents, including woman and children, dying of starvation. How terrible. So how did your body end up mutiliated?"

"…I was approached by San Hill who offered to take on my planet's debt in exchange for me becoming the leader of his armies of soulless mercanaries. Anyone that owed them I was sent to deal with and they helped my people recover. But I wanted to leave when the Huk desecrated a sacred Kaleesh ground and on my way back to Kaleesh my shuttle was destroyed by a bomb planted on my shuttle. I barely survived and when I awoke…" Grievous shut his eyes as he looked down, staring his body.

His _flesh_ body.

"My body had been mutiliated beyond any hope of repair. I was left alive in a bacta tank that I could not leave or I would die. San Hill approached me, offering to place my remains in a cybernetic body that would allow me to take revenge on the ones who did it; the Jedi." Grievous's eyes flashed with even more hate as he looked at the Jedi. "They planted the bomb, killed my comrades and almost myself! It wasn't enough for them to sit by and let my people, my family die in front of my eyes. They had to take away my life as well! They are nothing but self-righteous hypocrites who decides just who are the winners and losers because of their so-called Force!"

For many of the Jedi present they found themselves disturbed by their hated enemy's tale. Even in this strange plain of existence they had a capacity for empathy and sensing the truth in one's words…and everything that the General said rung with truth.

"Did…did the Jedi really do that, master?" Ahsoka whispered to Anakin.

Anakin glanced at Windu. "…I'm curious to know the answer to that myself, snips."

"No more questions for the witness." Lady Q dismissed Grievous.

"We need somebody with first hand knowledge of that conflict." Admiral Denola whispered to her companions. "A Jedi preferably. They are not inclined to lie under most circumstances, and in a court of law even as deranged as Q's I doubt they could lie at all."

"Agreed." Captain Malcolm agreed before looking up at Q. "Q, we require a witness who has first hand knowledge of the previously mentioned conflict. With your permission we would like to call to the stand any Jedi who was present during the conflict between the Kaleesh and the Huk."

Q rubbed his chin. "I believe that I know just the person to talk to!" He snapped his fingers…

And a Jedi that had not been present with the Jedi when they had been brought here but the others recognized him instantly.

"Who is that?" Alex asked.

"That is Master T'chooka D'oon, one of the Jedi who had been assigned to stop the war between the Kaleesh and the Huk. But he was killed nearly a year ago…" Obi-Wan threw a look at Grievous who looked as surprised to see him as the others since Grievous was the one who killed him.

It seems the Q were indeed capable of bringing people back to life.

"One Jedi Master T'chooka D'oon, who was among the detachment of Jedi dispatched alongside a Republic task force who is up to date on everything going on." Q stated, "The witness is yours."

Captain Malcolm had not exactly been expecting that particular twist, but chose to simply act as though nothing was amiss as he stepped up to D'oon.

"Master D'oon, for the record: were you present during the conflict between the Kaleesh and the Huk?"

D'oon nodded. "Yes, I was sent to intervene on behalf of the Huk, better known as the Yam'rii when they appealed to the Galactic Senate for assistance."

"Under what circumstances were you told that you would be intervening?" Captain Malcolm asked, "What were you told about this conflict?"

"The Chancellor informed us that the Yam'rii were facing an invasion by the Kaleesh, who had massacred hundreds of thousands of their citizens across their colonies and were poised to inflict genocide on their home planet." D'oon answered.

"Did you attempt to verify this claim?"

"We had no reason to doubt it at the time, and when we attempted to request that the Kaleesh stand down and cease their aggression they ignored us. When we ordered them to listen they became violent and attacked us, killing several Jedi." D'oon shut his eyes as he recalled that day. "I was left in command by the time the decision was made to engage the Kaleesh. First we attacked their fleet in orbit over the Huk homeworld before I personally led the Jedi taskforce down to remove their occupation force. Afterwards the Kaleesh counter attacked in an attempt to launch a secondary invasion, and we were forced to push them back to their own homeworld before they were unable to continue any military operations."

"Master D'oon, do you believe that your actions were necessary in order to minimize the loss of life?" Captain Malcolm asked.

D'oon nodded. "I fully believe that unless we had acted as we had the Kaleesh would have annihilated the Yam'rii. If I had been aware of the prior actions of the Yam'rii my decision may have been affected, but the Kaleesh chose to fire upon us rather than acknowledge our request for a ceasefire. If they had at least attempted to explain these circumstances they may have at least avoided sanctions from the Senate."

"What about the claim that the Senate ignored their plight in favor of the Huk due to the Huk possessing more vital resources?"

"I cannot say if that is true or not. At the time I was only presented with the information that I recited moments ago." D'oon answered, "If the Senate did choose to do so then the Senators responsible were acting without the approval of the Council or the Chancellor. I supported the Yam'rii because they were truly in need of help and would have died if we had not helped them. My decision angered the Kaleesh who in turn attacked us, forcing us to defend ourselves."

"And the attempt on Grievous' life? Did the Jedi under your command plant a bomb on his ship?"

D'oon shook his head. "No. That could have only happened after we departed. Once the Kaleesh were neutralized I departed with my remaining Knights to bury our dead back on Coruscant. I can verify that none of the surviving Jedi that had participated in the conflict were in the system past the day when the Kaleesh were defeated."

"Is it possible that it was carried without your knowledge? Is it possible that a Jedi did in fact attempt to assassinate Grievous who was the leader of his people in the war?"

"No. The Jedi Council would never authorize an assassination like this even against someone like Grievous." D'oon answered.

Grievous glared at the Jedi and would probably would shouted he was lying but remained silent. It was obvious to him the Jedi was lying to save his own skin.

"You can say that honestly even though apparently Grievous killed you? Obi-Wan says you were killed almost a year ago now." Malcolm stated.

"Yes but technically Q brought me forward in time to after I died. I imagine that when I am done here he will send me back." D'oon glanced back up at Q.

"Sorry, I'm bending a rule over for you to speak so I have to send you back eventually." Q said with an annoying smirk on his face.

D'oon sighed but nodded. "We didn't know that the Yam'rii had lied to us about the war and even if they did have more resources than the Kaleesh we wouldn't have intervened on their side because of that. We knew they would have been wiped out and we chose to save them."

"What about the sanctions imposed on the Kaleesh? Was that yours or the Council's doing?" Malcolm asked.

"No. That was the Senate's doing." D'oon answered. "We were only concerned about ending the bloodshed."

"Would there have been anyway to confirm if the Yam'rii were lying about the truth of the war?"

"It's possible…But we made no effort to check." D'oon admitted.

"So this all started because of a brutal occupation and the ones responsible lied to save themselves. Did anyone ever suggest helping the Kaleesh?"

"I'm not sure. If the Jedi knew that the Kaleesh were starving I know they would have appealed to the Senate to help them." D'oon said honestly.

"But since no help came they either did not appeal or the Senate simply decided to ignore the Kaleesh." Malcolm stated solemnly.

"Yes as much as I wish it were not true." D'oon nodded.

"No further questions." Malcolm nodded.

Q snapped his fingers and D'oon was gone, apparently back to before he was killed. "Well, that shed a light on the Jedi's bumbling didn't it? Who is the next witness?"

"I call Count Dooku to the stand." Lady Q answered.

A snap later and Dooku was in the witness stand, watching as Lady Q approached him.

"Count Dooku of Serenno, former Jedi Master, and Head of State for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It must have been satisfying to hear Grievous finally get the chance to rub one of the Jedi Order's biggest mistakes in their faces." Lady Q remarked with a grin.

Dooku raised an eyebrow. "It is adequate when the Jedi are forced to acknowledge their mistakes."

"I suppose you know of several more mistakes. Oh what am I saying? Of course you do! Otherwise you wouldn't be here!" Lady Q chuckled. "So, what was it that made you decide to leave the Jedi Order?"

"I had come to see that the Jedi were no longer peacekeepers but instead the poster boys for the Republic Senate, answering their call without question and unable to realize that they had become expendable in the long run." Dooku answered.

"Care to give us a few examples of how the Jedi acted less like peacekeepers?"

"One such example would be the Battle at Galidraan. The local government conspired with the Mandalorian faction known as Death Watch to eliminate a political rival; the True Mandalorians. I led the task force that eliminated the True Mandalorians, leaving only a single survivor, the leader of the True Mandalorians Jango Fett." Dooku answered, causing a few eyes to widen slightly. "I personally turned Fett over to the government and later I learned that the government had sold him into slavery. I learned that the Council and the Jedi had been used by the Death Watch and the Galidraan government for their own personal motives and yet the Council did nothing about it. Then there was the mission to Baltizaar where Jedi lost their lives while against the criminal cult Bando Gora and yet it was unnecessary. The Jedi Council was wasting the lives of its fellow for political favors, breaking their own code."

"Oooh." Lady Q remarked with a sweet grin. "So the Council threw away their own without question and even killed people who were innocent of crimes they had been accused of. Just like they did with the Kaleesh."

"Indeed." Dooku nodded.

"Tell us about you leaving the Jedi Order."

"It was after the war on Naboo when the Senate was too bogged down in procedure to help with the Naboo and only sent two Jedi Knights, one an apprentice and the other a single master when it was suspected that a Sith Lord was working with the Trade Federation. If they had sent more Jedi the Sith Lord could have been captured to be questioned and no one else would have died. I thought there was still a chance the Jedi could have done some good, bring forth changes for the good of the galaxy, right wrongs and be above the limitations and corruption of the Senate." Dooku glared at the Jedi. "I was wrong."

"And you left."

"I did but before I left I was approached by Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation who told me of another Sith Lord, controlling the Senate and that the Viceroy had been in league with this Sith Lord before he was betrayed. I told the Jedi on Geonosis but I do not believe they thought I was telling the truth." Dooku stated.

"So the Jedi basically ignored your warning."

"They did." Dooku nodded.

"So in the end Jedi act as peacekeepers but allow themselves be used by the Senate and local governments to do their dirty work for them and they don't ask questions until _after_ the job is done." Lady Q stated. "They can't use that fancy 'Force' of theirs to sense that something is off or the ones they punish are _not_ the guilty ones."

"That is why many in the galaxy are slowly turning against the Jedi, even people in the Republic." Dooku stated.

"Why thank you for pointing that out. No further questions for this one."

Captain Shon was next to speak for the defense. "Count Dooku, you claim the Jedi Order and the Republic are corrupt but there have been earlier statements of you allowing members of your council to carry out assassinations before war was officially declared. There is also the matter of your CIS approving of crimes including mass destruction and slavery."

"I assure you, Captain Shon, that it was never my wish for these crimes to be committed. It was necessary to occupy Republic worlds due to the cost of the war and keep the people from causing open rebellion. I never sanctioned slavery however due to my work as Head of State I cannot be everywhere at once. A great many commanders in the CIS unfortunately come from the Trade Federation who are not known for being noble." Dooku carefully explained. "However whatever crimes the Jedi accuse me of there are a great many worlds grateful to me and the Confederacy for aiding them when the Jedi failed and have suffered as much as the Kaleesh because of them. As for the assassination Gunray told me that Senator Amidala was a pawn for the Sith Lord hiding in the Senate and following up on that belief I decided to act that it was best that she would be removed before she could be exploited. I knew of her exploits and tactics and I knew that simply assassinating her would be easier said than one. I was counting on the Jedi becoming involved and tracking down the bounty hunter so I could be informed of the Sith Lord and keep a tighter leash on Gunray."

"So it can be said that there are elements of corruption within your Confederacy despite your good intentions."

"Sadly yes but I work tirelessly to ensure these elements do not corrupt my government. As I recall, a great many in the Separatist Senate welcomed the Milky Way, some even agreeing with the Klingons for our heavy reliance on battle droids as well as the Republic's callous approach of growing clones to fight its battles." Dooku pointed out.

"What about the statement of the Confederacy creating bio weapons like the Blue Shadow Virus?"

"That was Dr. Vindi's work who used a Trade Federation bunker that was built during the original occupation. I had no knowledge of its creation until after Dr. Vindi was captured. The droids were believed to have been leftovers from the occupation. I am sad to say it is normal for our droids to be stolen and reprogrammed." Dook answered.

Shon frowned but decided he had done all he could. "No more questions."

"And who is next?" Judge Q asked.

"That would be Admiral Tarkin."

A quick snap and Tarkin was in the witness stand, staring at Lady Q as she approached him.

"Admiral Whilhuff Tarkin, you have served with the Jedi through this war. Tell me, how exactly do you feel about them?" Lady Q asked.

"They are peacekeepers and despite their skills their code prevents them from doing what must be done most of the time." Tarkin answered, noticing a few Jedi including Ahsoka scowl at him. "Peacekeepers have no place in a war for control of the galaxy."

"Oh? You mean they should not be participating in the war?"

"Correct. The fact that they have been easily fooled as found out earlier seems to confirm my belief." Tarkin nodded.

"And who should be the generals in this war?"

"Experienced soldiers who are not tied down by a code made in times of peace. It is difficult for people to accept change, I can accept that but we must adapt and change to meet these challenges, especially since the Separatists are not the only threat anymore." Tarkin answered.

"So you say the Jedi are completely inefficient in commanding the soldiers."

"This war has become a dangerous stalemate, especially with threats like the Borg and the Undine to tip the balance of power. The Jedi risk everyone's lives by restraining themselves. They would do better to stay out of the war, simply deal with pirates and handle negotiations." Tarkin stated with a stern face. "Leave the war to people who know what to do."

"Thank you for the enlightenment." Lady Q turned to the defendents. "Your witness."

Commander Jarock stood up and approached the witness stand. "Admiral Tarkin, you say the Jedi do not belong in the war but are you not overlooking their skills? I have read that in several key battles victory was made through the efforts of the Jedi in charge, specifically Jedi who are here today."

"A few key battles do not win a war. Even if a few Jedi have been efficient it is not enough to truly give the Republic the victories it needs to truly defeat the Separatists." Tarkin answered.

"So you would simply decide that for all their skills and abilities and the fact that with them a great number of clones are still alive to fight for the Republic that the Republic would be better off without them?"

"I will not argue with results in some battles. It is good that we still have many clones to fight with us but it is not a question of skill. It is a question of how much pain and suffering there must be before the Jedi realize that the so-called principals of the Republic they cling to is no good against our enemies. You've even heard of the many mistakes the Jedi have committed." Tarkin pointed out.

"No more questions." Jarock said, deciding it would be best not to ask anymore questions.

Q snapped his fingers and Tarkin was back with Palpatine. "All right, this has been fascinating but I can tell that our dear Continuum is growing impatient so we will have one last witness to question."

Lady Q grinned. "Of course your honor. I call…Anakin Skywalker."

One snap and Anakin was in the witness stand.

"Well, you've been a little excitable earlier. Now you finally get the chance to speak. Does it feel good?" Lady Q chuckled. "So you say the Jedi are not responsible for the current war?"

"Yes." Anakin nodded.

"And yet you and the Jedi were the ones who started the battle on Geonoses after you and Senator Amidala were caught trespassing in their factories. Why were you even there?"

"We came to rescue Master Kenobi who was captured." Anakin said, glaring slightly at Lady Q.

"We? I thought it was Senator Amidala's idea. She, an important senator, choosing to risk her life and cause an intergalactic incident. You gave the Separatists everything they needed to justify declaring war on the Republic. Obi-Wan alerted the Senate who voted to allow the clone army to be used, you and Senator Amidala infiltrated a world in Separatist space, and the Jedi came not to negotiate but to fight. All of that was the catalyst that leads to the war you are now fighting." Lady Q remarked smugly. "You helped start the war that has killed thousands of people."

"I-We did not." Anakin protested. "We were trying to stop Dooku and the Separatists from starting the war."

"Really? Well…You failed. Miserably. And then there is you, the so called Hero Without Fear." Lady Q's grin widened, now resembling a Cheshire Cat. "It would seem that you have benefitted a great deal ever since the declaration of war."

Anakin's eyes narrowed, but he refused to rise to her bait. "If I need to remind you, the Separatists were already building up an army and fleet of Battle Droids. The only reason that you would build up an army of several billion war machines is for one purpose: war. Maybe our arrival caused the war to begin early, but they were obviously set on starting one of their own with or without our arrival on Geonosis."

Lady Q nodded. "Perhaps, maybe, so far I am hearing a great deal of that today. But what about you, General Skywalker? The Hero Without Fear, one of the most popular Generals in the war both on and off the battle field. Respected and feared on both sides…and you are not exactly a conventional Jedi, are you?"

Anakin raised one brow, trying to suppress a feeling of…fear at where this conversation was going. If the Q Continuum were as well informed as they were then…could they know about his personal secrets too?

"I've been told that many times." He agreed.

"Oh of course, and that's good of course. You aren't like those fussy masters at all." Lady Q nodded. "That is why I've saved you for last: to prove my case."

She snapped her fingers and conjured different images of Anakin leading his troops in battle, sometimes alongside other Jedi. "You have quite the impressive track record, Master Skywalker. But you also have your own skeletons in your closet, as the saying goes among your neighbours in the Federation." She looked at him. "You were on Tatooine at the time that your master was captured on Geonosis, correct?"

Anakin nodded, his pulse beginning to race. "…correct."

"Why?"

"I had been…experiencing visions," Anakin confessed, "About my mother. I saw her suffering…dying. I couldn't put off returning despite my assignment, so Senator Amidala agreed to accompany me to Tatooine."

"And what did you find upon arrival?"

"My mother had been sold from our previous owner and then freed and married. She was living out on a Moisture Farm…but she was captured by Tusken Raiders almost a month prior to my arrival."

Lady Q smiled coldly. "And I suppose that you, being the brave Jedi you are, chose to pursue her captors."

Anakin nodded, swallowing his courage. "I did. I found them almost a day later and infiltrated their camp. I found my mother alive and-" He choked on his next words. "…and she _died_ in my arms."

The Jedi were not used to seeing Anakin in such a vulnerable state. They were used to him being cocky, a little arrogant and even aggressive, but this new side was something he had hidden from them ever since he had joined the Order. They were seeing the fearful boy that had been taken off of Tatooine all those years ago.

"Proving my point exactly," Lady Q nodded. "The Jedi take children, train them to suppress their emotions and forget about their families. But you didn't. You found her…tried to save her, and could have if the Order had allowed you to go when you first experienced these dreams. You were forced to wait for weeks, but if you had been allowed to go immediately you might have saved her! It could have been a close call, but she might have had a better chance of surviving what the Tuskens had done to them."

She leaned in. "So tell me…what did you do next? You were sitting in that hut, your dead mother in your arms, the woman who had raised you from birth and been the only source of comfort in your life-"

"Objection!" Captain Creed called out. "This is going beyond her case, your honour. This is about questioning the Jedi Order if I recall correctly, not someone's personal issues!"

"Your Honour, the actions of Jedi Knight Skywalker reflect on his order. He is among their strongest and most influential members. To the Galaxy he is known as a hero who can do no wrong…" Lady Q stepped away from Anakin. "But I think we know that isn't true."

Q nodded, leaning forward in his seat. "I agree." He said, "Knight Skywalker, answer the prosecution's question. What did you do after your mother died?"

Anakin squeezed his eyes shut and inhaled slowly. "…I killed them." He said softly.

"Could you repeat that, a little more clearly perhaps?"

Anakin's eyes flew open. "I said _I killed them!_ " He shouted. "…I killed every single Tusken in the camp. The men, the women…the children." His anger deflated as he set one hand over his face. "…I slaughtered every single one of them like animals. I just…I lost control of everything."

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she stared at her master, the man who was like an older brother to her, sometimes a father even. She had known him to be less than wise at times, but to hear that he had personally killed an entire tribe-even if they had been responsible for his mother's death…

"You acknowledge that your actions were your own?" Lady Q asked, her smile gone. "There were no circumstances that forced you to kill those Tuskens?"

Anakin shook his head, his eyes watering as the memory of that day hit him in full force. "…no." He said, "…It's all my fault. I…I'm the only one to blame for what happened that day."

Lady Q nodded. "You don't even blame the Tuskens? Or the Jedi who kept you from going to her aid?"

Anakin wiped his eyes with one hand and glared at her. "…no." He declared, "Are you satisfied now?"

Lady Q shrugged. "We'll have to see, won't we? No more questions for the witness."

After a few whispers Alex stood up. "No questions for this witness."

They decided they could not ask Anakin any questions due to the state he was in. A snap later Anakin was back with the Jedi, some sending him looks of sympathy like the ones from Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and even Yoda but some were more neutral.

"Well, this has been a very, _very_ enlightening occasion. It's amazing what one could learn when forced to tell the truth after spending perhaps thousands of years above reproach of the oridinary citizen. Given what I've heard it seems the Jedi are innocent in the claims starting the worst wars the Skyriver Galaxy has endured but at the sametime they've caused quite a few incidents that could have been avoided. It is because of this and their own foolishness I find the defendents…" Q held up his hand. "Guilty!"

The crowd above let out cheers and boos as Q banged his gavel as the Jedi exchanged looks, now becoming nervous as Yoda closed his eyes.

"Of course given they have not completely committed the crimes in which they have been accussed. So I think I have come up with an alternate…If the great Anakin accepts." Q pointed at Anakin who stared up at Q, his eyes full of surprise and suspicion. "Do you accept the full burden of your crimes?"

"…I do." Anakin nodded, not breaking eye contact with Q;

"Then let us begin." Q snapped his fingers and Anakin was gone in a flash of light.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan looked up at Q with a dark look. "What have you done?"

"I am altering the sentence. If the Jedi hopes to avoid of non-existence they will have to place their hopes in their so-called Chosen One who at the same time has tarnished your fancy order. You all on the other hand will have your own test that coincides with Skywalker's. Let us begin your test, the test of fire." Q snapped his fingers and there was a bright light.


	23. Chapter 23

Palpatine opened his eyes, seeming himself somewhere else and was wearing a hood, the same hood and robes he wore as Sidious. He seemed to be in some kind of cave but the heat made it feel like he was in a volcano. His mind raced, trying to think of reason why Q would send him here and what this test would be.

"My lord."

Sidious turned around seeing Dooku and Grievous behind him, both quickly bowing upon recognizing him. He also noticed that Grievous had returned to his cybernetic form instead of the fully organic form that Q had turned him into back in the courtroom. "Lord Tyrannus, General Grievous. What is going on?"

Dooku decided to explain carefully with Grievous present and having no clue to his master's true identity. "It is a long story my lord."

As Sidious listened he sensed the presence of beings nearby that were not just Jedi.

They were strong with the Dark Side.

He turned around and watched as they all appeared, approaching them once Dooku finished his explanations.

"By the Force…" Dooku whispered in shock.

()

The Jedi themselves were in a cave that was hot and they could smell smoke and ash.

"It seems Q has decided to spare us for the moment." Plo Koon stated, taking in the surrounding calmly. "And yet I sense there is more to this place."

"Q altered our sentence. Perhaps he's left us here to die." Mace stated.

"No…" Obi-Wan frowned. "Q had an interest in Anakin even before the trial started. I believe he was testing Anakin more than he was testing us."

"You believe Skywalker was the true target?" Adi-Gallia asked.

"Possibly." Obi-Wan nodded.

Before anymore Jedi could comment on the situation they both felt the presence of several beings that were immensely strong with the Force but they were not Jedi.

They were tainted by the Dark Side.

"Attention fair parties. By now you realized you are in the nice little fire caverns that I have generously created. By now you can sense each other through the fancy Force of yours, sensing those microbes in your bodies that interact through the energy field you worship so drolly. Well, since you Jedi have been fighting with your Sith buddies for thousands and thousands and thousands of years here is a compromise." Q's voice echoed through the cave. "The team that wins survives while the other goes to the world of non-excistence. So, light, dark, good, evil, here and now is where the story ends."

Figures began to manifest at the edges of their vision. Shrouded silhouettes with cloaks and hoods to disguise their features…and blades of red light ignited in their grasp. Some matched the more modern designs of lightssabers, some had less conventional shapes and sizes…and some were even crackling violently like flames and had a sort of cross guard erupting from the sides of their hilts.

A large and imposing figure stepped into view first. He wore battle armour beneath his cloak and a mask over his lower face, allowing only the pale and scarred flesh of his upper face and his yellow eyes to be seen. Next to him another man appeared, clad in crimson armour and with a metal contraption fixed around his lower face while the upper half was pale and marked with red tattoos. A third at their side was smaller of build, slender, and covered from head to toe in black robes and armour while wielding a double bladed red lightsaber at his side.

The first of them was known from the annals of history as Darth Malgus, a major leader of the Sith Empire millennia ago during a war that had divided the galaxy. Flanking him were Darth Malak and Malgus' previous master: Darth Vindican.

" _Jedi…_ " Malgus drawled, his eyes wandering over the forms of the Jedi Council. " _I see things have not changed..._ " He ignited his lightsaber and stepped forward. " _Good…then this shall be a wonderful repeat of our war._ "

Suddenly dozens of red blades lit up the cavern behind the trio. Sith warriors from all across the ages appeared. Humans, Twi'Leks, all manner of species who had fallen to the Dark Side at some point in their lives. But standing out among them was one tall and imposing figure who remained at the back, somehow radiating more hatred than the rest of the horde combined. He stared at the Jedi behind a mask which hid his features…and emitted only a sound of deep and labored breathing.

The Jedi immediately drew their weapons, forming a defensive circle as more Sith continued to appear around them. Soon they were outnumbered almost five to one by a collection of the deadliest practitioners of the ways of the Sith in the history of the Skyriver Galaxy.

Obi-Wan Kenobi even beheld the restored form of Darth Maul glaring at him viciously. Among them was Dooku along with Grievous, lightsabers ignited and ready. And behind them was a man dressed head to toe in black robes with only his mouth visible that was showing a nasty grin.

"Master Kenobi…" Ahsoka whispered, unable to keep herself from feeling afraid.

"Stay close Ahsoka." Obi-Wan held his lightsaber in both hands, ready to fight. "Stay close."

()

When Anakin opened his eyes again he was able to instantly recognize the place he was in now. A long vast desert with three suns that shined down on him, instantly telling him where he was.

Tatooine.

The planet he was born on.

The planet he had lived on during the first years of his life.

And the planet his mother had breathed her last on this wretched planet.

"Ever the nostalgic type aren't we?"

Anakin spun around, glaring at Q who was now wearing a Starfleet uniform. "Why am I here?"

"Perhaps because this world has shaped your life and the path it will take, despite the fact that you have done every effort to never set foot on this world again." Q said as he paced around Anakin. "You have so much history as a boy and a Jedi. The day you left your mother, promising to come and free her. And you did."

"I did? She died in my arms!" Anakin shouted, becoming angrier at Q for his cruelty.

"Did she die a slave? Or did she die a woman happy to see her son again?" Q questioned, not at all phased by Anakin's anger. "Of course maybe she wouldn't have died at all if you had more than the powers of a mere Jedi? What would happen if you had the power of a Q?"

"What?" Anakin whispered, keeping Q in his sight. "What are you talking about?"

"Your dear deputized lawyers told you about me and my people. How we are able to do almost anything. That includes granting mortals the power of the Q." Q smirked.

"You're offering me your powers?" Anakin asked.

"And he finally gets it!" Q clapped his hands, stopping in front of the Jedi.

"Why?"

"You admitted to what you did and you didn't even blame anyone for it, not even those savages who tortured your mother from the beginning. People always say they are better, that they are above savages but in the end they always prove themselves to be liars. Even the Jedi are no exception in the matter and the trial proved it. How many lives did they destroy for being so stagnant and foolish?" Q stated and pointed at Anakin. "But you. You did more than just say you want to protect the innocent. You took action, struck down evil, and you never even made an excuse about it. That proves you are worthy to be given the power of the Q. You are not afraid for yourself and you are not one to sit and wait by stagnant code, you take action."

"You offer me to be like you? But I am Jedi. Jedi don't accept power, especially when it would come with a price." Anakin said, stepping back.

"And what pray tell is the price? The power to do anything you want, to go anywhere you want, the power to save her?"

Time almost literally froze for Anakin. "What?"

"That's right." Q grinned. "You saw it in the courtroom. I brought a Jedi who died a year ago forward through time and you can do the same."

Anakin was rendered silent, feeling like the Force itself had appeared before him.

'What must I do…Do I accept and become like the Q? Should I refuse?' Anakin's mind was racing. 'Obi-Wan, Padme, Ahsoka, what would you say?'

"Well, a small price actually." Q admitted, earning Anakin's attention. "There are two conditions to accepting the power of the Q. The first condition: you can never use your lightsaber again. Which is not much of a loss compared to what you are gaining. The second condition: your first act with the power of the Q will be…to save your mother."

Anakin stared at Q, not understanding why he would have to obey those conditions to gain the powers he was offering. "Why these conditions?"

"Why so hesitant? Are you afraid there is some double meaning here? I made my terms plain and clear. Why are you so sure it is a trick?"

"Because I've heard of what you've done in the Milky Way. You were the one who introduced the Borg to the Federation." Anakin answered with a dark glare on his face. "I didn't understand how someone could be so powerful until I saw what you've done today. Now I understand why you are hated. You meddle in people's lives and act like you have the right to judge us."

"And the Jedi and the Republic don't? Those Starfleeters were acting all stuck up and I showed them what happens when to those who follow the Sin of Pride. They survived and became stronger because of it. Now you and your Jedi are feeling just as they felt when they were originally helpless only now you have to prove the Jedi are capable of actually surviving against their own pride." Q retorted smoothly.

"We proved that today in your farce of a trial."

"Oh, but the Jedi are guilty of several crimes as you've found out. You are no different. The only difference is that you don't make excuses for anything. That's a rare quality even for normal mortals." Q smirked. "You say the Jedi are selfless and yet you have all proven that you are not above the primitive emotions that mortals always show. But what limits is the fact that you have remained unchanged for thousands of years. Only is there a possible chance of change because of you, the so-called Chosen One. Do you ever wonder how you are supposed to bring balance to your Force?"

"I'm not interested in prophesies." Anakin turned away.

"Then let's let find out together. Accept the power of Q and you can see how it happens. Who needs visions when you can simply travel back and forth through time and see what it would be if there was no interference. You can even end the war in your galaxy with a simple snap of your fingers. You could even wish this dustball of a planet away." Q tilted his head. "Isn't that worth it? No more need to watch people die. No need for secrets anymore. No….More…Death."

Anakin turned around as Q held out his hand.

"What say you?"

()

"What has happened?" Captain Shon, seeing that only the Lady Q was left in the now empty courtroom.

"Oh, the trial is over but I guess the judge forgot to send you back. Our bad. We were too busy interested in seeing what he had planned for the Jedi." Lady Q answered, changing out of her prosecutor outfit and into a Starfleet uniform. "Would you like to see what's going on?"

"Yes please." Alex answered diplomatically.

Lady Q snapped her fingers and two circuler screens appeared above her, showing Anakin with Q in a desert and the other Jedi in what appeared to be a large burning cavern fighting against a group of people with red lightsabers of varying design.

"What is happening?" Kerath demanded.

"Oh, the Judge is offering Skywalker to give him the power of the Q by the looks of it." Lady Q answered with a smirk. "And the Jedi Council has their hands full with a bunch of Sith people from all across time by the looks of it."

The Milky Way group shared a look while Tarkin spoke up. "Offering to give him the powe of the Q? That is possible?"

"Oh very much but we have to be careful about who we chose." Lady Q answered.

"…This was never about putting the Jedi on trial wasn't it?" Malcolm said suddenly. "You were interested in Skywalker from the very beginning."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Lady Q questioned.

"I studied at the academy and one required learning subject was learning about how to deal with the Q Continuum. I read all logs submitted by Captains Picard and Sisko and Admiral Janeway regarding their encounters with the one Q and almost each time Q was testing them because it always went back to the Continuum…And how stagnant it's become."

Lady Q raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Q was testing humanity first and then became more interested in us even after the Continuum punished him for constantly meddling. He was trying to breathe new life into the Continuum but they were resistant to any form of change and eventually his efforts started a civil war that was only solved after Janeway and her crew ended the war. Janeway convinced Q to mate with a female Q that led to the birth of his son but that didn't solve the problem, didn't it? Even if the war is over the Q are struggling to change, to grow out of its complacency." Malcolm explained.

"And they set their sights on the Jedi." Creed caught on. "You saw the Jedi and saw that for all their powers they were making the same mistakes as ordinary people. This was about seeing if they could help with the changes by changing themselves but you needed them to stop fighting. So you put them on trial and tested them like Q tested us."

"And you know Skywalker was different from the rest of the Jedi so you focused on him, testing his resolve as you questioned him. You wanted to see if he had what it took to be offered the power of the Q." Denola continued.

"And you used this trial was a cover for it." Kerath growled.

Lady Q grinned and clapped. "Not a bad deduction. You guys must be getting smarter each time you meet us."

"But why? Why go through all the trouble with this trial? Why not just offer Skywalker the power of the Q?" Alex asked.

"Because they wanted him to realize the Jedi are not perfect. They wanted to shake his faith enough that they could convince him and even put doubts in their character by making him confess what happened when his mother died." Shon answered.

"And what better to force a confession than the threat of an entire group that has lived for thousands of years being erased from existence?" Jarock rhetorically asked.

"What about the Jedi Council and the others that you took from the Skyriver Galaxy?" Creed asked.

"Oh…they have their own tests. We may be primarily interested in Skywalker but they all have their roles to play." Lady Q shrugged. "It's such a shame that they're failing their tests…rather badly actually. It's almost painful to watch."

"You have them outnumbered. How is that fair?"

"Whoever said that winning a battle is the point of the test?" Lady Q replied with her own question. "If those Jedi can't see the obvious answer, that's their own fault."

"Obvious-you dropped them in a cave filled with resurrected Sith Lords!" Captain Malcolm blurted out. "That doesn't leave them a great deal of room for interpretation!"

"Oh not simply resurrected Sith Lords…but Sith Lords who _could be_ …and Sith Lords who _would have been._ " Lady Q stated. "Really now, they've been doing this little song and dance about dark and light battling for the past thousand years and still persist even now when they are the only ones who care about this little war. Sith and Jedi, Empire and Republic, Dark and Light…it's all one big sport show but while we of the Continuum find it amusing it has caused quite a bit of collateral damage. I am not simply talking about lives lost either, and there have been trillions who have died in this private war…I am talking about how time and time again the Jedi and Sith have violated the very structure of the universe. Ressurecting the dead, developing new ways to bend or break the laws of reality, seeking newer ways to attain power or wisdom at the cost of others…"She shook her head. "They may not even have a fraction of the power of a Q but they have caused an astonishing amount of damage with this Force of theirs."

Admiral Denola's brow furrowed. "If the point of their test is not to fight the Sith…then what if their test is not the point at all? You said they have a role, but your interest remains fixed on Skywalker. That leaves one conclusion: you are putting the Jedi through this impossible battle as part of Skywalker's own trial."

Lady Q smiled innocently. "…you really do get smarter every time we meet."

()

The Jedi were fighting with all their strength but one didn't need the powers of the Force or the Q to see they were losing. Only Masters Yoda and Mace Windu were able to push the majority of the Sith back, taking several Darkside users in the process but against Sith Lords like Malak and Malgus they were taking too long to defeat and were forced to give ground. Kit Fisto was dueling Grievous, his skills on Form I allowing him to hold off the cyborg general for the most part but Fisto was forced to give ground as a Sith Warrior would attack him every other moment. Obi-Wan in the meantime was holding off Darth Maul who fell upon as a spinning whirlwind of death while protecting Ahsoka behind him as the Jedi were being pushed back.

"We need to retreat. We're too outnumbered." Obi-Wan called out, clashing his lightsaber with Darth Maul's double bladed lightsaber.

Yoda spun, dashed, and weaved through several Sith Warriors while at the same time hearing Obi-Wan's voice. "Agreed. Split up and disappear we must!"

The Jedi quickly resorted to a fighting retreat, running through the caverns while fending off the pursuing Sith. The caverns split into several caves that the Jedi tried to take refuge in while the Sith split upon picking their own targets. Only Sidious, Dooku and the armored cloaked Sith did not immediately pursue their own targets. Malgus went after Windu, Malak chased after Plo Koon, Vindican pursued Eeth Koth, Grievous followed Fisto, Maul charged after Kenobi, and the remaining Sith Warriors chased after split Jedi Council.

Only one Jedi remained: Yoda.

He turned around and faced the remaining Sith in the cavern.

"What will you do now, Yoda?" Sidious grinned.

"Defeated so easily, the Jedi will not be. Possible it is, that you are Darth Sidious." Yoda stated, seeing Dooku standing next to the mysterious Sith.

"And yet they are falling as you no doubt have noticed." Sidious cackled. "It seems this is the true trial of the Jedi."

The armored Sith with the mechanical breathing seemed to pick his target as he walked into one of the caves and vanished into the darkness. This was unnoticed by the Jedi and Sith as they ignited their lightsabers.

"Even if you survive you cannot stop us." Sidious said, his hidden face highlighted by the blood red color of his lightsaber.

Yoda prepared himself for perhaps the greatest battle of his life.

Sidious who had been waiting for just the chance to spill blood lunged forward, slashing at Yoda blocked and jumped straight at his opponent. Both opponents soon began clashing, leaping, and spinning through the cavern to defeat the other while Dooku watched as his masters, both former and current fought. There was no need for him to intervene.

And if they happened to injure each other before there was a victor he could finish the other off with perhaps little trouble.

()

Ahsoka had no idea what she could do.

She was with Obi-Wan who was fighting off a Zabrak Sith Lord who was attacking him with a red double bladed lightsaber and he was actually pushing Kenobi back. She wanted to fight with him but Obi-Wan told her to stay back and run. She needed to help but remained back, watching Obi-Wan as he fought the Sith Lord while her lightsabers were both ignited and ready to fight.

"You can't help them." A person said behind her and snapped their fingers.

Ahsoka turned around as she appeared in another part of the cavern, facing the dark haired young man who been in the courtroom. "You're the other one from the courtroom. Q's son."

"The name's Q Junior, miss." The young man bowed his head. "But you already knew that. Technically I go by the name Q but you get the idea. We are all Q and all that. I know it's hard for mortals to understand how we can all go by the same 'name'."

"Why am I here?" Ahsoka asked. "Why'd you bring me here? I should be with the others."

"Well for one part if you helped Obi out back there you both would have died."

"What?" Ahsoka asked.

"Oh yeah. I know my dad's sentence was a little harsh and all but I think he and the rest of the Continuum might be taking things a bit far." Q Junior shrgged.

"Too far?! Your dad is forcing us to fight a whole bunch Sith Lords! Some were even from thousands of years ago!" Ahsoka shouted angrily. "And what did you do with my master?"

"You still consider him your master even knowing what he did on Tatooine?"

Ahsoka stopped, thinking over what she had learned. "…Yes. He made a mistake but he watched his mother die in his arms after he tried to save her. I don't think anyone could control themselves after something like that. It might be against the Jedi way but my master never made excuses, not even blaming the Sand People for torturing his mother."

Q Junior looked thoughtfull. "Then there might be hope for one of you."

"Why are the Q doing this? Why do you want to destroy us? I know the Jedi made mistakes but this is too much. What gives you the right to judge us?" Ahsoka asked, angered by how the Q were treating her and the Jedi.

"Apparently someone has to. You heard of their mistakes. But there's more to their mistakes that have drawn the eyes of the Continuum to them. It's the possibility that the Jedi could overcome the same problems that have plagued the Q." Q Junior answered.

"Problems?" Ahsoka asked, now confused.

"The truth is what had always attracted us to humans and beings like them is because certain members of the Continuum like my father realized there wasn't much to enjoy about being a Q. What was once an advanced thriving civilization that could go anywhere and do anything became a life of complete stagnation and pointless existing with its people doing nothing but simply living in the Continuum with barely a voice or thought. There used to be voices shouting across the Continuum that said so much until the voices became silent." Q Junior explained. "It got so bad that two members of the Continuum decided to live their lives as humans on Earth but when you leave the Continuum you can never use your powers again. They had a child but eventually they were killed by the Q because officially they disobeyed the laws of the Continuum but in reality the Q were afraid because they dared to do something different…They offered change and the Q were afraid. And a few human years later a Q calling himself Quin became so ashamed of how stagnant the Q had become he committed suicide because there was nothing left to know and there was no point living as a mortal because compared to us mortals are too limited." Q Junior looked away slightly. "Even my father was punished several times for going against the rules of the Continuum but he became inspired by Quinn and even helped him die which soon enough sparked a civil war in the Continuum that was solved by my father and my godmother, a human named Kathryn Janeway and I was born as a way to try inspire change. Of course I found life in the Continuum boring and caused so much trouble my mother even disowned me. It was only thanks to the efforts of my godmother and father who showed me how wrong I was to act like that did I start acting better and I started to work on trying help my people. And then those ghostly Devidians opened a hole in time and space, leading to your galaxy and like the rest of the galaxy the Q took notice."

Ahsoka watched as Q Junior held up his hand and in appeared a model of the Jedi Temple.

"We noticed you Jedi saw there were many similiarities between us. You Jedi have some impressive powers and yet you have not evolved in the past centuries. In fact you've become as stagnant as us. Then there was the matter of the war and your feud with those Sith thugs we Q had become concerned because even if we don't act like we care the fact is we actually care somewhat about what happens to the Milky Way and if there is one thing we will not tolerate is anyone threatening what interests us or what we consider to belong to us." Q Junior stated. "My father is disdained and generally hated for the long years of teasing mortal races but he is a Q and we Q naturally see mortals as beneath us because there is so much we have to offer and it will be centuries before they can even grasp part of what we understand. I only now understand them because I was a human for a time and though it was limiting my godmother worked to make me see and understand them. Though I am a Q and proud of it I understood what my father sees in them."

"And you are interested in the Jedi for the same reason?" Ahsoka asked.

"In some ways. However we also see that even if you Jedi say you are good the problem is that your band of warrior monks has been at the center of each and every war in this galaxy. Butchering trillions over some pointless feud of which side is strong, your light side or the Sith's dark side."

"You've seen what the Sith have done right?" Ahsoka questioned. "You know what they would do to the galaxy."

"And I've seen what the Jedi have done and what they should have done. You know the good they've done but you're also confused because sometimes the Jedi go against their own code. To be compassionate but not to care about the life you are supposed to protect. They also take children from their families, even ones that do not want to their children to be part of your order." Q Junior stated. "If the Jedi care about the people why are they so quick to ignore the decisions of the very people they are supposed to protect?"

Ahsoka opened her mouth to retort but struggled to find an answer.

"If I might…weren't you taken from your family?" Q Junior inquired. "I understand that you might not hold ill will to the Order for this, least of all to Master Plo Koon who acts more like an uncle figure than just some cold and emotionless master. But what do you know of your family? Did they concent to you being taken? Do many families concent to their child being raised on some distant world, never to be seen again with the understanding that they will be raised into warrior monks with mystical powers?"

Ahsoka looked down. "I…don't remember my family." She admitted, "But Master Plo said that my parents agreed with my being taken in by the Jedi, that they wanted a better life for me than the one they were carving out for themselves."

Q Junior nodded. "Understandable. Jedi may experience tremendous amounts of danger but their younglings often live reasonably comfortable lives…if they can get past most of their caretakers being droids and teachers." He snapped his fingers and summoned the figure of a human woman. "Tell me…do you remember Jonava Billane of Ord Thoden?"

Ahsoka looked at the woman, who was holding a datapad with the picture of a young infant displayed on it. She appeared to be exhausted, with signs of stress showing on her.

"Yeah…I heard some reports while I was out with Skyguy on the Outer Rim."

Q Junior nodded. "Jonava had a daughter named Ludi who was taken by the Jedi Order…only Jonava didn't want that for her daughter. She campaigned to have Ludi returned to her, and billions fell in behind her. They demanded that the Jedi return her child to her…and what do you think the Order did?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "It sounds like it would be too much trouble to try arguing with her for custody. Wouldn't they have just given Ludi back?"

"You would think so…but the Jedi changed her name and refused to allow access to their archives to find her. They as good as buried her under misinformation all to keep her mother from getting her back." Q Junior replied as Ahsoka's eyes widened.

"What…why?! If she wanted her child back-" Ahsoka tried to wrap her head around this, but Q Junior raised one finger.

"What _she_ wanted was irrelevant." Q Junior stated, "Ludi is now named Aris-Del Wan and has no idea who her mother is or that there was such a controversy over her. She might never know all because the Order took it upon itself to keep her mother from raising her. Now tell me…if you had a child and the Jedi appeared at your door one day and told you that you had to give that child up…what would you do?"

He winked. "More importantly…if you had a chance to stop such a practice, what would _you_ do, Ahsoka Tano?"

Ahsoka wasn't sure how to answer that question. Her entire mind had been filled with information that had shaken her to her core that she wasn't sure how to answer. Her mouth was about to open but shut it when a wave of hate fell over her.

"Beware Ahsoka Tano." Q Junior whispered as he vanished. "The actions of one can have many conseqeunces."

A giggle echoed through the cave as Ahsoka activated her lightsabers. "Who's there?"

"Who's there? Did you forget me already? That's not very nice." The voice laughed, sending shivers down Ahsoka's spin. "You and I, we have such history together! How can you forget about little old me?"

"Show yourself!" Ahsoka shouted.

"Your wish is my command!"

Ahsoka jumped back as someone fell towards her, activating two lightsabers that would have chopped her head off if she hadn't moved fast enough. When she looked up she nearly dropped her lightsabers as her blue eyes stared into yellow manic eyes with a savage grin looking back at her.

The person she was looking at was herself but the skin surrounding her eyes had dark lines and her eyes were pure yellow. "Remember me now?"

"Who are you? What trickery is this?" Ahsoka asked. "You're something Q conjured up aren't you?"

"Are you seriously that thick? Can't remember me from our time on Mortis?" Her doppleganger snickered.

"Wha-Mortis?" Ahsoka stopped and blinked, remembering Mortis.

"That's right, the Son had us in his grasp and…altered our perspective." Dark Ahsoka tiled her head as she giggled like a naughty little girl. "He opened our eyes and showed us how strong the Dark Side really is!"

"You're lying!" Ahsoka snapped.

"Am I?" Dark Ahsoka smirked as she ignited her lightsabers which were complete copies of Ahsoka's. "Q didn't create me. He only brought me forward before we died. You remembering dying right? Who do you think saved you?"

Ahsoka didn't want to believe she remembered blacking out and waking up later, with the Daughter dying. "My master…And the Daughter."

"And now she understands." Dark Ahsoka laughed evilly. "I see our master never told you what happened. Another secret he had kept from you. It's a bad habit of his, isn't it? Too bad you'll never get the chance to ask why!"

With that Dark Ahsoka lunged at Ahsoka, slashing at the Padawan who quickly parried the blows as she was forced back. Ahsoka was taken back by just how aggressive her dark counterpart was. She had the same fighting style but at the same time she was fighting more wildly and put more power into attacks. Ahsoka stepped back, dodging and blocking slashes and thrusts from her dark self, unable to make an attack of her own since she was too busy trying to stay alive.

"What's the matter, _Snips_?" Dark Ahsoka sneered as their lightsabers clashed. "Having a little trouble keeping up?"

Ahsoka grunted as she tried to fight back but this was an opponent who knew all of her skills and everything she had learned.

"It was more challenging to fight both Anakin and Obi-Wan at the same time. I should have gone after Obi-Wan but _he_ wanted to see you." Dark Ahsoka grumbled as she unleashed a powerful Force push that slammed Ahsoka into the wall.

Ahsoka grunted as she fell onto the ground but managed to stand back up. "Who's he? Are you talking about Q?"

Dark Ahsoka laughed. "Q? That fool has no control over how this test ends. No, I'm talking about…" Dark Ahsoka stopped mid-sentence as her grin widened, showing childish delight as she looked over her shoulder. "Hello…Master."

Ahsoka wondered who she was talking to and looked up, her body freezing as waves of hate fell over her and she heard a mechanical breathing sound.

'Oooh-puur.'

Ahsoka watched as a man, at least she hoped it was a man, walked forward. He was dressed head to toe in black armor and his face, there was no face, only a mask resembling a war droid with black reflective eyes and a triangular shaped mouth. She felt the power and the hate that had paralyzed her the instant she laid eyes on him.

"Ahsoka Tano." His voice spoke, mechanical, cold, and unfeeling. "It has been far too long."

"Do I know you?" Ahsoka asked, trying to be brave.

"You will." The Sith Lord spoke, glancing at Dark Ahsoka who smiled back at him. "She now knows of me."

"She's not me." Ahsoka stated with certainty in her voice.

"She was…And she might be again." The Sith activated his lightsaber as he stepped forward. "Provided you are strong enough."

Ahsoka readied herself but against these two opponents even she knew she was outmatched.

"The Force is with you, Ahsoka Tano. But you are not a Jedi yet." The Sith slowly walked towards her.

"And you never will be." With a shout Dark Ahsoka lunged forward.

Ahsoka quickly dodged to the side, parrying her dark counterpart's attacks and managed to sneak in a few slashes of her own. Now that she knew how her opponent fought Ahsoka was quick to advantage of how aggressive her opponent was and how less coordinated her aggression made her. Eventually Ahsoka saw her chance as she deflected her counterpart's next slash to the side, leaving her open and vulnerable to the Force push that slammed her into the wall like she had done earlier in the fight. However Ahsoka had no time to celebrate her victory over her counterpart.

She turned around and just barely managed to block a slash from the Sith and struggled to hold back the red saber. This Sith's strength was unbelievable as he pushed her back with merely one hand. She felt he could be a match for General Grievous in pure strength alone. She quickly retreated and attacked again, attempting to using her speed to slow him down but it only barely worked. He blocked each and every strike while holding his lightsaber with a single hand while following up with attacks that she easily blocked but the power behind them was enough to push back until she was just a few feet from the end of the cave.

"You cannot win." The Sith spoke as he held out a hand.

It was such a simple gesture and yet when he opened his hand, the power of the Force literally slammed into Ahsoka and catapaulted her right into the wall, holding her there as the Sith approached.

"You are beaten. It is useless to resist." The Sith held his lightsaber to Ahsoka's throat. "Do not let yourself be destroyed as your master did."

Ahsoka trembled as she stared at the Sith's lightsaber and what looked to be certain death.

She could only tremble and call out in her mind for help from the one person. 'MASTER!'

()

Anakin's eyes shot wide open as he turned away from Q, just mere seconds from considering his offer. "Ahsoka!"

"Oh dear. Sounds like she's in trouble." Q commented casually. "Things must be going bad for the Jedi then."

"What's happening?!" Anakin demanded as he faced Q. "What have you done?"

"It's not me that's doing anything. You have your test and the Jedi have theirs. Only they don't seem to be doing so well."

Anakin held out his lightsaber and pointed it at Q."Take me back, now."

"Have you made your decision?" Q asked, not reacting to the lightsaber pointed at his throat.

"Keep your powers. There too great for anyone to handle." Anakin snapped. "I won't use them if it means sacrificing Ahsoka or my master!"

Q sighed. "And I had such high hopes for you." He snapped his fingers and in a flash of light Anakin was gone from Tatooine. "Rejecting me is one thing. Rejecting yourself is another."

()

Just as Ahsoka thought she was about to die there was a flash of light and standing behind the Sith was Anakin, lightsaber ready and prepared to fight. "Let her go!"

The Sith turned slowly, facing Anakin as he released Ahsoka. "You should not have come back."

"Ahsoka, are you all right?" Anakin asked.

Ahsoka nodded, smiling slightly to see him. "Yes master."

Anakin faced the Sith that had tried to kill her. "You made a serious mistake."

"Not as serious as yours." The Sith stated. "You have failed."

Anakin let out a yell as he lunged forward and swung his lightsaber…

And sliced the Sith's head off.

As the body fell to the ground the helmet rolled in front of Anakin, staring up at him. "…Protect…Her."

Then it was gone along with Dark Ahsoka who looked at Ahsoka one last time before vanishing. That was when the cave started collapsing as the Sith vanished, leaving only Sidious and Dooku along with Grievous as they and the Jedi vanished from the dimension.

()

The Jedi Council including Anakin and Ahsoka looked around finding themselves back in the courtroom with the Chancellor, Admiral Tarkin, Dooku, Grievous and the Milky Way representatives present.

"What has happened? Are we back?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked outloud.

"Yes you are." The Jedi spun around, facing Q who was back on the judge podium. "It seems Skywalker declined my offer to be given the powers of the Q. Pity, he could have brought his mother back but as always he had to rush off and save you all. How cliché."

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked. "What did you do with Anakin?"

"I offered him the power of the Q which would have given him omnipotence and immortality and he all had to do was give up being a Jedi but he rejected my offer and in the process saved you all. I guess your order does mean that much to him. I just hope you all remember this and be grateful." Q stated as he stood up. "After all, if he hadn't you all would have been stuck fighting those Sith till the end of time. Of course the jury is still out on that being a good thing. If he had accept the power of the Q he could have just made all those nasty Sith disappear with but a snap of his fingers." He sighed. "Unfortunately it seems the mortals of this galaxy are as short sighted as the ones in the Milky Way. However your chosen one has given you…a reprieve as mortals in the Federation say from oblivion. But I have given you much to think about and whether or not you learn from it will be up to you."

With a snap of his fingers everyone was sent back to where they had been before they had been summoned by the Continuum.

()

Obi-Wan had been dreading this ever since they had been returned to Coruscant by Q. It already had been a full day and the Council was in full discussion of what had happened. The fact that a race like the Q even excisted was unnerving and that the Jedi couldn't sense them was even more disturbing. The fact that the people of the Milky Way dealt with Q on a regular basis without Force powers was surprising because as far as the Jedi knew there was no way to counter the Q and their powers. Anakin and Ahsoka had submitted their reports on what they had learned and what Q's primary motives had been and the Jedi had been studying on all known Milky Way records concerning Q.

There was also the fact that the Q had done more than just the Jedi on trial. They had brought some disturbing truths to light regarding the Order and the mistakes they had made. The battles at Galidraan and Baltizaar, the Huk-Kaleesh war that had ended with the possible creation of General Grievous but the Jedi denied being the ones who planted the bomb on Grievous's ship or responsibility for Qui-Gon's death at the hands of Darth Maul on Naboo, and then there was the matter of Anakin.

"-he willingly admitted to killing woman and children. He let his emotion control him." Obi-Wan perked up as he heard Mace Windu conclude his statement.

"Perhaps but you must admit it was a unique situation. Skywalker's visions drove him to try and save his mother and she died in his arms. He may have lost control but he did not turn to the dark side and he was repentant when questioned by the Q. And he rejected Q's offer of gaining their powers which would have made him more powerful than any of us and the Sith combined." Shaak Ti pointed out. "He chose the Jedi even when Q told him that using their powers could bring his mother back. That could not have been an easy decision."

"Nobody is questioning that, Master but Skywalker has always been different." Adi-Gallia pointed out.

"Anakin may have gone against the code but he only left when he was given Senator Amidala's permission. He has learned so much since then." Obi-Wan said diplomatically. "And given what we learned during the trial can we say have done much better? Did not millions of woman and children die on Kaleesh because we did not know what truly happened between them and the Yam'rii?"

"We didn't know what had happened so we cannot be fully at fault." Windu said.

"General Grievous and the Kaleesh might disagree." An obvious statement if there ever was one.

"Whatever grudge Grievous has with the Jedi it does not excuse his actions through the course of the war." Windu rebuked.

"Hmm…" Yoda closed his eyes. "Made mistakes the Order has. Broke the code, Skywalker did but rejected Q's power he did. Sensed his pain, I did when his mother died. Did not succumb to darkness he did and made excuses he did not."

"Does this mean we be lenient with him?" Sasea Tinn asked.

"No but punish him perhaps we should not. Already suffered enough he has. Saved his Padawan and us he did." Yoda stated.

"He is not afraid to admit his wrongdoings. And we cannot expel him in the middle of a war." Evan Piel said, remembering that Anakin saved his life when he was captured by the Solanae. "I believe he's more than earned himself a second chance."

The Jedi Council was silent until Mace Windue sighed. "Very well but he will remain under strict observation for the time being."

For the most part the Council agreed and Obi-Wan was glad that Anakin wouldn't be punished. It was not like Anakin was completely at fault as Obi-Wan himself understood what Anakin had gone through.

Even to this day he still remembered Qui-Gon's last moments during the battle of Naboo and he had felt the urge for vengeance against Darth Maul.

It would have been hypocritical of him to not help Anakin when he needs it most.

Q's actions might have been extreme but perhaps needed for this one occasion. Of course now the Jedi understood why Q and his people were generally hated by the Milky Way even if the Jedi claimed they do not allow feelings of hatred.

It did not mean they liked Q either.

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

"I see…It was good of the Jedi to no expel you, Anakin." Palpatine said as he and Anakin stood at the large window, showing the city.

"Of course they want me to spend two hours meditating a day but luckily that was all they ordered." Anakin admitted with a sigh. "I think Q's actions played a factor in their decision and my choice to reject his offer."

"Was it wrong to be tempted Anakin? A great many people would have jumped for a chance for what Q was offering." Palpatine said smoothly.

"Maybe but I just hope Q doesn't make the same offer to Dooku or any other Sith Lords. I can't imagine what they would do." Anakin said adsently. "The good news is that even though Q likes to meddle the Continuum mostly stays out of the way when it comes to us mortals. So we don't have to worry about them trying to take over the galaxy or anything like that."

"Yes, it is good news." Palpatine nodded as he and Anakin looked out the window.

In the back of his mind Palpatine considered the fact that as powerful as the Q were they couldn't directly interfere. That was good but the fact they perhaps knew everything was a threat to the Grand Plan. However they had their chance to show the Jedi and they did nothing. They were testing the Jedi and Palpatine believe the Jedi had failed their test.

If they wanted to they could have exposed the entire plan but they played along.

They wanted to see if the Jedi were as ignorant as they truly were. These coming months would decided if the Jedi could benefit from their encounter with the Q but at the same time Palpatine had learned much from the encounter. Skywalker had turned down Q's offer for power that could have brought his mother back in order to save Tano. Now just because he rejected the offer for the power of the Q did not mean he was incorruptable.

He could use this to his advantage when the time was right.

No matter how powerful Q or the Prophets were they were all insignificant against the power of the Dark Side.

And when the time was right he would make sure all threats were erased when the Sith would rise again.

 **Milky Way  
Earth  
Paris**

Ahsoka was relieved to hear that her master had not been expelled from the Jedi Order. She had been over the edge with worry ever since she returned to Earth and Chuchi had no idea she had been gone. It was like she had never left Earth at all. As she walked out onto the balcony of the suite she shared with Chuchi she was not surprised to see someone already there.

"It's good to see you again, Ahsoka." Benjamin Sisko said with a smile while leaning against the railing. "I see you met Q."

"Yeah and I understand why you told me to punch him if I ever met him." Ahsoka nodded sourly. "Too bad I never got the chance."

"Knowing Q you'll have plenty of opportunities." Sisko nodded. "I knew he'd become interested in your galaxy sooner or later. The Q Continuum always follows whatever attracts the attention of people they are interested in. Just because they know everything there is to know does not mean they have seen everything."

"Can you do anything to stop him? It seems unfair for people like him to be that powerful." Ahsoka looked up at the sky.

"A great many people share that belief but no. The Q and the Prophets are two separate powerful races that out of respect for each other resolve not to interfere with each other. I could not speak on your behalf even if you asked for me." Sisko explained. "But it seems you've passed their test."

"So what now?" Ahsoka looked at Sisko. "Is it over?"

"Q once told Picard the trial for humanity never ends. At best we can only show Q that we are not afraid of him or the Continuum no matter how they judge us. Don't worry though, I do not believe that Q will do anything drastic yet." Sisko stated as he stood up. "But I hope you understand just how the discovery of two galaxies that are so different can change everything."

"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling." Ahsoka admitted. "Captain Sisko, you offered to show me how the Force works in this universe…Is that offer still open?"

* * *

 **END OF PART II**


	24. Chapter 24

Events following the end of Part II

The Battle of Umbara ends in a Republic Victory. However Jedi Master Pong Krell is revealed to be a traitor who kills a dozen clone troopers before he is captured and executed.

A criminal known as Moralo Eval is captured and sentenced to life in prison on Coruscant. He claims Count Dooku had come to him with a plan to capture Chancellor Palpatine on Naboo but cancelled the plan following the Borg attack. After claiming he had vital information that could lead to Dooku's capture Moralo Eval is later found dead in his cell. The case is closed by the Chancellor who writes it off as a prison fight gone out of control.

Following the appearance of Q and the Jedi trial the Jedi Council agrees to keep what they had learned at the trial a secret, believing the truth of the Kaleesh-Huk war would cause greater loss of mistrust for the Jedi Order.

Queen Miraj Scintel and the Zygerian breaks away from the Confederacy of Independent Systems, planning to re-establish their slave empire without the aid of the Republic or the Confederacy and to punish the Milky Way Alliance for their interference. Additional Milky Way ships are sent to Kiros to defend the colonists.

After tracking her movements Count Dooku discovers that his former apprentice Asajj Ventress is returning to Dathomir and orders General Grievous to return to Serenno and to assemble an attack force. In addition to that Count Dooku selects a military ranked tactical droid to take a contingent of battle droids to the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy to act as representatives of the CIS.

Knowing of Count Dooku's actions Chancellor Palpatine selects a clone troop contingent to go the Delta Quadrant and learn more about the nations there. Jedi General Aayla Secura is sent as a representative of the Jedi Council and as the commander of the clone contingent.

A summit is called on Kuat and Raxus to discuss the threat of the Borg and to form a plan to counter them.

* * *

 _It has been said that for every action there is an equal opposite reaction. This is not a theory, it is a fact. It has happened many times throughout history on Earth. One event can trigger a multitude of events that fall with the force of an avalanche._

 _This is not unique to Earth._

 _It has happened on countless planets, galaxies, and perhaps even different universes. A single change, a single spark is that is needed to ignite the reaction that will lighten up the universe like fireworks. It doesn't matter how big or small. It can cause a series of events that can change just about everything one knows about the universe._

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE III**

 **THE ONES WHO STAND**

 **THE GREAT CHANGE CONTINUES TO BE FELT BY BOTH GALAXIES AS ALL INVOLVED STRUGGLE TO COPE. THE CLONE WARS CONTINUES BUT IT IS NO LONGER MERELY ONE SIDE AGAINST THE OTHER AS OTHERS THREATS REVEAL THEMSELVES. WITH THE STATUS OF THE MILKY WAY AS A NEUTRAL STATE BETWEEN THE WARRING FACTIONS MANY SYSTEMS WERE NOW ASKING FOR PROTECTION FROM BOTH THE REPUBLIC AND THE SEPARATISTS TO AVOID BEING DRAWN INTO THE WAR. DESPITE THE FLEETS OF THE MILKY WAY BEING STRETCHED A GREAT MANY HAVE SUPPORTED THE IDEA OF PROTECTING WORLDS FROM BECOMING INVOLVED IN THE WAR.**

 **WHILE IT HAS BEEN PUBLICALLY SUPPORTED BY MANY THERE HAVE JUST AS MANY PEOPLE FROM EITHER SIDES OR NEITHER WHO REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE THE MILKY WAY AS HAVING ANY LEGITIMATE POWER IN THE GALAXY. ON THE PLANET OF KRIOS A TOGRUTA COLONY HAS LOBBIED FOR PROTECTION FROM THE ZYGERIAN SLAVE EMPIRE, ASKING FOR HELP FROM THE MILKY WAY ALLIANCE. AS THE DEBATES CONTINUE A SPECIAL TASKFORCE HAS BEEN CREATED TO STOP THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE GALAXY: THE BORG.**

 **AT THE SAME TIME ANOTHER POWER FROM THE MILKY WAY MAKES PLANS FOR THE GALAXY, AIMING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WAR TO GAIN WEALTH AND POWER.**

* * *

 **Location Unknown  
Unknown starship**

" _Operative eight-one-four-reporting in_."

"Good to hear from you. What do you have report?"

" _We've scanned the bio-chip we extracted from a clone. The list of orders all state that they can only be ordered by the Supreme Chancellor._ "

"Possible and yet not suspicious. It's obvious the Republic would want a way to control its army. Still, the fact that the cloners on Kamino were ordered to create an army before the current chancellor came into power is suspicious. Have you learned anything?"

" _Our operative on Naboo reported that he found records that had been sealed before Theed had been destroyed in the Borg assault. It seems that the eldest son of the Palpatine family had a long record of crimes that would have barred him from politics if the records had not been sealed on order of one Cosinga Palpatine, the head of the Palpatine family before he and his family were murdered on their yatch durning a pirate attack._ "

"And the eldest son I assume is the current Chancellor?"

" _Indeed but he does not go by the name that was listed in the family records. I have looked everywhere else and it seems all other records concerning the Palpatine family were erased._ "

"Send me the file and return to base. Leave no evidence of your stay on Naboo."

" _Yes sir._ "

The man tapped at the computer on his desk. "Operative three-seven-zero-four."

" _Operative three-seven-zero-four reporting._ "

"What is your progress with the CIS?"

" _We have discovered a special program embedded in the sub-routines of all the droids encountered by the Friedrich. It's designed to shut all droid units in range down immediately and they cannot be reactivated by any known activation codes._ "

"I see." The man looked over the scanned results. "Good work, three-seven-zero-four. Continue your mission."

" _Yes sir._ "

The man then tapped his console, looking at a report from Utopia Planita Shipyards.

 _Starfleet Operations TVL-977_

 _Utopia Planita Shipyards: Status Report_

 _Intallation of Point Defense software and turrets is progressing as expected. Our engineers have looked into the tank and walker design used by the Republic and CIS, comparing it to the mechs used by the Voth and the Vaadwaur. A new mech design currently being tested at location Echo-4. A new shield design against blaster fire is in the testing stage and results are promising._

 _When ready the design will be sent to the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic to ready them for possible hostalities with the Skyriver Galaxy._

 _._

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 _Accessing Skyriver Research Technology:_

 _Skyriver Research High-Powered Resilient Shield Array_

 _Description: Upon learning about the nature of the weapons in the Skyriver Galaxy, specifically their 'blaster' technology a new shield system is being designed to take into account of the massive numbers the governments in the new galaxy. Based on the weapon known as the 'lightsaber' that is able to deflect incoming blaster fire due to the magnetic field it uses to contain the plasma that is essential to its function. The shield system incorporates a magnetic layer that in theory will absorb and possibly deflect any form of blaster bolts, ship-sized or smaller._

 _._

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 _._

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 _Skyriver Research Deflector Deflector Array_

 _Description: Due to the massive numbers any super-power in the Skyriver Galaxy has at their disposal a new form of deflector array has been ordered. Due to the high use of ion cannons that have been effective, even against the Borg, the array can configured to emit a high powered ion pulse or beam that has proven to be able to disable over a dozen Republic or CIS ships while tested in the simulations._

 _._

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 _._

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 _Skyriver Research Hyper Impulse Engines_

 _Description: The large amount of weapons along with the ability to produce ships large in size and number has made it necessary to design engines modified with higher speed and turn rate compared to current engines along with the ability to reduce damage._

 _._

 _._

 _._

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 _Proximity Tri-Cobalt Warheads_

 _Description: The large number of fighters usually deployed by Skyriver fleets is currently too great for point defense designs to hold off even if the shields can be adjusted to accound for their weapons. Therefore our research division has tested for ways to remove the fighter screens quickly before they become too numerous and it was suggested that Tri-Cobalt Warheads equipped with proximity devices be used. The simulations have proven to be highly accurate and has been approved for use. There is the possibility that the tri-cobalt warheads could affect the hyperdrives used by the Skyriver Galaxy due to the amount of subspace rifts among other things rendering hyperdrives useless in the Milky Way Galaxy._

 _Close File_

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 _Defense Drone Network_

 _Description: Studying the Solanae warship known as Obelisk 1 as lead to the creation of a fighter drone with a modular weapon design, able to use phaser, disruptors or any weapon considered appropriate for the commanding officer. The drones have built in replicators to create photon torpedoes for continued use without needing land and reload. Capable of high speed maneuvers and adaptive programming the drone network is predicted to hold out against an overwhelming force for some time before being destroyed._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

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 _Enhanced Combat Armor_

 _Description: Designed for MACO and security this armor is designed against the kinetic impact of blaster bolts and can resist the contained plasma of the lightsaber weapon. There is still research being made to counter the psionic powers used by the Jedi and other beings with the ability to use these 'Force' powers. The armor is designed with the same counter-measures designed against psionic species in the Milky Way, including the Undine but apart from a field test there is no sure way to confirm its effectiveness._

 _._

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 _Skyriver Reactive Shield_

 _Description: Taking into account of the effetivness of the lightsaber in deflecting blaster bolts a new shielding system has been designed with a modified magnetic charge capable of deflecting blaster bolts as effectively as a lightsaber and possibly other forms of weaponry in the Milky Way. It can be modified to absorb energy into a Shattering Harmonics Crystaline Sword if the wearer is equipped with one. The shield takes into account of the high numbers employed by the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems._

 _._

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 _Modified Phaser Rifle_

 _Description: Designed to take in account the large infantry numbers, including battle droids and clone troopers this phaser rifle can fire concentrated phaser bolts and a secondary function emit high powered beam spray that can damage any targets, organic or synthetic._

 _._

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 _High Powered Prototype Phase-Saber_

 _Description: Given the high effectiveness of the Jedi in combat it has been suggested that advanced phaser weaponry and combat shield is not enough. A prototype saber, utilizing phased energy and based off the scans of lightsabers which include the magnetic field to contain the energy has been designed and is suggested to be as effective against energy based weapons as the Tholian Shattering Harmonics Crystalline Sword._

 _._

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 _Shattering Harmonics Crystaline Sword_

 _Description: This sword uses a form of crystalline interweave technology perfected by the Tholian Assembly. Its unique crystalline structure allows it to siphon energy from attacks directed against the wielder. Once a sufficient amount of a specific type of energy is trapped in the weapon, the wielder has a small window of time to discharge that energy back at the attackers through a melee attack. They may also execute a single discharge in the form of an energy bolt that can hit targets in range, but removes the entirety of the blade's stored energy._

 _._

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 _Starfleet Archer Class Exo-Suit_

 _Description: In response to the walkers and tanks used by the Skyriver governments along with the Voth, Vaadwaur and the Elachi. The Archer Class Exo-Suit is equipped with shields, phasers, and photon grenade launchers and has proven to be high effective in the simulations. The exo-suit can be remote piloted and a transporter signal has been installed to save the pilot in case of high risk leading to the destruction of the exo-suit._

 _Close File_

 _._

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 _._

 _End Report_

The man leaned back on his chair, looking up at the ceiling. "By the prickling of my thumb…Something wicked this way comes."

()

"You could have done so much more."

In a flash of light appeared Q who looked amused at the woman who watched Coruscant, seeing the thousands of warships moving out to battle Separatist fleets and worlds. "And why would I do that? Just so I could do the Jedi's job for them? Their problem, their mess, their stupidity, and none of it is on me. They can't figure it out, even if I decided to straighten them out a little, that's their own fault."

"You would let a galaxy burn simply because they disappoint you?" The woman asked.

"Oh please. All the races have been butchering each other since some lucky idiot invented the club. It's not my fault for everytime a genocidal maniac takes over." Q scoffed. "The people will learn, they'll prevail, they'll forget the lesson and the cycle starts over again."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because…I am Q. I know."

"And yet you have repeatedly appeared and tested the Milky Way…As if you know that many of them could indeed break the cycle apart and become like you…Only they would not lose their compassion." The woman said dryly.

"Oh no, not this again. Really if I wanted to hear more about lacking any compassion or decency I would just go talk to Jean-Luc, retired or not." Q rolled his eyes. "What about you? It's not like you're any different with all your family squabbles."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Do _not_ speak of my family."

"Oh, sore spot? And people think the Q are monsters. What about you, _Daughter_? So called Light of the Force." Q chuckled as he vanished. "Your family…Is as much as a race of devious miscreants as the Q as seen as."

The woman turned away from where Q had been, the image of Coruscant vanishing and before appeared the image of a certain Padawan she had given her life to save.

'Why do the young pay for the sins of elderly?'

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

It had only been a standard solar cycle since the trial of Q and yet much had happened in that short time. His master informed him that Skywalker had not been expelled from the Jedi Order for what happened on Tatooine following his mother's death. That had been good since his master had plans for Skywalker but for now that was last thing on Dooku's mind. Right now his mind was on another more important matter at the moment: his former apprentice Asajj Ventress.

He had been tracking her ever since his master gave him permission to welcome Ventress back as his apprentice in order to answer the situation of the Milky Way if he could control her. That would not be difficult since Ventress had no idea of what to do. Her life had been dedicated to revenge, first on the pirates of Ratatakk who killed her master, then the Jedi for abandoning her master, and then Dooku for betraying her. Well, technically Dooku had protested Lord Sidious's decision to terminate Ventress but still he had carried out the order.

However Ventress was uncertain of her future and she was returning to the only place she could think of to help her.

Dathomir, the planet of the Nightsisters.

Dooku was not one to tolerate betrayal no matter the circumstances and he would make that matter clear to his former apprentice and the Nightsisters. With the destruction of the Nightsisters Ventress would be left alone in the galaxy and he would only have to wait for the opportunity to welcome back into the ranks of the Sith. A sound of familiar footsteps brought his attention to his latest visitor who bowed his head.

"You summoned me, my lord?" General Grievous asked.

"The time has come to take revenge on Asajj Ventress and the witch Mother Talzin. I have learned Ventress has returned to Dathomir." Dooku explained, gesturing to the image of Dathomir. "Go there and wipe the witches out. All of them. Their illusions do not frighten me but I want Ventress brought to me alive."

"Yes, Master." Grievous nodded and quickly left the room, leaving Dooku to monitor the battle from the sanctity of his home.

()

Grievous marched past the lines of assembled battle droids. "Assemble the fleet. The time for vengeance on the traitor Ventress has come. We go to Dathomir to battle!"

The droid armies complied, marching onto the landing craft that would transport them to the ships waiting in orbit. The _Inferno_ was still be repaired following its encounter with the Borg at Naboo but the _Invisible Hand_ was waiting for Grievous to re-take command and it would be more than adequate to deal with a cult of witches. Grievous was looking forward to this ever since he learned of Ventress's betrayal. The two had been perhaps the only competent commanders in the entire Confederacy but Ventress had never respected Grievous, believing the title of Supreme Commander should have been hers since she was Dooku's apprentice.

The two had become rivals, almost always working to outperform each other and prove who was better. Of course Grievous knew that Dooku had turned on Ventress but only because he became tired of her failures which more or less proved Grievous was the superior. He would have preferred to kill Ventress and add her red lightsabers to his collection but he'll settle for proving who the superior warrior was and bringing her injured body, non-critical of course, to Count Dooku.

As soon as his shuttle landed in the hangar bay of the _Invisible Hand_ Grievous marched straight to the bridge.

"General, all ships report they are ready to depart. Awaiting your command." The command battle droid reported.

"Set course for Dathomir. I want us there now." Grievous stated as he sat in the command chair.

"Roger, roger."

 **Outer Rim  
Quelii Sector  
Dathomir  
Nightsister Village**

Ventress honestly didn't expect to become part of the Nightsisters after spending her life trying to become a Sith but as she was baptized into the order of the Nightsisters for the first time she felt like she had found a place to call home. The Nightsisters had welcomed her with open arms and celebrated her initiation with a feast. However what she and the Nightsisters did not know was that it would all come to an end.

()

As the feast continued the Separatist fleet exited from hyperspace, ready to begin the attack.

"We are approaching Dathomir." The pilot droid reported.

"Make preparations to land." Grievous said.

The landing craft launched from their ships, slowly approaching the planet. Fighters and bombers were the first to enter the atmosphere, closing in on the coordinates of the location of the Nightsister village.

()

Ventress was the first to hear it as she looked up, spotting the _Hyena_ bombers as they made their run, dropping their bombs down on the forest surrounding the village.

Mother Talzin was the first aside from Ventress to realize what was happening. "Prepare yourselves, sisters! The war has come to Dathomir!"

The Nightsisters scattered as the bombs slammed into the walls surrounding the village, one of which caused a pillar to fall onto a Nightsister.

"Karis!" Ventress shouted, rushing over and lifting the beam away with the Force.

As she cradled her fellow sister in her arms Asajj heard her last words. "Go…And lead us to victory."

With that final breath Karis died, leaving Asajj to stare mournfully for a second before standing up and igniting her lightsabers.

()

The landing craft landed in a clearing, west of the Nightsister village and the perfect place to deploy the ground forces.

"Establish a perimeter and get the droids in attack formation. We'll clear a path right to their village." Grievous said once the ship had landed.

He watched as lines of B1-battle droids and AATs disembarked from the landing ships while MTTs deployed squads of B2-super battle droids to assault the Nightsisters.

()

"Gather your weapons." Mother Talzin said to her clan as she and Ventress waited patiently for the enemy to arrive.

"The droid army is only here because of me." Ventress said, blaming herself for the battle that was about to happen. "So many are going to die."

Talzin brought her hand up to Ventress's chin, directing the young Nightsister's eyes to her. "Now is not the time for regrets. Now we must fight."

Knowing she was right Ventress shook aside her regret, readying herself for battle. "That gutless coward Grieouvs is coordinating the attack. I can sense him."

"You know the droid army. It gives us an advantage." Talzin stated.

It wasn't long before the first wave of battle droids came into view, opening fire the instant the Nightsisters were in view who responded with their energy bows while Ventress deflected incoming blaster bolts with her lightsabers. As this happened Talzin conjured a green mist that expanded in a green glowing sphere that surrounded her and lifted her off the ground, protecting her from enemy fire as she spread her arms out and released green bolts of lightning that short circuited every approaching battle droid in range.

Ventress stood next to Talzin, continuing to deflect enemy fire. "We will need an army to fight Grievous."

Talzin agreed. "I will speak with Old Daka. She will get us the reinforcements we need."

Knowing she would need to buy Talzin as much as time as she could Ventress leapt forward, leading her sisters into battle. "Follow me, sisters! Attack!"

Ventress through herself at the droid army, slashing through them with her lightsabers as her fellow Nightsisters joined her. One even managed to grab two blasters and shot at the droids, screaming in pure exhilaration. The droids pushed forward as their air support came around for another strike.

"Take to the trees, sisters. We will attack the droids from above and below." Ventress instructed and ran up the trees.

Commando droids ran up the trees, pursuing the Nightsisters and firing on them.

()

"There are reports of heavy fighting along the eastern ridge. Reports indicate Ventress is leading the attacks." The pilot droid reported.

Just what Grievous was hoping for. "Send in the Defoliator cannon. We'll burn those witches to the ground."

A moment later the Defoliator cannon was deployed, escorted by four AATs into the battle zone.

()

Even though they were outnumbered the Nightsisters were holding their own against the droids, using their skills and Ventress's tactics to hold them back.

That only lasted until the Defoliator tank arrived.

"Fire the Defoliator." The command droid said upon arrival.

"Roger, roger." The droid piloting the tank nodded and took aim.

Ventress spotted the Defoliator tank just as it fired its warhead that fell to the ground of the battlefield and released a powerful shockwave of fire that burned away Nightsister unlucky enough to be caught. The Defoliator fired again, burning away the trees and stripping the Nightsisters of their cover, leaving them open to blaster fire.

()

Mother Talzin calmly strolled through the village with two Nightsisters as her personal escort. "Go to my chamber. There you will find a silver metallic sphere. Bring it to me in the hidden cave."

"Yes Mother." The sisters bowed and rushed off to Talzin's room.

Talzin strolled to a wall and waved her arms, watching as a secret opening appeared in a flash of green light. Talzin entered the secret cave, glancing over her shoulder as the entrance vanished, leaving only a wall.

Talzin entered the secret room, finding an elderly Nightsister sitting in front of large crystal ball. "Daka. As the oldest and wisest of us I need you to resurrect our fallen sisters. Ventress will need the Army of the Dead to achieve victory."

Daka let out a deep breath and spoke in a raspy and ethereal voice. "Then I shall begin the Chant of Ressurection." Daka began speaking in an ancient language as she weaved her hands around the crystal ball. "Choono slalem denni tay'lori olee-ay. Lucheno vadem klavlane. Blenay vedi nalem koreem. Villos susko kono lamal! Vlemon tagoo!" From the ball came a green mist that shot out of the room and flew out of the village.

The mist spread out, finding trees with the mummified remains of deceased Nightsisters and began bringing them back to life.

"Rise, Sisters. Undead sisters, rise from your sleep. This time has come. Awaken." Daka's voice whispered to the cacooned remains. "You have been called upon."

Slowly one by one the cacoons were ripped out and from them came the mummified Nightsisters who had awoken, answering the call and rushed forward to join their living sisters.

()

The battle was becoming desperate as the Defoliater continued to fire, forcing the Nightsisters back as they lost cover. All seemed lost until Ventress sensed something coming and watched as swarms of Nightsisters, dead Nightsisters came out of the fog and ripped through the droids.

"The Army of the Dead. Our reinforcements." Ventress whispered with renewed hope.

()

"Ventress has her army." Daka stated once the spell had been cast.

"Good." Talzin slowly paced. "Now to deal with Count Dooku."

The second she finished that sentence the two Nightsisters she had sent to her chamber came into the room. "We have retrieved what you asked, Mother."

"Well done." Talzin levitated the sphere to her, dissolving into a green mist, leaving only a lock of hair. "Ah, a lock of Count Dooku's silver hair." Talzin grinned. "He should be more careful when dealing with witches."

A cauldron containing a green liquid was placed in front of her and she dropped the hair into the liquid. A moment later, a clay like doll fashioned in Dooku's image floated out of the cauldron and into Talzin's hands.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

Dooku had been monitoring the battle on Dathomir, seeing that the Nightsisters had summoned the corpses of their own fallen sisters to aid them in battle. A tactic, though not unexpected, proved that Talzin had been prepared for possible retribution from him. Still it would take more than an army of zombiefied witches to stop Grievous and it was only a matter of time before the Nightsisters were defeated. It would be easier to inform Grievous of the witches' magic that appeared as a green mist and use it to track Talzin down.

His thougths were interrupted as he suddenly felt very hot around the forehead. He brought a finger up to his forehead, feeling burns sprouting from his skin as his entire face suddenly became very hot to the point he felt like he was on fire. It was impossible for him to be feeling like he was being burned alive because there was obviously no fire.

At least no fire where he physically was.

Dooku gritted his teeth as he realized who was responsible. "Talzin."

That damned witch was using her magic on him all the way from Dathomir and she was trying to kill him!

 **Dathomir  
Battleground**

With the Army of the Dead on their side the Nightsisters launched their counter-attack, slashing through the droids. Ventress and several Nightsisters hijacked an AAT and used it to blow up the Defoliator Tank.

"The Army of the Dead will clear the way right to Grievous." Ventress said as she piloted the AAT.

She led the Nightsisters through the droids straight to landing area, regardless of how much damage the tank took from the constant blaster bolt barrage. Once the landing site was in sight Ventress jumped out of the tank and over the droids that were instantly attacked by the undead Nightsisters. She spotted Grievous disembarking from the lead landing ship with his toy bodyguards, raising his hand to tell the droid army to hold position.

Smirking Ventress held up her hand, silently telling the Nightsisters to do the same as she faced the cyborg general. "Surprised?"

"Hardly." Grievous replied, pointing at her. "You're the one I was sent here for."

"Then fight me alone. Prove you're the greater warrior. If I win, your army leaves. If you win, the Nightsisters will surrender." Ventress challenged.

Grievous brought out four lightsabers as he split his two arms into four, each one holding an active lightsaber. "I have always been greater then you."

He fell into his signature opening move, slowly moving towards his prey with the two top hands spinning, turning the two lightsabers into literal saws that would cut Ventress to pieces if they touched her. Letting out a shout Ventress clashed with Grievous who blocked her sabers and pushed her back. Ventress was quickly put on the defensive as Grievous had superior strength with four lightsabers to her two. Rather then attack him head on she used her agility to dodge his strikes and block when she needed to as she looked for any openings in his defense.

()

"Pain, Count Dooku." Talzin said as she held the doll over the boiling cauldron, knowing that Dooku was suffering because of her curse. "You will know terrible pain."

()

Dooku tried to hold off the pain with the Force but it was too great. He was literally being cooked alive and if something was not done Talzin would kill him. It was hard but Dooku was not about to let that damned witch kill him as he slowly made his way to the holo-communicator.

()

Originally Grievous thought this was going to be an easy win as despite her confidence and former status as Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress had never been a match for him in their previous spars they had throughout their rivalry but Ventress was proving to be more troublesome than he thought. She shouldn't be giving him this much of a fight but it was happening. So as they clashed again Grievous decided to end it.

"Enough of this." Grievous said before he lashed out with his foot, kicking Ventress in the torso.

The force of the kick sent Ventress spiraling to the ground near the ramp of the landing ship. Managing to stand up Ventress quickly lashed out, clashing with Grievous again.

"You think you can defeat me? You're nothing!" Grievous barked.

However Ventress proved that she was more than a match for the cyborg as they slashed and clashed again and again until Ventress actually severed one of Grievous's arms and knocked him onto the ground.

Looking up at Ventress and her smirking face as she raised her lightsaber Grievous decided playtime was over. "Kill her!"

The droids immediately opened fire as Grievous laughed, forcing Ventress back as she deflected their blaster fire while the Nightsisters quickly came to her aid. However a bolt managed to hit her on the shoulder, dropping her to the ground as Grievous stood up.

"You are lucky Count Dooku wants you alive." Grievous remarked, keeping his lightsabers active. "But he didn't specify how I was to deliver you to him, only that you are not permanently damaged."

But before Grievous could finish the job the undead Nightsisters swarmed him, forcing him to defend himself as the Nightsister named Luce helped Ventress to her feet and tried to move her to safety. It didn't last long as a battle droid shot Luce in the back, dropping them both onto the ground. Ventress quickly used a Force-push on the droid, knocking it back and turned to Luce who looked up at her.

"Doom is upon us, sister." Luce whispered, feeling her life fading. "Run. Save yourself."

Ventress watched as Luce passed with anguish and remorse, hearing the battle continuing. Having seen so many of her sisters die Ventress just couldn't find the strength to fight anymore. Grasping her shoulder Ventress quickly but quietly slipped away into the forest.

()

Dooku finally made it to the console and activated the holo-communicator, seeing the image of Grievous in battle. "Grievous…You must stop Mother Talzin before she kills me!" Dooku gasped. "Follow the witch's magic. It appears as a green mist. Follow to its source, eliminate Talzin! Quickly!"

()

The transmission from Count Dooku ended just before another swarm of Nightsister zombies tried to assault Grievous who easily fought them off.

"Forget Ventress." Grievous barked at the droids. "Our new target is Mother Talzin. Follow me!"

It was easy to spot the green mist and Grievous followed it to the source to carry out Count Dooku's orders.

()

Dooku grunted in more pain as his torso seemindly exploded, revealing a ghost apparition of Mother Talzin. "Call off your armies and leave Dathomir at once."

Dooku was panting but still glared at the image. "And let you and the traitor continue plotting against me? Never!"

"You're going to die either way. It is only a question of how painful it will be." Talzin state as her apparition sank back into Dooku's body, causing even more pain for the Count before she was gone.

()

Talzin had just brought a small blade to Dooku's eye, causing even more pain to the Count who bit back a scream as he felt like his eyes were about to explode.

()

Grievous led his droid forces to the Nightsister village, slashing through anyone in his way as he followed the mist. The mist led to a wall and Grievous smart enough to see that it was another magic trick from those witches.

"Fire!" Grievous pointed at the wall.

The commando droids fired their rockets, blasting the wall open. Talzin looked up, surprised and fearful as the droids entered the room, killing the guards.

"No." Daka shook as Grievous approached her, grabbing her as she tried to flee. "No! NO!"

Grievous stabbed her through the chest with a lightsaber. Daka died instantly and the spell keeping the undead Nightsisters animated was broken. They all fell to the ground, leaving the surviving Nightsisters outnumbered as the droids attacked, killing them all one by one. Meanwhile the droids surrounded Talzin and Grievous slashed at her as they opened fire.

Seeing the battle lost Talzin vanished into a green mist, knocking the cauldron over and spilling the voodoo doll.

()

Dooku hunched over, vomiting out a green liquid that he knew was associated with the magic of the Nightsisters and knew that Grievous had succeeded. He felt the curse was broken as the pain stopped, leaving only the injuries he had already suffered but it was manageable. He sighed in relief as he was mere seconds away from death.

The holo-communicator activated and projected Grievous. " _My lord, it is done. The Nightsisters have been wiped out._ "

"And Ventress?" Dooku asked, maintaining his calm posure despite his injuries.

" _She fled before I could capture her and Mother Talzin disappeared as well._ "

Dooku frowned. "Very well. It was unfortunate that Ventress escaped again but we have finished the Nightsisters who were a threat to us. For now, Ventress is no longer a concern. Return to Serenno, General, and I will have your next assignment prepared."

" _Yes, my lord._ " Grievous nodded and ended the transmission.

It was unfortunate that Ventress disappeared but only a minor setback. What concerned Dooku was Talzin who was extremely powerful which made her dangerous. She would hide for now but she was a mystic who knew of many dark rituals that could be used against him and his master. She would need to be eliminated and quickly.

He would find her and finish her and Ventress if he could not control them.

No matter what.

()

"Scout 137 to Command. The Nightsisters were massacared."

" _This is unfortunate. Where there any survivors?_ "

"Only one. The databanks confirm her to be former Confederate Commander Asajj Ventress. She's returning to her ship, likely to flee before she is found. And possible survivor is the matriarch of the clan, Mother Talzin but there is no evidence to confirm if she has been terminated or not."

" _Monitor her for the time being. In the event there are other survivors Dathomir will be placed under level one surveillance._ "

"Understood."

* * *

(Following events of Part II)

Operation Delta Rising makes contact with species encountered by _Voyager,_ including the Talaxians, the Hierarchy, the Kobali, the Hazan and the Benthan.

The Vaadwaur return as a super power and supposedly wipe out the Krenim. The Turei and the Voth become locked in a struggle against the Vaadwaur who have become strong enough to defeat them both.

The Borg Cooperative allies with Delta Rising, creating a virus to free drones from the Borg Collective.

Admiral Tuvok makes contact with the Undine on their flagship, convincing them to end the war started by the Iconians. The Undine withdraw back into Fluid space.

The Talaxians find a new homeworld that is almost polluted by the Hazan dumping anti-matter waste on the planet but Starfleets stops them.

The Vaadwaur invade Kobali Prime, prompting Alpha Quadrant Alliance to assist them.

The Terran Empire attempts to once again establish a foothold in the Prime Universe but is rebuffed again.

* * *

 _As the Clone Wars spread in the Skyriver Galaxy the Milky Way Alliance faces its own tensions as worlds in both galaxies seek to build ties for various reasons. In the Delta Quadrant the Talaxians and the Kobali are the first to make an alliance with the factions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants along with other powers like the Borg Cooperative, the Benthan Guard, the Hazan, the Turei and the Hierarchy while encountering enemies such as the Borg Collective, the Voth, the Kazon, and a reamerged Vaadwaur threat with surprising advancements that have allowed them to rise again as a super power in the Delta Quadrant. In the Skyriver galaxy the Milky Way Alliance is now being approached by planets and systems wishing to remain neutral in the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems for control of the galaxy._

* * *

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Orbit**

Coruscant had always a hub of activity, even before the Clone Wars as it was the center of the Galactic Republic. Only recently it had become host to a number of species visiting from another and now it was gathering point for perhaps the first dimensional alliance. Almost over a thousand ships were in orbit, instructed to wait as the senior officers met below.

"Admiral, the seniors are wating for us to meet them in the Chancellor's officer."

Admiral Dola K'Reth nodded. "Very well. I'm on my way to the transporter room."

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

 _Opening Republic Intelligence Database_

 _Access to Supreme Chancellor, Senate Executives, Senators, and Admirals only: Authorization Codes required._

 _Access Codes: 713835-2421-24323-Alpha-Omega_

 _Access Granted: Welcome Supreme Chancellor_

 _Access Time: 07:40 Coruscant Time_

 _Subject: The Borg Collective_

 _Entry One: Danger of the Borg_

 _The Borg Collective is the term used to define the force combined consciousness of trillions of individuals, using technology. The Borg are distinguished by their collective consciousness, their fusion of biological matter and technology, and their driving principle to assimilate all knowledge or eradicate threats, without regard to ethics. The group consciousness of the Borg civilization is created by linking each Borg individual, or drone, to the collective by a sophisticated subspace network that ensures each member is given constanct supervision and guidance. The collective is broadcast over a subspace domain similar to that utilized by transporter technology._

 _Being part of the collective offers significant biomedical advantages to the individual drones. The mental energy of the group consciousness can help an injured or damaged drone heal or regenerate damaged boy parts or technology. This is instrumental in the Borg ability to adapt with great speed to defensive tactics used against them. The Borg had made incursions in Republic and Separatists space for the last month and though they have been driven off it was not without heavy casualties._

 _It is believed that only through a combined force of the Republic, Separatist, and Milky Way will the Borg be driven from the galaxy for good. The Borg adapt to consistency so creative tactics as shown by veterans who have faced them, Generals Anakin Skywalker and Grievous, can defeat them even if the technology is inferior. Efforts have been made to improve ship to ship combat efficiency but it would take possibly too much time before the Borg launch another attack. We know the Borg are slow to attack, preferring to scan their enemies and hold them in a tractor beam before beaming their drones over to assimilate the crew and their knowledge._

 _The drones are equipped with personal energy shields which can only be destroyed by an overwhelming amount of weapons fire. Against the Borg it is likely combatants like the Jedi would be best used against them as the Borg have shown no way to adapt to a Jedi's powers._

 _We must end this war quickly._

 _Log out: Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine_

 _Time of Log Out: 08:15 Coruscant Time_

Chancellor Palpatine was already greeting the Republic portion of the meeting consisting of Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Luminara and Barriss Offee along with Republic military commanders such as Admiral Tarkin, Yularen, Thrawn, a newly promoted Captain Kendal Ozzel and several more officers. Each of them were here to discuss a matter of utmost importance: the threat of the Borg in the Skyriver Galaxy. Palpatine took a chance to think over the name given to the galaxy they all called home, wondering how such a name could spread so fast.

"Chancellor, we've assembled the fleets as you've asked. We'll be ready to move out on your word." Tarkin stated confidently.

"Good. We must be ready." Palpatine nodded. "I should inform you all that I have been in contact with Count Dooku through our Milky Way Embassy and for the moment he agrees. The Borg are the greater threat to the galaxy as has been stated many times by the Federation and Klingons representatives."

"It is a risk to be making agreements with Dooku." Mace Windu pointed out.

"Perhaps but if not for the efforts of General Skywalker and as much as it pains me to say General Grievous the Borg would have spread throughout the galaxy by now." Palpatine replied. "We cannot afford to be fighting the Separatists with the threat of the Borg waiting to take advantage of both of us."

"I hope you are right, Chancellor. There is still a chance Count Dooku could take advantage of this agreement." Windu leaned back in his chair.

A holo-image of his secretary appeared on his desk. " _Chancellor, the Federation and Klingon representatives report they are ready to beam down._ "

"Good. Inform them we are ready to receive them." Palpatine answered.

Adopting a welcoming look on his face Palpatine took the chance to consider the wonders and benefit of transporter technology. The ability to be teleported from a ship onto the surface of a planet and back was a wonderous and tactical advantage. It was a technology Palpatine knew a great many would give their whole arms to get their hands on and find out how they worked. It was at this point many scientists were bragging how they would be the ones to create their own transporters but it was a young science with barely any idea of how to start.

A few minutes later they were greeted with Federation Admiral Dola K'Reth and Klingon Brigidiar Colonel Kerath who were escorted by Federation MACO which was short for Military Assault Command Organization marines and Klingon Honor Guard warriors who stood with the few Senate security guards and clone troopers allowed into the meeting.

"Chancellor Palpatine, thank you for allowing us to attend." Dola stated.

"It was the least I could, considering you all helped protect Coruscant from the Undine." Palpatine stood up and offered to shake their hands which they did.

However they all felt a chill go through their spines as they shook his hand.

"Now I'm sure you are all familiar with my staff and the representatives of the Jedi Order." Palpatine gestured to the Republic officers and the Jedi. "And you know what we all here for."

"I understand you have found a way into the Maw and you wish to eliminate the Borg as a threat in this galaxy." Dola commented. "It's easier than done but the Borg are not as numerous and entranched here as they are in the Milky Way. But even a cube would be a threat to an entire fleet."

"Fortunately we are well prepared." Palpatine said as he sat down. "The Borg are becoming too much of a threat to be ignored. They must be eliminated."

"Many have tried, Chancellor. Almost all have been eliminated or assimilated." Kerath stated. "My people enjoy living dangerously but we not foolish. If we are to succeed, we would have to eliminate the Queen."

"The Queen?" Admiral Ozzel asked.

"The Borg Collective functions like an insect hive mind and there is always a Queen to lead it. The report on the Borg attack on Naboo states they tried to turn Senator Amidala in their new Queen, most likely because of her knowledge of the galaxy and the Republic. They might have chosen a new Queen by now who will direct them on what to do next." Dola explained.

"This makes it even more imperative we stop them." Windu said.

Denola brought out a PADD and placed it on Palpatine's desk. "We've been running simulations on an attack on the Borg Unimatrix in the Maw. If this is to work we would have to destroy the Queen before she escapes. She could return to our universe and take the knowledge of this galaxy to the Collective. There is the matter of possible boarding parties which is why we've decided to share you schematics of weapons that use projectile weaponry."

The PADD projected several weapons.

"These are twenty first century Terran weapons, long before first contact with the Vulcans was made. We've learned that the Borg have trouble adapting to solid projectiles which could be used to our advantage, especially if the Borg beam drones onto Republic ships. That would help a lot when you engage the Borg." Dola continued. "The problem is you would still suffer casualties against a Borg cube. The Borg can still adapt their shields to Federation and Klingon weapons despite our best efforts. At best we use anti-proton based weaponry and transphasic torpedoes to stand a better chance."

"Ion cannons have a better effect on Borg ships than most of our weaponry. And there is a proton bomb we developed against the droid armies." Anakin pointed out.

"Perhaps…" Kerath hummed in thought before smirking. "This bomb could be useful if it was somehow beamed aboard any Borg ships in range."

"That give it a better chance of inflicting more damage but the Borg would be on alert if any Federation or Klingon ships came in range. Their shields would block our transporters." Dola pointed out.

"Perhaps only a handful of ships. They can beam these proton bombs or perhaps a powerful bomb aboard a Borg ship and disable or at least cripple it from inside." Kerath answered. "The fleets would distract the Borg and we would make our attack. Even if the Borg adapt to the transporters we would inflict perhaps some damage. The main target would be the Queen's ship and it would cripple the Unimatrix for perhaps a few minutes."

"Perhaps we can make use of General Skywalker's tactic in defeating the Borg Cube at the first encounter." Thrawn suggested, earning everyone's attention. "Utilize the hyperdrives and using ships as bombs in ramming strikes."

"Can we afford to turn any of our ships into weapons?" Luminara asked.

"We have thousands of ships that are almost complete in our shipyards. More than a dozen are in for refit but they can be converted for the kind of plan Admiral Thrawn is suggesting." Tarkin pointed out. "The Borg would not anticipate such tactics. A skeleton crew could direct the ships to their destinations and be evacuated quickly."

"It would also be important for a Jedi to be stationed. The Borg have thus far been helpless against their abilities." Dola said, looking at the Jedi. "They can defend the crew from any drones that beam aboard."

"Can we expect any fleets from the Separatists?" Windu asked.

"We'll contact the embassy on Raxus and see what they plan to do." Dola answered. "I guess it depends on how much he considers the Borg a threat. I have spoken with Starfleet Command they have approved of us helping to upgrade your turbo-laser designs and deflector shield technology but only if the Separatists agree to a joint operation against the Borg. We don't want them to interperate that we are actively assisting the Republic."

"I believe he will." Palpatined stated. "Count Dooku, despite the crimes he has committed is no fool. If necessary I will speak with him myself."

That seemed to unnerve the Jedi but they said nothing.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _It seems we may benefit from this joint venture, Lord Tyrannus. As we speak there is talk of the Milky Way 'lending' their transporter technology to aid in the attack against the Borg._ " The image of Sidious stated. " _Of course there is the concern of the reaction from the Separatists over this. That is why I suggest you convince the Separatist Council to accept this agreement._ "

"It will be done, Master. At the very least they will be happy to have the chance to examine this transporter technology." Dooku replied.

" _I want it made clear to them and Grievous that until the Borg are dealt with they are to take no action against the Republic or the Jedi. We will destroy the Borg and eliminate them as a threat to the future of the Sith._ "

"It will be done. I will speak at the Embassy on Raxus and ensure that there will be no deceit from the Separatists."

" _Good. If an agreement they will feel less hesitant in giving us some of their technology to better learn about them._ "

"If I may, Master, I would like to point out about the Zygerians who are building up their forces for an attack on the Togruta colony in the Kiros system. Publicly they have withdrawn from the Separatists and if they attack the Milky Way fleet currently protecting the planet it would cause a war between them and the Zygerians."

" _Indeed. This would be most interesting. A chance to observe the Klingons whom I understand to be a warrior race._ "

"Perhaps if they were to launch their attack and receive important information it would build up trust." Dooku explained.

Sidious smirked, understanding what his apprentice meant. " _And thus showing the Separatists are sincere in their wish to aid against the Borg. Very well, you have my permission to prepare a fleet to aid the Alliance against the Zygerians._ "

The point of this plan relied on building trust with the Milky Way and what better way to earn that trust than to stop an invasion of slavers? The Separatist Senate would not speak against this plan as many of them hated the Zygerians for enslaving their families and people. Destroying their slave empire would bring them much support.

"It will be done, Master."

 **Coruscant  
Senator Amidala's Apartment**

"So it's finally happening."

Anakin looked at his beautiful wife who had recovered from her ordeal of being assimilated by the Borg when they had invaded Naboo. She was still hurting from the destruction of Theed but she had learned that her family had indeed survived and were living in villages set up across Naboo with help from the Gungans. Even if she was assimilated and forced to coordinate the invasion she still felt responsible for everything that happened. It would take years for Theed to be rebuilt if it ever was and Naboo would need a new Queen.

"Yes. There is talks of the Separatists joining to help invade the Maw and destroy the Borg." Anakin answered as he sat down on the couch with Padme. "It's causing more than a few talks."

"You believe it's a bad idea?" Padme asked.

"Would you trust Dooku?"

Padme shook her head. "No but I don't believe that we shouldn't be working together to at least stop the Borg once and for all." She looked away. "I have had enough experience to know that they can't be allowed to stay in this galaxy."

Anakin glanced sadly at Padme, seeing that she was still affected by her assimilation. "It wasn't your fault, Padme. The Borg did all those terrible things, not you."

"They still used me." Padme looked away as her eyes moistened. "I tried to fight but I couldn't do anything."

Anakin wrapped his arms around her. "I know. I felt you fighting. You won and we beat them. They can't hurt you anymore." Anakin looked up at the sky, his gazy hardening. "I won't let them."

That was more than a promise.

Anakin had vowed a decleration of war against the Borg for what they had done to his wife and the people of Naboo.

He would make them pay for what they had done not just Padme but the endless people whose lives they stole and turned into soulless machines.


	25. Chapter 25

**Mid Rim  
Hutt Space  
Y'Toub System  
Nal Hutta**

Nal Hutta was the capital of the Hutt Empire and the center of politics in Hutt space. The planet was ruled by the oldest Hutt families, known as the Clans of the Ancients who watched over the activities of both Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda from their homes. It was once known as Evocar and home to the Evocii until they were forced off their home by the Hutts and were either relocated to Nar Shadda or enslaved by the Hutts who destroyed every bit of culture they had left. Though the Republic was allowed into Hutt space by Jabba they were not allies of the Hutts who had worked to figure out what to do about the holo-diary left by Ziro the Hutt who was found dead on the planet Teth at the grave of his father, that was delivered to both the Republic and the Separatists who were screaming for justice.

A portal appeared above Nal Hutta and out came several ships that settled into orbit before making their presence known.

 **Gardulla the Hutt's Palace  
Hutt Council Chamber**

The four heads of the Hutt Council had been discussing what to do now that copies of Ziro the Hutt's holo-diary had been delivered to both the Republic and the Separatists. Jabba must have sold them out and now that everyone knew many people were clearing out of Hutt space as word of a potential attack on Hutt Space spread like wildfire. They didn't know why Jabba would reveal the diary but it was possible he was offered a deal for a lighter sentence in exchange for handing the diary over but it didn't matter.

Their business was in danger and they had to find a way to contain the situation. However their discussion ended when a loud explosion shook the palace. It was not the last. The entire palace continued to shake while those outside could see green beams of light coming down from the sky, meaning someone was attacking. Five minutes later the bombing ended and green pillars of light appeared on the main platform, fading and revealing strange creatures followed by even stranger looking droids that shot at anyone they saw as they marched towards the entrance.

The Hutts spotted the creatures who resembled nothing they had ever seen before.

One of the Hutts spoke up and the protocol droid translated. "We demand to know who you are and why you have broken into our home."

One of the creatures answered, by shooting the droid with a disruptor, burning a hole through its torso. That quickly spurred the guards to try and fight back but the creatures and their droids killed them with a single shot as they attacked anything that tried to fight and even aimed their weapons on the Hutts that tried to flee.

Needless to say things were about to change in Hutt space forever.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth**

When Ahsoka agreed to learn from Benjamin Sisko about how the Force worked in the Milky Way she didn't expect him to take her to what he called a baseball diamond. He took the time to explain what baseball was, a famous Terran sport.

"So what exactly am I supposed to learn here?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, for one thing you should not expect any kind of code similar to your Jedi Order here." Sisko answered as he walked across the field. "There is no Light Side or Dark Side in this universe. The Prophets, the Q, and anyone else like them have a specific set of guidelines that are different and in some ways hard to comprehend. The Prophets live in the Bajoran Wormhole, almost never appearing to the Bajorans who prey to them for guidance but they can reach out through artifacts in the many temples on Bajor. The Q live in an entirely different dimension where they have no true physical forms but if a mortal enters the Continuum it would appear in a way their mind would comprehend. Now let's see if I can show you this universe's understanding of the Force." He held out a small white ball. "Try and catch it."

Ahsoka would have asked why he is asking to catch a ball but Sisko already threw it and she tried to catch. It should have been easy but she missed and the ball flew past her. She should have been able to easily catch it but she missed.

"Strike One." Sisko held out another ball. "Don't worry. We're just starting."

He threw it again and Ahsoka held out her hand to catch it but just as her fingers touched it the ball slipped away and fell onto the ground.

"Strike Two." Sisko chuckled.

"Something's up…" Ahsoka walked over the ball and picked it up. "I should have been able to catch both of them. Is there some sort of secret with this game?"

"Oh no." Sisko laughed. "There's no secret involved, Miss Tano. I think it has something to do with the fact that there are no medi-chlorians in the Milky Way. I'm sure you noticed the difference when you came here."

Ahsoka nodded. "Yeah…The Force feels quiet here."

"Or perhaps it simply communicates differently here. It was easy in your galaxy because medi-chlorians existed inside basically all life but here we don't have that. It's easier to communicate in your galaxy because medi-chlorians existed in every living being there. Here, it's only down to a handful which explains why it feels quiet." Sisko produced another ball. "Third time. Perhaps this is the charm. Don't focus trying to commune with the Force. Simply focus on the ball."

He threw it and Ahsoka stepped back, following Sisko's advice to not try to sense where the ball was going and holding out her hand and she caught the ball. She stared down at the white ball, feeling different.

"You feel it, don't you?" Sisko asked.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, the best way to explain is that you've been trained to utilize this Force in only one manner that has worked for centuries. Only here it works differently now and the way you've been taught doesn't work as well. It's like you have relearn it all over again." Sisko explained as he walked over. "It may surprise you to know that humanity has been experimenting with the same powers you Jedi and the Sith use so easily for centuries now. Only we call it Extra Sensory Perception or ESP to shorten it. Species like the Vulcans and Betazoids have abilities like telepathy and perhaps even more but that is because their brains more complex, not because of the medi-chlorians found in you galaxy."

"So, you can only be a Force sensitive because of how smart you become?" Ahsoka asked.

Sisko laughed. "Well that is a factor but it takes more than being smart and there would be lot more people with psionic abilities if that was the case. Humanity has been evolving for millions of years and we are just beginning to tap into this potential. This is basically how the Force works in this universe, a form of evolution both chaotic and complex. Now here's a little trick." Sisko held up the ball in front of Ahsoka. "Just simply touch it."

Ahsoka looked at Sisko for a second and slowly held out her hand, touching the ball. She gasped as her vision expanded, zooming into the ball and see the very matter it was made of.

She pulled her hand back, gasping in shock as she looked at the ball. "What was that?"

"What you saw was the matter the ball is made of at the subatomic level." Sisko explained. "This is rare but it is possible if you can develop your powers enough. A few have even learned how to alter matter at the sub-atomic level but it is dangerous if not controlled properly. But there is more to the mere matter the object is made of. Allow me to show you."

He rested one hand on Ahsoka's shoulder, and her vision began to focus on the ball again, piercing right down into the subatomic realm where matter and atoms were incomprehensible. She began to see shapes which had no place in a normal universe, blossoming masses of something she could not begin to name in an endless sea of chaotic sensations and perceptions. It continued to change as she delved deeper, showing her new patterns and realms until things began to take on a more…orderly form. She began to see veins of light with pulsating spheres travelling between one another, forming an intricate web that stretched off into a vast abyss.

And then her vision focused on one of the nexuses where these lights met. For a moment she was blinded by pure light…and then she saw stars, galaxies…an infinite expanse.

"It's…a whole world." Ahsoka whispered.

"A subatomic realm that cannot be comprehended or perceived by even the strongest Sith or Jedi in your world." Sisko nodded. "A collection of infinite universes within our own. And within each is another infinite number of realms that cannot be discovered, some so deep that even I could not show them to you where the laws of reality as you or I are aware do not exist, where life develops in ways that are beyond imagination. And each of these universes, while inaccessible to most, provide more power to the reality which they are connected to than any number of reactors your civilization has built across millions of worlds. It is this power that many beings are able to access and manipulate. And it is what you can make use of when you stop looking at a ball like it is simply a ball." He held up a perfect copy of the baseball which he had tossed at her. "And open your mind to what lays beyond the limits of your vision."

Ahsoka looked at the ball as the universe around them vanished, returning to the baseball diamond back on Earth. "That was amazing…I'm not sure the Jedi Council would believe such a thing exists without you showing it to them."

"Then congratulations. You've learned something before your Council." Sisko smiled. "I think is all for the moment. I just helped broadan your mind and that will be enough to make you think it over. Right now, I believe you have a whole day to spend in Paris with…the politicians."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow as Sisko chuckled and vanished. She could say this much about Sisko, he had a sense of humor that her master would love. She stared down at the baseball he had left her and thought over what he showed her.

'A whole world in the palm of my hand…' Ahsoka thought as she tossed the ball up a couple times and caught it. 'I will be thinking about this for a while.'

* * *

 _The Milky Way Alliance has become more active in the Skyriver Galaxy following contact with a colony of Togruta asking for protection from slavers. This action has caused a great reaction as many more worlds that all wish to remain out of the Clone Wars are considering asking for protection that the Milky Way would be hard pressed to provide due to how stretched they are becoming. There is still much to be done in the Milky Way but at the same time the people asking for aid cannot simply be ignored. And there is also the matter of threats like the Borg on the horizon, waiting to make their next move._

* * *

 **Expansion Region  
Kiros system  
Kiros**

The taskforce assigned to Kiros remained for the last week as they helped with the colonists who been in desperate need of food and supplies since it was left alone with no one to help them. The Milky Way taskforce had been assigning doctors to aid with the sick and wounded Togruta colonists. It was a small taskforce, numbering a total twelve Milky Way ships from the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan factions but they were all supplied enough to help the people on the surface. The reason the ships remained was because there had been a tip from the Republic and the Confederacy intelligence agencies that the Zygerians were mounting an attack on the colony, aiming to enslave the population.

That tip was proven to be true when over a dozen ships in various shapes and sizes emerged from hyperspace.

The klaxons on the bridge of the _Jenova_ as the sensors detected the incoming fleet as Denola sat in her command chair. "Battle stations! Identify!"

"I am reading over twenty ships approaching. Most are cruiser or scout ship class but I also detect transports and a dreadnaught class approaching." Her Reman science officer, Corlung reported.

"Admiral, the _Seraphinite_ reports all defense satellites are on line."

Denola nodded. "Has the colony's shield been activated?"

"Yes, Admiral." The console beeped, earning Corlung's attention. "They are launching fighters. And they are broadcasing demands. They want us to power down and surrender since this system and everyone in are now property of the Zygerian Slave Empire."

"Order our warbirds to begin attack formation and coordinate with the Klingons. Inform Captain Creed to hold position with the Federation portion. It's time we show the Zygerians what we think of slavers." Denola grinned coldly. "Cloak and full power to weapons."

The _Jenova_ cloaked along with the Klingon and Romulan warbirds as they approached the Zygerians who continued their course towards the planet. That was their first mistake as the second their fighters came into range Federation and Klingon satellites targeted them and destroyed them under a barrage of phaser and disruptor fire that tore through the hull of the fighters like tissue paper. Their next mistake was thinking that the enemy could not attack while cloaked. The _Jenova_ slipped behind them and targeted the largest cruiser, locking its fifty disruptor banks and twenty seven photon torpedo bays before Denola gave the order.

"Fire."

The Zygerian flagship was peppered with disruptor fire and photon torpedoes that tore through the hull, passing through the deflector shields until the reactor went critical and exploded. The destruction of the flagship from an unknown enemy sent panic through the fleet which left them open to attack as the Klingon and Romulan warbirds decloaked and fired on them, cracking their hulls apart and exposing many of crews to the vacuum of space. The Federation ships were next as the _Seraphinite_ began a strafing run on the broken fleet, targeting weapons and engines and disabling them with a few well placed shots. The _Jenova_ deployed cloaked mines that caught the Zygerian transports with tractor beams, keeping them from landing or leaving and effectively removing them as a threat.

To the Milky Way Alliance it was not a battle.

It was a rout.

The few ships that managed to fire their turbo-lasers found themselves hitting nothing as the enemy ships were simply too fast.

"Contact the taskforce and tell them I want as many survivors beamed into cells on our ships. I want to know as much as I can about this Zygerian Slave Empire…" Denola's eyes became sharp and cold. "As I believe they have just provoked a war with us."

The Zygerians had no idea of the giant they had awoken.

Actually it was likely more than one giant.

The United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic all had one thing in common.

They detested slavers.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Orbit**

" _The cowardly slavers known as the Zygerians have declared war against the Empire! They dare to declare Klingons their property but they have failed! They attempted to take the ones the Empire promised to protect by force only to die to in disgrace! This cowardly attack will not stand!_ " Chancellor J'mpec stated over the Holo-net. " _As of now the Klingon Empire declares on the Zygerians and we vow to destroy their slave empire! The Romulan Republic has agreed to aid the Empire in this battle and the Federation supports our decision. Our fleet have mobilized and as we speak approach the Zygerian home world. People of this galaxy, you shall bear witness to those who dare trifle with the might of Empire and those like the Zygerians shall learn to fear us!_ "

Thousands of Klingons in both galaxies cheered as their Chancellor's speech ended, emboldened by his words and ready to take arms. The broadcast had originated from the Klingon flagship, _Bortasqu_ as it waited in orbit while surrounded by Klingon and Romulan warships with a few Federation ships for its master to give the word.

The word had been given.

Just as the speech ended the Klingon/Romulan taskforce entered hyperspace.

 **Zygeria  
Queen Miraj Scintel's Palace**

Queen Miraj Scintel snarled at the broadcasted speech of the Klingon. Who was he to dare to challenge the might of the Zygerian Empire? Only the Jedi had succeeded and they could not stop the rise of the Zygerian civilization again. These outsiders had no right to dictate what happened in the galaxy.

The strong ruled the weak.

It was a way of life and one that the Zygerian people had embraced.

"Prepare the fleets! We will show these Klingons the folly of challenging us!" The Queen shouted as she stood up.

"Yes my Queen." Her aide bowed and left to carry out her orders.

()

In orbit of its home planet the Zygerian fleet waited to meet the ones who dared challenge and they did not have to wait long. The Klingon/Romulan fleet excited hyperspace, the _Bortasqu_ leading the fleet.

"Full power to disruptors and ready all torpedoes!" Koren barked. "Close to point blank range!"

The massive ship moved forward, coming into firing range of the Zygerian fleet in less than minute but its shields held against the turbo-laser barrage.

"Zygerian ships in range. Sensors detect multiple transports carrying multiple life forms." Her Gorn weapons officer reported.

"Deploy the cloaked tractor beam mines to stop them. The enslaved will have their vengeance." Koren replied, an eager predatory grin spreading across her face. "Begin the attack! Rip their hearts out!"

The massive Klingon ship fired, disruptor beams and pulses firing along with photon torpedoes followed by the rest of the fleet. A mixture of plasma, quantum, and photon torpedoes shot towards the fleet at a speed too great for the enemy to stop and slammed into the Zygerian ships, turning them into miniature stars that lit up the sky of Zygeria for all to see.

"Split the fleet and block all hyperspace routes so they cannot escape. Approach the planet from all sides. No one leaves!"

The Zygerian survivors watched in horror as the Klingons led the attack, swatting aside anything that stood in their way as if they were annoying insects that tried to poke the skin of a dragon. The Klingons were relentless as they attacked anything that was not armed or carrying slaves and destroyed them without a trace of mercy.

The mighty Zygerian fleet that has stood ready to protect the home of its mighty empire had been broken so quickly it was hard to comprehend.

It was in that moment that only now the survivors had realized what they had done in foolishly awakening the giants that had come to crush them.

"Assume orbit and prepare to beam down to the city. Track down all the ships in this systems and disable any ships that possibly hold slaves and burn the rest. We will crush these Zygerians in their own home!" Koren stood up, sheathing her dagger and readying her disruptor. "I want to look these cowards in the eye as we slice their throats. Q'apla!"

The Klingons on the bridge responded as one. "Q'apla!"

Today was a good day to die.

 **Zygeria  
Capital City**

Queen Miraj Scintel's eyes widened as the sound of weapons fire was heard outside. She raced out onto the balcony and gasped as she saw pillars of light that solidified into Klingons, lizards that she would know as Gorn, and many Klingon brought their pet targs with them. The Klingons fell upon the surprised Zygerians, attacking with disruptors, daggers, and swords that became stained with blood. The Gorn were slow but were strong and they proved it as one picked up two Zygerians who tried to bind it with their whips and slammed them both into the ground, shattering their skulls on impact.

More than one Zygerian found himself attacked by a targ that attacked their prey, tasting fresh meat as they clawed and bit away at their prey. Federation and Romulan officers beamed down, some moving to help the Klingons and others were helping the thousands of slaves that Zygerians had locked up in their city.

SLAM!

Miraj Scintel spun around, gasping in horror as a Klingon woman knocked down the doors to her throne room and walked towards her with a scary grin.

"You are the Queen of the Zygerians?" The woman pointed at her.

Miraj Scintel's breath stopped but she glared at the woman. "How dare you enter my throne room and ask me such a question! I am Queen Miraj Scintel of the Zygerian Empire!"

The Klingon laughed. "Good, good. I was afraid you would be a coward and hide away. Perhaps you will be worthy of a glorious death."

"Glorious death? What nonsense do you speak?" Miraj Scintel demanded.

"Is it not obvious?!" The Klingon threw her head back and laughed. "We come here, seeking glorious combat on you who would dare to think any Klingon would submit to you! Now we are here to test that claim. Today is a good day to die indeed!"

The woman was mad. How could anyone speak such ludicrous?

"You are mad!" Miraj Scintel said.

"Perhaps, but I am also one who believes in honor. So…" The Klingon pointed her disruptor at the Queen. "Do you have a weapon?"

"What?"

"I see. So no." The Klingon put her disruptor away and clenched her hands into fists. "We will settle like true warriors."

She was truly mad. Did she really expect the Queen of the great Zygerian Slave Empire to fight her like a barbarian?

"I am Koren and I hope you will provide a challenge." Koren grinned as she slowly approached Miraj Scintel who stepped back.

"Step back. Do not touch me!" Miraj Scintel growled as she stepped further back.

Koren frowned. "Do you accept my challenge?"

"Challenge?! I will not be made to fight like some lowly commoner! You and your entire race will pay dearly for coming here and daring to destroy the glory of our slave empire!" Miraj Scintel shouted, pointing at Koren. "We are the great slavers! We force the weak to obey the strong as it is the way of the universe! You and your people are barbarians who do not deserve to live!"

Koren scowled as she turned around. "Disappointing. I came for a challenge but now all I see is a coward. And cowards do not deserve an honorable death."

"What?" Miraj Scintel barked.

"You and your pathetic platitudes bore me now. I will go and find someone more worthy to battle." Koren said as she turned towards the door.

Miraj Scintel looked to her throne and rushed to it, opening the arm chair that revealed a blaster.

She picked it up and pointed it at Koren. "Do not turn your back on me you-"

Koren spun around, pulling out her disruptor and fired a single pulse that hit Miraj Scintel in the chest, burning a whole through her chest. Miraj Scintel's eyes shot wide as she registered the hit before falling over onto the floor.

"Such scum is not even worth the attention of animals." Koren spat as she walked out of the dead Queen's throne room.

At the end of the day the Zygerian home world had been conquered and it sent a clear message as the Separatist fleet sent to offer aide arrived just as the Klingons declared themselves the victors. Thousands of slaves were liberated, their hopes of being freed having come true in a way no one had truly expected. The Zygerian Empire had been crushed under the foot of the Klingons who carried out their promise, leaving only the survivors of the broken civilization to watch as their dreams of a new slave empire burned before their eyes. The taskforce left the Zygerian world, its decimated fleet floating around the planet and its people left to pick up the pieces, carrying thousands of refuges back to the Kiros system.

Word of what happened at Zygeria would spread and the Skyriver Galaxy would remember what would happen if someone was foolish enough to provoke the force of the Milky Way Galaxy. Needless to say a great many worlds would look to the Milky Way for help against their own pirate problems.

It didn't end there though.

The Klingons had found a wealth of information regarding slave trades that had cooperated with the Zygerians and begun a crackdown on their partners. The Klingon Empire made a vow to destroy the slave empire and they would see it through right down to the last prisoner. No one truly mourned the destruction of the Zygerian empire, seeing them as a blight on the galaxy and many worlds would come to support the Klingon Empire as it began tracking down anyone associated with the Zygerians.

Their support only grew more as the Republic Senate received a holo-diary that detailed the crimes committed by the Hutt families and called for an invasion of Hutt space that happened to endorse slave trade and was loosely associated with the Zygerians.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _The Zygerian Empire thought it could demand the freedom of those under the protection of the Empire and chose to challenge us for them. Our great warriors proved to be too strong for them and we broke their backs. But this is not the end as we have discovered the locations of slave guilds that have colluded with these cowards and I declare that they shall join their cowardly allies in the fiery pits of Grethor!_ " Chancellor J'mpec announced. " _Until every last name in our databanks is found the Klingon Empire will not rest until this galaxy is cleansed of their filth!_ "

Count Dooku watched with intrigue at the multiple reports of the Klingons tracking down and destroying major pirate bases that had been connected with the Zygerians. There was also the fact that the senates of both sides were advocating an invasion of Hutt space on account of the holo-diary that had been delivered to both senates. A copy of the holo-diary had been sent to the senate on Raxus and it showed a number of crimes committed on many Separatist aligned worlds. With the senate screaming for action, the Council learning that the Hutts had stolen some of their merchandise and the Republic mobilizing for an attack on Hutt space with the Klingons it seemed the best way to salvage this was to launch an invasion of Hutt space as well before the Republic took all those worlds and gained the upper hand.

He had even heard of an attack on Nal Hutta and the deaths of the Great Hutt Council which would throw the Hutt Empire into complete turmoil and leave wide open to an invasion. Jabba would be recognized as the single head of the Hutt Empire but it would matter little in the end as the lists of crimes included crimes committed by Jabba as well. It would be easy to remove him as a threat and take control of Hutt space or at least as much of it before the Republic launched their own invasion in the name of justice.

With that in mind Dooku contacted the Council and General Grievous, watching as the blue holographic images appeared before him. "Councilmembers and General, I have received word of a Republic invasion of Hutt space in light of a holo-diary being delivered to the senate on Raxus in light of the Klingon/Slaver conflict. I have also been hearing of many of Separatist aligned worlds advocating for justice against the Hutts for crimes committed against us."

" _Yes, Count Dooku. The holo-diary contained details of a dozen crimes committed in our space, including many against many worlds allied with us._ " The Chairman of the Banking Clan spoke. " _Naturally many of us are displeased about it._ "

" _Displeased? It is outrageous that the Hutts could steal and plunder from us and think they could get away with it! We must show them the folly of thinking they can steal from us without consequence!_ " Nute Gunray exclaimed, sounding angry but of course given his greed no one was truly surprised.

"Given the fact that the Hutts control vital hyperspace routes and worlds with many resources it would be foolish to allow all of Hutt space to fall into Republic hands. Therefore I am authorizing an invasion of Hutt space. I will speak with the Klingon representative at the embassy on Raxus and inform him of our plans to 'join' with them to exact justice against the Hutts." Dooku said, making sure his wording was perfectly. "Grievous, I am putting you in charge of spearheading the operation. Take as many worlds as you can and if you come across any Republic fleets without any Klingons present you have my permission to engage them. I do not want the Klingons provoked in fighting against us."

" _Yes, Count._ " Grievous nodded.

"And what is the latest news on the Fabricator?" Dooku looked at the Skakoan minister.

" _We are dispatching cargo ships to planets like Lotho Minor to collect all the necessary parts and supplies needed. The Fabricator will be fully operational in a standard rotation._ "

"I will be there."

" _As you wish, Count Dooku._ "

"And you, Gizor Delso." Dooku turned to the last image, a Geonosian who had taken over for Poggle the Lesser who was in Republic custody.

The Geonosian made a series of clicks in its language that Dooku understood. " _I am in the process of creating a new type of infanty battle droid that will be more powerful even than our Magnaguards and Droidekas. The secret factory on Mustafar is finished and will be capable of producing over millions of battle droids a day._ "

"Good." Dooku nodded. "When will it be ready?"

" _If I may suggest, perhaps it can be the first creation of Fabricator. It is less risky than the droid foundries that could come under attack at any moment. The Fabricator, given the right parts and resources could assemble it if it passes all expectations._ " Delso suggested.

Dooku thought it over before agreeing. "It will be done. Bring the schematics to Skako Minor at once. In the meantime I would suggest you all prepare for the meeting with the Milky Way Representatives regarding the discussion of the Borg."

" _Yes, Count Dooku._ "

The transmissions ended and Dooku looked out the window, showing the valley surrounding his castle.

'We live in truly interesting times.'

The Klingon war on the Zygerians was unexpected and even though they would have been useful Dooku was not sorry in the slightest to see their civilization brought down. It would only make them easier to subjugate in the future. And with the invasions of Hutt space commencing this is an opportunity to link Separatist territories together which will only prolong the war. In fact it gave Dooku the perfect excuse to begin an attack on a certain planet.

He looked at the holographic map of the galaxy, zeroing in on the planet he was thinking of: Florumm.

He had already sent Grievous to take revenge on Asajj Ventress and the Nightsisters of Dathomir. Why not continue with the pirate Hondo for daring to hold him for ransom?

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

"The Klingons have eliminated another pirate base this morning at Makem Te. Even if they make a mess they are certainly becoming seen as the new men of the people." Obi-Wan commented as he walked down the hall with Anakin.

"I think it's good that they are doing this. The less pirates and slavers there are the less people have to fear." Anakin stated, actually pleased by what the Klingons are doing.

"It's still a distraction. They are causing a lot of noise from the public. People either complaining that the Senate is not doing enough to help them or they are mad that the Klingons are able to go wherever they want." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"They don't understand. With the Zygerian Slave Empire in ruins thousands of people don't have to worry about being enslaved. Is it wrong that the Klingons are doing what we should have done? Tracking down pirates and freeing slaves?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan stopped and faced Anakin. "What are you saying, Anakin?"

"I'm just saying the war has caused us to neglect our original duties as peacekeepers." Anakin explained. "It has given pirates free reign and the Chancellor supports the Klingons in this matter."

"Perhaps but the Senate is screaming for an invasion of Hutt space because that holo-diary that mysteriously appeared." Obi-Wan rubbed his chin. "It's too strange."

"What do you mean?"

"The Klingons declare war on the Zygerians and a holo-diary, one that I believe belonged to Ziro the Hutt for leverage on the Hutt Council suddenly appears. The Senate now votes on an invasion of Hutt space right as the Chancellor plans an alliance against the Borg. This all feels like a set up, just to expand the war." Obi-Wan explained.

"Maybe but even you have to agree that the Hutts have gotten away with their crimes for too long. Personally I believe they should have been tried and arrested long ago." Anakin shrugged.

"A war with the Hutts while we are still fighting the Separatists and preparing to invade the Borg at their stronghold in the Maw? That would cause a massive amount of bloodshed." Obi-Wan said, not liking where Anakin was going.

"And what else can we do, Master? If we refuse we lose whatever faith and support the people still have for us." Anakin said. "We're not doing this for the sake of fighting but we can't stand down in light of all the evidence we've been given."

"Evidence that suddenly appeared. Don't you fear that an invasion of Hutt space is exactly like whoever gave the Senate the holo-diary wants?" Obi-Wan asked. "We could be being manipulated."

Anakin stopped to consider that. "Who would do that? Who would gain anything from an invasion of Hutt space aside from the thousands of people who have suffered because of them?"

"We need to be careful about this, Anakin. If we go too far then we will lose whatever faith the people still have for us and we will have lost the war." Obi-Wan sighed as he continued walking with Anakin.

These were dark times indeed.


	26. Chapter 26

**Inner Rim  
Kuat Sector  
Kuat System  
Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array**

Kuat was regonized as one of the primary ship building planets in the Skyriver galaxy and it had proven its reputation for over thousands of years. The orbital ring, better known as the Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array surrounding the planet could hold over thousands of ships and its construction yards could build perhaps a thousand more. People preferred living in the orbital ring to the point that the array consisted of apartment complexes, hotels, restaurants, shops, medical facilities, and places of entertainment. Kuat Drive Yards had worked several companies such as CEC and Rendili StarDrive to produce a large enough fleet to aid the Republic through the Clone Wars and their ships had proven themselves well in battle.

The Vector Initiative Project was a joint venture between Kuat Drive Yards and Rendili StarDrive to design enhanced capital ships which led to the creation of the _Victory_ class Star Destroyer and the larger _Imperator_ Class Star Destroyer. Of course the designers, Walex Blissex and his daughter Lira Blissex both might have met their match when it comes to Starfleet Engineering Corps who were one of the ship-building companies that had designed the best starships in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. Walex Blissex saw the Federation ships, particulary the _Enterprise_ as works of art, combining elegance with power and agility that made for a unique design and he quickly gained a few ideas from how Federation technology worked. Lira Blissex saw the _Enterprise_ as too flashy, taking more time to make it look pretty instead of an actual ship, especially compared to her _Imperator_ Star Destroyer that for the moment was only few in numbers compared to the successful _Venator_ Star Destroyer Class her father had designed.

She actually appreciated the Klingon approach to building ships, considering their flagship the _Bortasqu_ and the Romulan flagship _Lleiset_ to be the Kllingon and Romulan equivalent of a Star Destroyer. She was impressed but convinced that her _Imperator_ was unbeatable. The best battleship in the galaxy in her mind. However production had slowed in favor of upgrading the Republic fleet in response to the appearance of the Milky Way and the threats from it such as the Borg and the Undine.

In addition to building and designing a fleet to counter these increasing threats the Chancellor had ordered Kuat and Rendili to upgrade the current Republic fleet, removing any perceived weaknesses that may have been found and to her humiliation Lira's pride and joy was discovered to suffer many design flaws.

A grand total of over one hundred thousand seventy four design flaws in operations and power distribution.

Lira had been so embarrassed and angry that her masterpiece suffered so many design flaws and that her father was helping to correct those flaws while upgrading the _Venator, Victory, Praetor_ and _Mandator_ Star Dreadnaught class at the same time. Improved alloy for the hull, additional reactors for extra power, multiple added shielding systems for increased redundancy, highpowered turbo-lasers with enough firepower to melt half an ice planet, additional ion cannons, concussion missile launchers and proton torpedo launchers that would make the _Venators_ , not her beloved _Imperator_ one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy. On the bright side designs for a sub-class of her beloved _Imperator_ known as the Tector class had been submitted and accepted, being built even now but it was not enough to quell the anger and humiliation Lira had felt. She wanted to design a ship so perfect and flawless without any form of design flaws.

She had wanted to step out of her father's shadow and prove she was a master engineer on her own but her masterpiece had suffered so many flaws it had almost been scrapped if not for the need of powerful ships against the Separatists and the Borg. She had watched her father closely as he pointed out the flaws and how to correct them, taking down every detail to ensure she did not miss anything about her father's successful approach that she would need for building the new most powerful ship in the galaxy. She knew that as long as threats like the Borg, the Undine, the Iskalloni, and Separatists lingered on the horizon she had the perfect opportunity to continue the Star Destroyer program. All that was really needed was time as she would dream up her next work of art, a Star Destroyer so powerful and perfect that the humiliation she gained from her nearly failed masterpiece would be erased.

That pain would linger with her for a long time but she planned to redeem herself and that was why she was here now as the _Enterprise_ and the _Bortasqu_ arrived with a squad of Milky Way ships. The three flagships, each of them powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with a Separatists Dradnaught and likely an _Imperator_ and most possibly win. She looked over them with a critical eye, seeing what she could make use of for her next masterpiece. She already filed away a few ideas and scripted down in her mind just what she intended to ask when the Milky Way representatives came to speak with them.

Kuat had been offered as a forward base for the Omega Taskforce as they plan their attack against the Borg in the Maw.

The chance to see more Milky Way technology was an opportunity to improve her masterpiece, even remake it into something even more powerful. Her father disliked building ships of war but understood the necessity and so had helped correct those flaws that had been discovered but Lira wanted more than just upgrading the current fleet. A chance to see inside these ships and see how they worked. Matter/anti-matter reactors and quantum singularities for power, a network of micro-fusion reactors that gave an immense amount of power in addition to their main power source, molecular transporters, advanced cloaking devices, FTL drives in real space and apparently much more. There was also the rumors that several Federation ships had the ability to separate from each other, forming two smaller ships instead a single large one.

No one had ever though of designing a ship that could separate into two smaller ships because the design was thought to be impossible while taking the presise piloting needed to disconnect and then re-connect the ships back together. If she could learn how it was done perhaps she could design a massive ship that split into smaller ships. Such a design would earn her praise as the greatest engineer and ship designer in the galaxy. Of course it would be challenging, especially given the design of the Star Destroyer but it could be possible.

Almost all the engineers were looking forward to it but Lira would be the one paying the most attention.

She would see and hear every little detail to make her next work a masterpiece.

She looked over and saw Jedi General Anakin Skywalker with an astro-droid looking out the window while on the other side of the room, speaking with a Republic officer was the Chiss Admiral known as Thrawn. Like everyone in the galaxy she had heard of Anakin Skywalker and his exploits and also knew he was an expert mechanic who submitted several reports of his experience in the Milky Way. The Chancellor had asked him to come here, officially representing the Jedi Order in this discussion and had experience with the Borg. Personally she had no feelings towards the Jedi Order, only interested in continuing her work as an engineer and designer.

"Blissex." Father and daughter turned at the call of their last name, spotting rival ship building competitor Raith Sienar. "Are you excited to get at these ships as everyone else?"

Raith Sienar, head of Republic Sienar Systems which was well known through the Republic as one of the galaxy's top ship-building companies. Lira designed the _Imperator_ Star Destroyer class but it was Sienar Systems that created the I-a2b solar ionization reactor that powered the _Imperator_. Raith Sienar was noted for developing the SIE-TIW twin ion engine that went into mass production prior to the start of the Clone Wars. His idea for using solar panels for a power supplement was suspected to be based off the Solar Sailor developed by the Geonosians but it was still a radical design.

Almost twenty years before the Clone Wars began he had worked with the Xi Char, studying their designs that he would later incorporate into his own work before he was exiled from Charros IV for stealing from them and had been targeted by bounty hunters hired by Xi Char for lying to them, several of whom had disappeared without a trace. Since then Sienar had been involved in espionage against the Trade Federation, Baktoid Armor, Corellian Engineering and Incom Corporations but out of all of them it was Xi Char who held the longest grudge. They had even been responsible for the death of his father but he still managed to survive.

"Raith Sienar, it's rare to see you out in public." Walex Blissex stated calmly, frowning slightly.

Lira knew that her father did not like or trust Raith Sienar for various reasons and it was not because of him being a competitor. She had no personal problems with him and could respect him as a fellow engineer but she believed her ingenuity was superior to anything he could create.

"I come to greet our guest from another galaxy. I have much about them and I'm eager to speak some of their engineers on so many topics as we discuss the best means of defense against the Borg." Sienar answered calmly.

Sienar was a radical and a man with little moral conscious as proven by the fact he was considered a friend of Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. No doubt he was here to learn as much as he can about the Milky Way technology under the pretense of taking part in improving Republic vessels for the attack against the Borg. Walex was aloof, deciding not to get into a prolonged conversation with Sienar while Lira suspected Sienar was planning on ways to try and gain access to Borg technology. According to the Federation Borg technology was extremely dangerous if accidently active but with the right approach it could be used to improve the reputation of whatever ship-building company gets their hands on it first.

Walex had no patience for technology like computers. He designed ships to be sturdy with proper power generations and if necessary weapons but he made them for the purpose of trying to maintain peace in the galaxy. He heard of the Borg and had absolutely no wish to even look at whatever technology they posses, believing it should be destroyed with its masters. Lira on the other hand believed that with the right procedure the Borg's own technology could be the greatest technological gain the galaxy had made in thousands of years.

There was more to this galaxy than the Clone Wars.

There was more to this galaxy than stopping the Borg.

So many minds with their own ideas and plans for the future coming together, waiting, plotting, listening, and waiting for the first clash.

The beams of light appeared and the engineers watched as Starfleet, Klingon, and Romulan officers appeared in the large room, causing more than a few eyes to watch with intrigue.

The meeting of minds had begun.

 **Kessel Sector  
The Maw Cluster  
Borg Unimatrix**

They were planning.

They were always planning.

The failure to fully assimilate the Naboo was irrelevant. The Collective would simply devise a new tactic. Species 9984 had been reported destroyed, possibly at the hands of Species 47 which was both interesting and disturbing. All attempts as assimilating technology belonging to Species 47 had failed and the Collective needed more information. It was then the Collective decided it could not simply assimilate the species of Galzy 0139.

What it needed was reinforcements.

 _Powering Graviton Beam_

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 _Targeting Suitable Singularity_

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 _Modulating Frequency to the Quantum Frequency of Galaxy 01_

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 _Alert_

 _Multiple Anamolies Detected_

 _Signature Match: Species 47_

Portals appeared in the space surrounding the Borg Unimatrix and out came ships that opened fire the instant they appeared, destroying Borg ships into great balls of fire. The surviving Borg ships returned fire but their weapons seemed ineffective as the enemy that fired again, destroying even more ships and damaging the Unimatrix itself.

It seemed destruction was immenent…

Only for Species 47 to suddenly retreat back into their portals.

The Borg scanned all of the surrounding space and found no trace of them, concluding that for an unknown reason they had retreated. The Collective continued scanning, redirecting the surviving drones to begin repairing the complex and continue preparing to use the surrounding signularities for its benefit.

Whatever reason Species 47 had for retreating was irrelevant.

The Borg would prevail.

 _Initiating Regeneration Cycle_

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 _Beginning Repairs to Graviton Emitters._

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 _Targeting All Singularities in Proximity_

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 _Establishing Dimensional Network_

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 _The Collective Shall Prevail_

The Borg would not let themselves be defeated so easily by anyone and they would show it to the entire multi-verse if they had to.

 **Outer Rim  
Deep Space**

" _Vizla, I must protest this plan. The Milky Way is still an unknown quantity. We have little information_." The blue glowing holo-image of a woman dressed head to toe in custom-made armor stated.

"They also have unknown technology that we could use to take back Mandalore from the Duchess. We can't let this opportunity slip past us." A man in similar armor said, his mouth curling into a grin. "I've received word that there are Milky Way ships searching for outposts and bases associated with the Zygerians. Find a ship and take it. We'll use it to take Mandalore back."

The woman looked ready to argue but held her tongue. " _As you wish, Pre-Vizla._ "

"See to it personaly, Bo-Katan. I want no mistakes." Pre-Vizla said, watching the woman nod before ending the transmission.

Pre Vizla of Clan Vizla was a Mandalorian and leader of the Madalorian splinter group Death Watch that opposed the pacifist Duchess Satine Kryze and her New Mandalorian faction who had dishonored the warrior traditions of Mandalore. Vizla desired to return Mandalore to its warrior roots and reiginite the feud between the Jedi and the Mandalorians that had gone back thousands of years. For a time Death Watch had been allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems until relations were broken off by Count Dooku who left a prominent scar across his face. Since then Vizla had sworn revenge against Dooku as well as the Duchess for stopping him.

Like the rest of the galaxy Vizla had learned of the Milky Way Galay shortly after the main factions from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants approached the Republic and the Confederacy. At first he had been shocked about the appearance of this new galaxy as much as anyone else but the more he learned the more he thought about how he and Death Watch could benefit from this new galaxy. Especially how it could help Death Watch take over Mandalore. He had heard many rumors surrounding the Milky Way, especially the Klingon culture.

Briefly he considered approaching the Klingons for help but he knew they would not agree. They had no reason to help Death Watch and they stated that they had no wish be involved in the Clone Wars or any other conflicts in this galaxy. Mandalore could only be ruled by Mandalorians and it was only through the devotion to Mandarlore's true path that Death Watch would take back their home world.

"Pre Vizla, we're picking up some strange readings."

Vizla approached the two pilots in the cockpit. "Define strange."

"I'm not sure I can, sir."

Vizla was about to ask for more details when the ship began to shook. "What's happening?!"

"Some sort of energy spike! We're being pulled towards it!"

"Full reverse!" Vizla barked.

"It's no use!"

Ahead of the ship appeared a bright spiraling orange glowing vortex that swallowed the ship up whole and then vanished back into the dark void of space.

()

Vizla opened his eyes the instant he regained consciousness and was greeted with the sight of intense darkness. "You're alive."

Spinning around, Vizla came face to face with a strange man with ridges on his face and grey skin who stepped into the room. "Who are you?"

"I am Gul Manak of the Cardassian True Way. Welcome to our base, Pre Vizla of Death Watch."

"You know my name and yet I know nothing about you." Vizla stated cautiously as he reached for his Darksaber.

"I know that we have many similarities. I am sure you have heard of the Milky Way Galaxy." Manak stated as he slowly paced back and forth. "I am the current leader of the True Way, a group of Cardassians who wish to return our home planet of Cardassia to its path. My people have become weak by accepting a liberal and civil society, relying on Starfleet and the Klingons for protection. The True Way is dedicated to bringing Cardassia back to its imperialistic state that made it strong, much like Death Watch is dedicated to returning Mandalore back to its warrior ways."

"You…Are suggesting an alliance?" Vizla slowly asked.

"The power of the True Way and Death Watch would shake both galaxies to their core." Manak walked to a window, gesturing for Vizla to follow and look out the window.

Vizla did and saw numerous Cardassians and creatures he had never seen before, running military drills and keeping their ships ready.

"My Cardassian brothers and our Jem'Hadar allies are ready to aid us to ensure we bring Cardassia back to its glorious ways and bring glory to the New Dominion." Manak stepped back and faced Vizla. "Do you accept my proposal?"

Vizla stared into Manak's eyes for a moment before smirking. "I believe we can make an arrangement."

()

 _Captain's Log Supplement_

 _We are patrolling near the Taris system in response to a lead on another slave guild that colluded with the Zygerians. In the interest of maintaining our peace with the Klingons and the Romulans we will locate and then report back. I'm not expecting much as the entire galaxy is still slightly in shock of how the Klingons declared all out war on the Zygerians and their associates. They made a huge mistake trying to enslave Klingons at Kiros._

 _End Log_

Captain Nathan Creed deactivated the recorder and took a look around the bridge, satisfied to see everyone was working at their posts. It is good to be vigilante, especially since the Klingons have basically declared an all out hunting season on pirates and slavers, at least one associated with the Zygerians. When the Klingons conquered Zygeria they made sure to take all data regarding the many slave guilds associated with the Zygerians and their slave empire and there was no one to stop them. Both the Republic and the Confederacy supported the Klingons in ending the slave trade once and for all.

It actually made the Klingons more popular in the Skyriver Galaxy with hundreds of thousands of people sending them helpful information on pirates and slavers to be taken out.

Even Admiral Tarkin and Chancellor Palpatine supported the Klingons in their small war on the pirates, seeing at as a way to utilize the Milky Way factions as a way to bring order back to the galaxy. They even were more efficient than the Jedi in that matter. It even helped that the Senate was screaming for blood from the amount of crimes the Hutt family committed that was found in the holo-diary to the point that both the Republic and the Confederacy were invading Hutt space to take their claims before the other took it all away. Amazing how it only took a simple to spark to cause these events to happen in such a short amount of time.

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress signal." A Tellarite Ensign reported. "No visual or audio but sensors show its coming from a freighter that seems to be under attack."

"Distance?"

"One point two lightyears, bearing at three ten zero by two nine zero."

"Lay in an intercept course. Maximum warp."

The _Seraphinite_ came upon a freighter that was under attack by what appeared to be pirates.

"Warn them off first and lock forward phasers on the nearest fighter." Creed said, sitting back in his chair.

"Captain, those fighters are unmanned. They appear to be automated. Droid starfighters." The Tellarite reported.

Creed frowned. "Belay my last order. Lock phasers and fire."

In just under a moment all eight droid fighters were destroyed, leaving the _Seraphinite_ alone with the freighter it slowly approached. The freighter seemed to approach the Federation ship, suddenly picking up speed.

"Captain, I'm picking up odd readings from that ship…Sir, there are no life forms aboard and its reactors are going critical!"

"Pull back! Shields up!" Creed barked.

The shields came online just as the freighter exploded, slamming into the shields that weakened upon impact and scorching the hull as the _Seraphinite_ pulled back. The bridge shook as a console exploded, injuring a crewmember.

"Status!" Creed barked.

"An EPS conduit blew on deck three, section four. Warp engines and shields are offline and we are down to half umpulse…Incoming ships!"

Five ships emerged from hyperspace and came upon the _Seraphinite,_ firing their weapons against the ship's alreadt weakened shields.

"They have weapons and shields up and are on an intercept course."

"Do we have power to weapons?" Creed asked.

"Phasers off-line but we have torpedoes."

"Target and fire."

The _Seraphinite_ fired its forward torpedo tubes, firing four torpedoes at the incoming ships and two of each slammed into an approaching ship, instantly obliterating them. The weapons officer fired again, destroying another ship as it tried to make a pass at the _Seraphinite_.

"They are firing!"

The two remaining ships fired their forward weapons, attacking the Federation ship with red turbo-laser bolts that dropped their remaining shields down to ten percent as the lead ship attached itself to the hull.

"They're burning through the hull. Starboard section deck five."

"Evacuate and seal that section. Alert all capable crewmembers and instruct them to arm themselves immediately." Creed stood up and rushed into his ready room.

Ever since the second Borg attack which led to the attempted take over of the _Enterprise-_ E it had become mandatory to have an armory on every deck, including near vital areas like the bridge and engineering while most crew members carried hand-held phasers for self defense.

"Force fields active." The ensign replied just as Creed entered his ready room.

Creed kept his own personal armory in his ready room, a habit he developed from his encounters with the Borg. He kept an armoy close by in all his official and personal quarters. He opened his locker and found his phaser rifle, pistols, and had a plasma and polaron modified rifle and finally he pulled out a Tholian Crystalline Sword which he had gained from the Nukara Operations. The sword was created by the Tholian Assembly, using a form of crystalline interweave technology to create a unique structure that could absorb energy from any form of attack and discharge it back at its attacker. It was just as protective as personal shielding but being able to send attacks was an added bonus.

He strapped the sword to his back and carried his rifle back out onto the bridge. "Tell security to meet me on deck five and keep those force fields up until I get there."

"Sir, should you really be going into a fire fight?"

Creed smirked. "Once a MACO, always a MACO, ensign." He replied as he made his way to the turbo lift. "Just get those shields back up. I want my skies cleared so we can get back to our previous assignment and write this detour off as a minor annoyance."

He took the lift down to deck five, glancing at his personal data pad from time to time to receive further updates on the battle and on the presence of any intruders.

" _Boarders have cut through the security doors and are blasting through the forcefields!_ "

" _Set up barricades, funnel them through and thin them out!_ "

Creed tapped his communicator. "Does anybody have visual contact yet?"

 _"Sir, I have sight of the intruders. They're trying to blast their way through a forcefield, it'll only hold for another minute at this rate."_

"Modulate your weapons to match the force field," Nathan instructed, "If they're locals then they won't know how to bypass shields like we can."

" _Yes sir! Open fire!_ "

As Nathan rushed down lengths of corridor he could hear the distant discharges of rifles and pistols as his security teams engaged the boarders.

" _Alert! Intruders have broken through at our location! They're equipped with hand held shields that are shrugging off our phasers and-AH!_ " The speaker shrieked in pain and the channel went silent.

Nathan immediately turned, tracking the signal to its source where he found several bloodied and shaken crew members falling back. Two were firing phaser rifles while two more carried a wounded man who was missing his entire right arm past the shoulder.

"They have swords, sir! They just cut right through us!"

Nathan grasped the hilt of his crystalline sword and unsheathed it as he strode past them. "Any injured get a trip to the sick bay. Everyone else stays with me and we form a line right here!"

"Sir, they outnumber us greatly." An Andorian crew member calmly informed Nathan before firing around the corner at the unseen intruders.

"Then we thin the herd." Nathan replied. "The EPS conduits. We can rig them to blow remotely throughout the corridor and give them a nasty burn or at least distract them. They'll have to find another way around if their armour can't handle plasma."

"Yes sir." The Andorian shouldered his rifle and began to pry open a panel on the wall. "I can trigger it from here, but I need a few moments-"

"They're charging!" The other rifleman shouted as he fired a burst.

"Nevermind generating it," Creed hefted his phaser pistol in one hand and rushed around the corner. "Shoot the conduits!"

"Sir we might lose power to vital-"

"Noted! Do it!"

Nathan had a look at the intruders for the first time now. They all wore matching armour with Y or T shaped visors. Some had several aesthetic differences, but overall it appeared to be a very organized group. They were all well built, moved with speed that made their armour seem almost paper light and wielded a combination of blasters, arm mounted metal shields, swords and even axes. If Nathan recalled the weapons were referred to as Vibro blades.

"FIRE!" Nathan shouted as the two riflemen stepped up next to him and opened fire at once, strafing the corridor with phaser fire.

Two of the intruders held up their shields which began to glow red around the area of impact but held. They and their allies behind them slowed to a crawl, some peeking out from cover to shoot back at the trio before one of Nathan's men struck an EPS conduit on their right. Green plasma exploded into the corridor immediately, drawing startled and pained shouts from the intruders as they backed off, several of them collapsing to the floor never to rise again. Nathan continued to fire at their retreating forms.

Once the corridor was clear Nathan stepped back and tapped his communicator. "Creed to bridge. Corridor 103 is flooding with plasma from detonated conduits. Shut off the flow and initiate containment procedures!"

" _Acknowledged sir._ "

A containment forcefield was erected at both ends of the corridor.

"Good, that's one corridor they can't get down. If they want near the bridge they'll have to go around the long way." Nathan looked at the two riflemen. "Let's link up with other security teams and help keep this contained. I don't want these bastards tracking dirt all through my ship."

"Yes sir!"

They coordinated with the bridge crew, receiving directions to the nearest fire fights and helping to clear intersections of small skirmishes.

"Bridge, where is the largest group?" Creed demanded.

" _Converging on Engineering, sir. Emergency procedures are in effect and the Warp Core is protected by a level ten force field._ "

"Good." Nathan growled. "If you don't hear from us in ten minutes, direct the plasma to flow right into the engineering room. Kill everything inside while sparing the core."

" _Sir, you'll be burnt to ashes!_ "

"And then those ashes will be burned to nothing." Nathan agreed, "I am not tolerating such a brutal attack on my ship, ensign. These people have come aboard and killed members of my crew. They are either leaving in boxes or not at all if I can help it."

There had been those who had been opposed to Creed being made Captain of a starship. They had felt that he did not embody the more diplomatic and cool headed image that most Captains were required to maintain. He had started as a ground pounder, a soldier with a rifle…he didn't like to see men and women under his command meet such a gruesome demise then anymore than he did now.

" _Yes sir._ "

"Let's double time it!" Nathan called to the gathering of crewmen behind him, acquired from the various skirmishes he had helped to end throughout the deck.

They ran all the way to the Engineering section where they were greeted by two guards in combat armour.

"Sir!" They lowered their rifles. "The engineering crew is setting up a barricade inside, but we've been told there's almost thirty intruders heading right towards us!"

"You heard right, now let's get inside and set up a defence line." Nathan replied, using his personal code to override the door's lock and allow them inside. "We either stop them here or fill the whole place with plasma and take them down with us. Either way we cannot allow an unknown and hostile faction from this galaxy to acquire this ship. All other concerns are secondary to this!"

He looked around at the pale faced engineering crew and sighed. "However, if there is anyone here who wishes to head for a safer location, they have my permission to depart now, but make it fast or you'll be running right into our new guests."

Several rose to their feet, looking uncertainly towards the doors, but remained rooted in place after a few moments.

"…we're with you, Captain." The Engineering Chief called down from a catwalk overhead where the rest of his team was positioned. "I'll have the EPS conduits rigged to flood this entire section in thirty seconds!"

"You have twenty." Nathan replied with a smile before helping to move a supply crate to serve as an improvised cover. "Bridge, ETA to the hostiles reaching engineering?"

" _They're almost outside the doors now!_ "

One of the guards quickly slammed a fist against the control panel next to the door and caused it to slide back shut just in time for the boarders to almost run right into it. They began to bang against the doors for several seconds as the Star Fleet personnel finished setting up their barricades.

"The moment they come through that door you fire everything you have!" Nathan called out as he took up a position on the bottom floor near the doors, preferring to stand right near the danger with his crew rather than seek shelter in the upper story.

For several moments they waited as the attackers continued to batter the door. Nathan expected that they would simply cut through it or maybe blow it open-they'd been quite capable of doing it to pretty much every other security door on board so far. However he was surprised to hear the noise stop…and be replaced by the voice of a woman.

" _Attention Starfleet personnel. We are the Mandalorian Death Watch, and your ship is now ours. Surrender yourselves now and you shall be permitted to live._ "

The speaker was using the intercom built into the outside door panel. The fact that she'd immediately known how to activate it illustrated an understanding of Federation designs.

Nathan stood up and made his way towards the door, tapping one finger against the intercom on his side. "This is Captain Nathaniel Creed of the Federation starship _Seraphinite._ You have boarded my ship and murdered members of my crew in cold blood. Allow me to make this clear: this ship is mine, and I will die before I allow you to have it. If you object to that then feel free to force your way in, but even if you kill us all I can have this entire deck flooded with plasma with one word to the bridge and beam any survivors into space. I already know your armour can't stand a little of it, I'd like to see how quickly you melt when you're drowning in it."

" _And I would assume that you have your engine core shielded to ensure yur ship can still function in that event. A brave move, Captain._ "

"And you're well informed of the finer workings of my ship. That tells me you've been planning this stunt for a while." Nathan replied. "I'll give you one more chance to end this. Return to your ships and leave or die for nothing."

" _I have an alternate offer, Captain Creed. We have over forty of your crew held hostage and are prepared to execute them. However…as I know you cannot be persuaded to surrender this ship, I believe I have something that may satisfy you._ "

"Which is?"

" _We who follow the ancient traditions of Mandalore abide by a code, one that extends even to you outsiders in certain situations. I offer you a chance to save your crew and your ship: victory through single combat with the winner claiming everything._ "

"You think I'd gamble the fate of my ship on a single fight?" Nathan asked.

" _I think you'd gladly sacrifice yourself to protect it. You clearly aren't like most Captains who would try to negotiate or reason with me. Defeat me and you have my word on the honor of my whole clan that my warriors shall stand down._ "

Nathan chuckled. "Don't underestimate Starfleet, ma'am. We may not start fights a lot but we've become good at finishing them. That being said…I accept. But my crew will stand ready to do what I've asked. If there is any treachery on your part they will flood every section of this ship occupied by your warriors with plasma. It will kill most of my crew…but in order to save the rest I'll gladly order it. However if your word proves sincere…I too agree by the terms; my ship will be yours if you best me."

" _Very well. Shall we relocate to a place more suitable for this? I doubt you would like to have it out right near your engine core._ "

"Deck Two." Nathan said, "Computer, lead our guest to the Holo Deck. It's wide open, not connected to anything vital that could get damaged and best of all it can be sealed off completely. Follow the light on the walls and you'll have your fight."

" _Then we have an accord, Captain Creed. I look forward to seeing you back up your words in person._ "

Nathan heard his communicator beep several seconds later. " _Captain, they're moving away from the doors. Other groups are standing down while one has taken hostages in the med bay!_ "

"I'll handle it ensign, keep alert and make sure you keep an eye on every single one of them. If they harm any of the hostages then have security teams storm the room." Nathan turned to the engineering crew. "The moment I'm gone you keep that door shut and don't open it for anything except my all clear."

"Sir…are we really going to surrender if you lose?" One crewmember asked, nervously cardling a phaser rifle.

Nathan shrugged. "Probably not, but I'll take every option I have to save this crew before I resort to blowing this ship up. So let's see if our mystery challenger is a woman of her word."

()

" _You agreed to a duel…with an outsider._ "

"It was that or risk the destruction of this vessel."

" _If you lose, you understand what that will mean._ "

"Which is why I won't lose, sir."

The woman was speaking into a wrist mounted communicator as she stood alone in the middle of a bare room with metal walls and floors. She had sent her escort away to make sure her opponent would have no difficulty in getting in.

"The moment he is beaten the ship will be ours," She assured her superior. "And we shall be one step closer to restoring Mandalore to its old glory. On that you have my word."

"Gee, it sure would be unfortunate if you disappointed him."

The woman turned towards the doors where Nathan Creed now stood in the open, arms crossed. "Was that your boss? Or a boyfriend? Both maybe?" He asked.

"The soon to be new Mandalore," The woman answered as she faced him.

Nathan raised one brow. "Mandalore…I knew that name sounded familiar. That planet was at the front of the welcoming committee from the neutral worlds when we first opened contact with your galaxy. Why the sudden change of heart?"

The armored woman shook her head and stepped to the side as Nathan proceeded towards the middle of the room. "We do not serve Duchess Satine. She has betrayed a thousand generations of true Mandalorians with her talks of peace."

"Oh…" Nathan nodded. "I see now: this is a feud with her, not the Federation. You want this ship to use as some extra fire power. Then why isn't this Mandalore here to claim it himself?"

"He has other matters to attend to and trusted me to ensure that this task is accomplished."

"Fair enough. Before we start I have two requests to make." Nathan held up one hand with two fingers. "Firstly…I'd like to know your name. And secondly I'd like you to take off that helmet."

"Would it matter at all?"

"Matters to me. I hate to have to kill someone without remembering their face or their name. I hate having to kill at all, even if it's become a necessity as of today." Nathan explained. "If I remember their name and their face, I can appreciate the gravity of having taken that life. That helps to keep me from forgetting just how much life should be cherished, and how unfortunate it is that I've had to put an end to one."

"That is…surprisingly admirable." The woman nodded, genuinely impressed. "Almost Mandalorian in a way."

"Will you honor those requests?"

The woman reached up and unlatched her helmet, lifting it free to reveal red hair held back by a head band and a sharp but attractive face with green eyes.

"My name is Bo-Katan of Clan Kryze," She introduced herself. "Die well, Captain Creed."

"As the Klingons would say: today is a good day to die." Nathan responded. "Computer: let's have an appropriate setting for this. Key words: duel, combat, fight, arena."

The room began to alter around them as Bo-Katan tossed her helmet aside and upholstered her twin blasters. Nathan hefted his phaser rifle and waited until the room had settled on a vast coliseum lined with rows of men and women who cheered. Faceless guards in heavy armour stared down at the combatants while in the Emperor's box the recreation of a randomly chosen Roman ruler reclined in his seat to watch the show.

"Ah, the Roman Coliseum: a classic." Nathan nodded as Bo-Katan took a moment to appreciate the new setting. "Thousands of years ago they would hold gladiatorial matches in this arena. It was all to keep the populace entertained, give them something to look forward to." He held his rifle overhead, deciding to have a little fun before the actual fight and declared. "We who are about to die salute you!"

He was met with a frenzied roar of approval. Bo-Katan was surprised at how…real everything felt around her. She could almost swear she had been teleported to another planet and deposited right in the middle of an actual coliseum.

"Impressive." She raised her guns. "Are you done?"

"Can't blame a guy for having a little fun, especially if there's a fifty percent chance of him dying in the next few minutes." Nathan replie as he levelled his rifle at her. "But yeah…ready when you are."

They both began to slowly circle one another, not letting their aim waver for even a second.

After nearly half a minute of silence Bo-Katan was the first to attack. She launched herself in the pposite direction of which she'd been moving and fired at Nathan with a flurry of golden energy bolts. Nathan responded with his own as his personal shield absorbed two of the projectiles and he dodged the rest. His phaser beam struck the groun just a few inches from the Mandalorian's foot, provoking her to ignite her jet pack and launch herself up into the air as she continued to fire at him.

"Jet packs, eh? Starting to think Starfleet should invest in a few." Nathan muttered even as he dove forward and pulled his crystalline sword off of his back. "Let's fix that, shall we?"

He stood up and held his sword in both hands as Bo-Katan dove towards him. Rather than using her blasters she activated the rocket fixed to her jet pack and fired it before veering off. Nathan dove to the side again, propelled a bit by the explosion but otherwise unharmed thanks to his personal shield and protective suit. As he rolled to his feet the red headed warrior woman made another pass, firing at him again only to be met with a surprise when Nathan held his sword in a defensive pose and allowed several of her shots to make contact.

Most either hit the dirt around him while another two bounced off his shield, weakening it slightly but it couldn't hold out against a prolonged barrage for very long. Five bolts however struck his sword and was absorbed into the blade, causing it start glowing bright gold in a way that reminded Bo-Katan of a lightsaber before Nathan swung the sword and shot the energy of her blasters right back towards their source. Bo, who had been moving straight towards Nathan at the time was caught off guard and twisted to try and change course. This caused the deflected projectile to hit her jet pack rather then her chest, causing the device to sputter and spark as Bo crashed to the ground with a startled cry.

She quickly detached her jet pack and kicked it away before it could explode. Now forced to remain on the ground and disarmed of her blasters by the fall, she spun and faced Creed. "That sword…"

"Like it? A Tholian Crystalline blade, almost as good for deflecting weapons fire as a shield or a Jedi lightsaber if I'm right." Nathan spun the sword in his grasp. "Got this from a battle with the Tholians, a crystalline species that specializes in creating and operating crystal based technology that can absorb and direct energy."

"Impressive," Bo admitted before reaching over her shoulder to where a sword was still safely sheathed across her back. She withdrew the vibro blade and assumed a stance. "Let's see how good you really are in an actual sword fight then."

Nathan had, ever since acquiring the sword, endeavoured to learn how to put it to proper use. He had used this very holo deck to begin practicing with various styles across the history of both Earth and other worlds in the Federation. From fencing to kendo to styles that he could barely pronounced he had tried to find an appropriate form to apply to the blade.

In the end he had settled on a form of fencing, holding the sword one handed as he and Bo-Katan moved closer until they were within range to strike. She struck first just as before, stabbing right towards Nathan's heart. He redirected the blade away and stepped in the opposite direction in a single motion, and watched as the Mandalorian easily recovered rather than allowing her momentum to carry her.

"That form looks familiar." She admitted.

"I've been told the Jedi have a form similar to this called Makashi, but where I am from we simply call this 'fencing'." Nathan spun his sword in his grip once and launched an attack of his own, relying on quick jabs and swift cuts from the wrist rather than any chopping or hacking motions.

His blade possessed more reach, but Bo-Katan was clearly better trained. As a Mandalorian who followed the old warrior ways of her people she could have been trained in how to use dozens of weapons for most of her life whereas Nathan had been self taught in how to use a sword for only a few months. Only careful footwork kept him from being run through or decapitated immediately.

"You're good." He nodded as they broke apart and circled each other once again.

"And you are not bad…for a supposed starship captain." Bo-Katan replied, "Are all Captains in your Federation trained like you?"

"We're soldiers, negotiators, scientists and explorers all rolled into one. Some excel at the soldier part better than others."

Their blades clashed again, and Nathan grasped Bo's wrists.

"But time and time again we have proven that we aren't weak, and time and time again many who tried to take advantage of us have been made to learn that the hard way."

Bo rammed her knee up into Nathan's abdomen and broke his hold before spinning around and kicking him in the jaw hard enough to spin him around. He barely recovered in time to block her next strike and wrapped one arm around her while using her momentum to continue his spin and throw her to the ground. She recovered from the throw as though she'd rehearsed it a thousand time and was back up before he could try formulating a new plan. He fell back, quickly blocking her slashes and spun to the side, deciding to change styles.

He settled into a kendo stance and readied himself as he and Bo-Katan quietly circled each other again. Bo took the chance to examine Nathan's new stance, probing it for weakneses as it did not look similar to any sword style she had seen before. Deciding to just finish him Katan rushed forward, grasping her sword in both hands. Taking a deep breath he readed himself and just as Katan was in striking distance he swung his sword horizantly as Katan swung her blade at the same time.

The two blades struck each other with such force that they were both know out of the hands of their owners, skidding across the ground from the combatants. The two never took their eyes off each other the entire time as they held up their fists, Bo settling into a Mandalorian style while Nathan took a simply boxing stance.

"So much for our weapon skills deciding this fight." Nathan commented.

Katan smirked. "I actually prefer to settle a fight with my fists."

With that said she lunged at him and the two fought, both fighting very aggressively. Bo-Katan had been trained in Mandalorian fighting styles since she was a little girl while Nathan Creed was recognized as one of the top cadets who specialized in hand to hand combat at the academy. He had fought against Klingons, Orions, Gorn, Jem'Hadar, Cardassians, and even Borg during his short time as Captain, but despite training in several styles he had not devoted every day of his life to intense training as Bo-Katan had. Realizing that she was likely the better fighter Nathan decided if he couldn't overpower her, he would outsmart her.

He shifted fighting styles, going from boxing to karate to a Klingon style, randomly switching to several fighting forms as he blocked or parried Bo-Katan's attacks, relying on his ability to shift to different forms to confuse her and leave her unable to predict his next move. The fight was for most part even as both combatants sustained bruises, blackeyes, and even a broken tooth as they fought each other to complete exhaustion. After five minutes they were panting for breath, taking a short break as they felt their bodies wearing out.

"I never…Met someone who could fight so well." Bo-Katan admitted, rubbing her bloody lip.

Nathan tried to chuckle but it only made his face hurt. "I told you...We're not weak. Our galaxy has had its share of conflicts."

"I can see that…You'd have made good Mandalorians if you are all like this and born here." Bo-Katan shook her head. "Too bad…Because I can't lose."

"And I can't let you use my ship for a blood feud with Duchess Satine." Nathan stood up straight. "So let's end this."

"Fine by me." Bo-Katan grinned as she readied herself.

They waited for one more moment…

And then they rushed forward, yelling out their lungs as they raised their fists, shooting them forward…

And their fists slammed into each other's faces with enough force that they almost literally knocked their heads off their shoulders.

They fell to the ground, groaning while their senses struggled to recover from being scrambled by the fight.

Nathan spotted something as Katan managed to stand up and slowly walk over to him. "It's over."

She held up her gauntlet and tapped a switch which caused blades to extend out and swung it down to finish Nathan off. Nathan however rolled to the side, grabbed what he saw and pointed it at Katan whose eyes widened when she was what was in his hands.

One of her blasters.

Nathan pulled the trigger and the collesium went silent.

()

A bright light lit up the darkness and caused her to groan as she opened her eyes.

"I see you are awake now, Bo-Katan."

That voice, it was him.

She looked up and saw Nathan Creed standing next to her on the bed she was apparently on. "Wh-What happened?"

"I stunned you with one of your blasters. I knocked you out." Creed answered.

"What? Why didn't you kill me?" Bo-Katan asked, glaring at the captain. "It was a duel to the death."

"I agreed to the duel, I didn't agree to the terms. And you're alive because I chose to let you live. Your men think you are dead but I'll send you back to your people soon, and I want you to tell your leader something for me." Creed leaned in close. "You tell Pre-Vizla that if he wants my ship or any ship from the Milky Way he can try and take it himself. This entire feud you have with Duchess Satine is not our concern and you killed people who had nothing do with it for no reason except for the fact that you could. You can think I dishonored you by letting you live but you dishonored yourselves when you attacked us for no reason other than you thought that you could steal from us. That's not the action of a warrior, those were the actions of cowards and thiefs."

He leaned in and added in a whisper. "And cowards and thieves don't deserve a dignified death."

Bo-Katan wanted to argue against his words, but as she opened her mouth any thoughts died before they left her throat. She had argued against this course of action right from the start, but in the end she had obeyed Pre-Vizla simply because he was her leader. It was he who had advocated ambushing and hijacking a Federation starship for its technology, acting more like a common bandit than a Mandalorian warrior.

She looked down and refused to meet Creed's gaze, unable to deny the shame of her actions today.

"We will be approaching Mandalore to drop you off. I assume that you will be able to re-establish contact with your allies from there." Nathan said as he turned away.

"What happened to my men on board?"

"They up and left when they thought you were dead, proving that they truly are men of their word." Nathan informed her, "Will you be able to reach Pre-Vizla from Mandalore?"

Bo-Katan nodded. "Yes…I can make my own way back from there. I will bring him your message, but…I cannot guarantee that he will not try this again in the future. He may even kill me for my failure today."

"That sounds surprisingly in character for a coward who won't lead his own raiding parties." Nathan agreed, "…in that case we may have a problem. I can't in good conscience send you back with the knowledge that you'd be executed, and yet if I am right your code will demand you return to him to face punishment."

"To avoid it would be a stain on my lineage." Bo-Katan agreed.

"And what if you go for Option C instead?"

"Option…C?"

Nathan turned towards her again. "Yes, Option C. Option A is to return and die. Option B is to not return and bear the shame of it all. And Option C…is to return and make Pre-Vizla face his own punishment."

"What?"

"He sent you and your men to attack a scout vessel, to butcher its crew and plunder its technology like common thieves." Nathan explained. "And he did not even have the courage to lead this attack himself, but rather forced you to do so. That does not sound like the actions of a true Mandalore, don't you agree?"

Bo-Katan frowned and rose up out of the bed. "If you think that you can trick me into betraying my leader then you should know I will not be so easily swayed."

"But he's already betrayed you by forcing you to demeen yourself." Nathan countered, "This Pre-Vizla…I've read up on his actions and that of your Death Watch while you've been asleep. The only unique thing about him is his possession of an ancient Jedi lightsaber plundered from the temple on Coruscant centuries ago by his ancestors. He is no Mandalore, he is an angry nobleman who is using you to push himself up in society while shifting all blame for failure on his subordinates. He is a coward and does not deserve your loyalty or the title of Mandalore."

He smiled coldly. "Try to tell me that I'm wrong. Tell me he's a brave and noble leader who is probably on his way to avenge you right now."

Nathan reached over his shoulder and unsheathed his crystalline sword. "Or…you can stop justifying his orders and do what a real Mandalorian would do. In the ancient times of your people a weak leader was cast down when a strong warrior rose up to claim their title and authority." He held out the sword to her, one hand holding up the blade while the other held up the hilt. "And while that lightsaber of his would make things difficult…I know of one way you could even the odds."

Bo-Katan stared down at the sword. "This…this isn't right," She shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed. "I swore an oath of loyalty to him."

"And a leader swears an oath of responsibility to his people." Nathan pointed out. "He broke his the moment he sent you and your men out here to die."

The mandalorian woman looked at the crystalline blade again, considering Nathan's words.

"If I did kill him, there's little chance that the rest of Death Watch would fall in line with me." She reasoned, "They could just try to kill me themselves."

"That's your fear talking, and it's only natural." Nathan nodded, "They abided by the terms of this duel. What would make a duel between you and Vizla so different? He is just a man like me, regardless of his rank."

He winked. "And while they may seem so loyal to him now, loyalties have a way of quickly changing when someone is dead."

Bo-Katan stared into her reflection on the crystalline sword and slowly reached out, grasping the hilt of the weapon and lifting it easily. "It's…lighter than I thought."

"And I bet you could put it to better use than I could." Nathan agreed, stepping away. "Consider that to be a parting gift, Bo-Katan."

She looked startled at this sudden generosity. "Wait, you're just giving this to me?!"

Nathan shrugged. "We're already well acquainted with Tholian technology. I could replicate a new one if I desired, but I held onto that because a Klingon gave it to me. He felt that I was worthy of it, and I feel that you are worthy of it despite your actions. All you need to do is prove me right or wrong with what you do next."

He walked to the door of the sick bay and opened them. "Whenever we reach Mandalore and you are ready to depart just ask the computer to direct you to the transporter room. In the mean time…I need to begin typing letters to the families of the men and women you killed."

Nathan left Bo-Katan alone after that with the Tholian blade cradled in her hands. She looked down at the weapon again, thinking back to the moment when Pre-Vizla had first commanded her to see this mission through. The Death Watch was not against raiding supply depots for necessary components, or stealing ships such as their famed Gauntlet fighters from scrap yards, but they had never resorted to pillaging a whole ship and slaughtering its crew just for scraps of technology before.

She could not decide immediately, but Nathan Creed had made some strong points in his argument. A true Mandalorian would have been right at the front of the attack force as she had been, fighting and dying alongside their warriors and seeing to victory themselves rather than sitting back. Pre-Vizla had proven himself in combat before, but it had mainly been his possession of the Dark Saber that had put him at an advantage over other warriors. Now the Death Watch would simply camp out on different planets, usually extorting vulnerable species and settlements for supplies and in some cases slave labour.

Every time Bo-Katan watched her fellow Mandalorians act more like common thugs than true warriors it made her sick, but it had been Pre-Vizla and his mission that had kept her on course.

His mission…his goal…his ambitions…

And his greed.


	27. Chapter 27

**Outer Rim  
Tion Hegemony  
Raxus System  
Raxus**

The flagship of the Romulan Republic, the _Lleiset_ emerged from hyperspace along with a small squad of Federation and Romulan ships and slowly approached the Conferderate fleet surrounding the capital of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

"Approaching Raxus, Commander."

"Hail their fleet." Commander Jarok stated.

"Opening hailing frequencies." Tactical officer Lieutenant Jhu Terel replied. "They are responding."

" _Attention, R.R.W. Lleiset. We are to provide escort to you as you enter our orbit._ " An electronic voice said as two _Munificents_ and a _Providence_ along with several squads of droid fighters approached the taskforce.

"Acknowledged." Jarok answered and nodded the helmsmen. "Follow them in."

The taskforce slowly followed the droid escort into orbit of Raxus.

 **Raxus  
Capital City  
CIS Senate Building**

General Grievous had to admit, the _Lleiset_ was a truly magnificent and dangerous sight to behold. According to history data files provided from the embassy the _Lleiset_ was an offshoot of the _I.R.W. Scimitar_ that was developed in the late twenty fourth century. Armed with fifty two disruptor banks, twenty seven photon torpedo bays, primary _and_ secondary shields, along with a perfect cloaking device that could not be detected and it was even capable of using weapons and shields. If that wasn't impressive enough the original _Scimitar_ was armed with a weapon that utilized thalaron radiation which apparently was toxic to organic life and was destroyed by the efforts of the _Enterprise_ -E and two Romulan _Mogai_ -class Heavy Warbirds.

Since what is referred to as the Battle of the Bassen Rift, the Romulans have developed new variants based on the design. The _Lleiset_ retained the predator look of the original design with the same offensive potency but apparently placed a higher emphasis on science. Still it was an impressive looking design and advanced enough to cause an entire fleet trouble. If they had a ship like that the Separatists would be unstoppable.

"General, the _Lleiset's_ commander is requesting coordinates to beam down." A B1 battle droid reported from the comm station.

"Send them coordinates. I will escort the commander to meet Count Dooku myself." Grievous answered quickly.

A short moment later Commander Jarok and another Romulan if he was not mistaken, with cybernetic modifications appeared before him in a flash of light. Not for the first time Grievous marvelled at the transporter technology and the possibly benefits it could provide. As for Commander Jarock Grievous remembered her from the trial set up by that creature Q even though he would prefer not to think about it due to the fact that for a brief time Grievous had become flesh and blood again. After the accident that original mutilated his body had rejected the flesh, deeming it weak and embraced his new cybernetic nature.

Even if he had always felt humiliated by being robbed an honorable death.

And the brief time he was flesh and blood it brought back memories of a life he had left behind.

Before the changes.

Before the crash.

Before all of it.

The Jedi admitted their wrongdoings when they intervened during the war with the Huk but claimed they had not been responsible for the accident that nearly killed him. Personally Grievous thought the Jedi lied to save their own necks, however it made him think about the trial several times over the few following weeks and he had considered starting his own investigation into the matter. It shouldn't matter, the Jedi had been responsible for the suffering of his people and that was enough for Grievous to hate them foer the rest of his life.

And yet he still thought back to that trial.

The Romulan woman, Commander Jarok seemed to salute him by placing her hand into a fist over her chest. "General Grievous."

Her first impression of the infamous general was that she almost thought she was talking to a machine but then she spotted the eyes, noting the eye slitted eyes and the flesh surrounding them in the eye parts of the mask that showed a fierce intellect. She had read up on General Grievous, studying his exploits in the war and his reputation. He was stated to be a mercilous warrior who brought devastation nearly everywhere he went and fought the Jedi blade to blade with lightsabers he had taken from their fallen corpses.

"Commander Jarok." Grievous nodded briefly. "Count Dooku and the Separatist Council is expecting you. I have volunteered to escort you."

"Thank you." Jarok nodded and gestured to her officer. "This is my Security and Intelligence officer, Gaius Selan. He is a former Borg drone who was liberated from the Collective. I believe his knowledge would prove useful."

"I see." Grievous looked over Selan who nodded cooly. "I heard of several of people who were once Borg but I have never met them."

"Indeed. It is not easy to be liberated from the Collective even if possible." Selan replied. "I understand that among the CIS you have the most experience with the Borg in this galaxy."

"Yes, I have defeated them twice in battle and I aim to do so again." Grievous chuckled but noticed Selan did not look convinced. "You doubt me?"

"Many have defeated the Collective in battle once before only for the Collective to return stronger. Your past victories are irrelevant. What is important is how to defeat them in this galaxy permanently." Selan stated.

Grievous narrowed his eyes. "And I assume you have a plan."

"I have formulated several scenarios that simulate an attack on the Borg Unimatrix in the Maw. These outcomes either ended with the destruction of the invading fleet or both the fleet and the unimatrix." Salen answered, not seemingly afraid of Grievous despite how intimidating he was. "The Collective will anticipate an attack and will be prepared."

"They can try and stop us." Grievous turned and gestured for the two to follow. "But they will fall like any other opponent I have faced."

"The Collective is not like any opponent you have faced." Salen stated. "Many have spoken like you, General and all were assimilated."

Grievous chuckled. "They can try and assimilate me but they will fail."

Jarok held up a hand to stop Salen from arguing any further. "You may be right, General, but Salen is right to be cautious. The Borg have existed for tens of thousands of years and have grown even stronger despite our attempts to fight them. If they are not destroyed here they will spread across this galaxy as they have done across the Delta Quadrant."

Grievous glanced at Jarok for a second. "And you have experience with the Borg, Commander?"

"I do." Jarok nodded.

Grievous seemed to accept that as he led the Romulans into the council chamber where all members of the Separatist Council, except for Wat Tambor and Poggle the Lesser who were still in prison on Coruscant were waiting to greet her.

"Commander Jarock, welcome to Raxus." Dooku stated, standing up as the Romulan officers entered the council chamber.

"Thank you for welcoming us, Count Dooku. I know that technically the last time we met my government stopped you from establishing a new military base. I understand it's what led to the Zygerians breaking away from the Confederacy." Jarock stated calmly.

Dooku seemed to wave it off as he sat back down. "It's all in the past now, Commander. I can assure you that I will not mourn the loss of the Zygerians as an ally. Many people in the Confederacy support the Klingons in their endeavour to rid this galaxy of the Zygerian slave cartels. I must say you are becoming really popular these days."

"Well, I've been told a little good press is good for everyone." Jarock nodded as she sat down while Salen stood behind her. "But I believe we should discuss the matter at hand. I understand you've offered to aid us against the Borg."

"Indeed. While we refuse to bow before the Republic we do not want to see the galaxy dominated by the Borg." Dooku nodded. "I have heard that you have submitted designs to the Republic."

"And we offer the same to the Confederacy." Jarock brought up a PADD and used to project the image of several projectile weapons. "These are Terran weapons, used on Earth several centuries. Primitive by our standards but it seems the Borg have difficulty adapting to them."

"And why would the Borg have trouble adapting to a primitive weapon?" San Hill asked.

"Most likely because the Borg do not consider anything primitive to be a threat or something they can benefit through assimilation. Their hivemind works to adapt to energy weapons, specifically the type of energy and its wavelength. They don't do so well against brute force from what we've seen at times when it has been done." Jarock explained carefully. "An infanty force armed with these weapons were able to defeat the Borg in almost all encounters with minimal causalties."

"And what of their ships?" Dooku asked.

"I'm afraid that's when it becomes more difficult. We have spent the last thirty years studying the Borg based on _Voyager_ 's encounters with them and many of those tactics cannot be adapted to either the Republic or the Confederacy without showing you our technology and it would take almost too long to ready you with it before the Borg launch their next attack. To that end I would suggest the same method against them on the ground: brute force." Jarock answered as the image of a Borg cube appeared. "A single Borg cube has proven a match for an entire fleet but we have learned enough to know they have a weakness."

Jarock tapped the PADD and highlighted a single spot on the cube. "When the _Enterprise_ -E engaged the Borg cube over Earth Captain Picard ordered the fleet to target a single location that seemed to have no vital systems. The tactic worked and the Borg cube was destroyed. Now it is possible the Borg corrected this flaw but it proves that even their ships have a weakness. It will be difficult for a full taskforce but it can be done as General Grievous has proven."

"Indeed." Count Dooku nodded as put his hands together on the table. "I have read many reports indicating that the Borg can be defeated by creative thinking."

General Grievous seemed to beam at that news but Nute Gunray jumped in. "A few victories mean nothing! You have come here to help us but this information does not help us purge the Borg from this galaxy. You cannot purge them from your own galaxy as I recall."

Salen spoke up. "The Borg are less in numbers in this galaxy and not as heavily entrenched in the Milky Way galaxy. For that you should be thankful Viceroy or more than half this galaxy would be assimilated by now. As we speak the Collective is planning its next assault and it will be done swiftly and devastating."

"To that end we have decided that to stop them here and now the Borg Unimatrix in the black hole cluster known as the Maw must be destroyed. Our governments believe a joint mission is the only way to ensure the Borg are defeated and I agree. That is why we were here and we offer to help upgrade your ships to better defend yourselves." Jarock typed the PADD again, showing images of different technology. "Before anyone gets excited let me inform you now that is not a complete access to all our technology. As far as we know the Republic and the Confederacy are still in a state of war and we are only doing this because our representatives to the Republic will make the same offer."

"And what do you offer us, Commander?" San Hill asked.

"Onboard the _Lleiset_ we have phase cannons, polarized hull plating, and fusion generators. Phase cannons are the successors to plasma cannons utilized that United Earth developed for Starfleet before our war with them more than a century ago. We can offer these samples along with the theories and operations of how to develop your own and we estimate they will be more powerful than your turbo-lasers. Polarized hull plating is a form of shielding technology before our deflector shields were created and they work similar to your shields but they can deflect both energy and solid projectile weaponry. It works by channeling electromagnetic power from the fusion generators we have brought to the hull plating, increasing its hardness by several magnitutes." Jarock answered. "My people have also agreed to upgrade and improve your turbo-laser cannons, given our own experience with plasma based weaponry. We'll show the schematics that will allow you to construct them on your own."

"You seem to harbor a lack of trust for us, Commander. Much of this technology sounds outdated by your standards. I thought we were allies." Nute Gunray spoke up and no one was surprised at his outburst.

Just about everyone on the Separatist Council was greedy and corrupt and the fact that the Milky Way factions had no need for money but perhaps could outproduce the galactic ecnomony with only a handful of ships, using those Replicators they have onboard to produce everything a civilization would need, including food, cloths, medical supplies, and just about anything that the Mega-corporations produced to continue commerce and trade. That was frightening that they could essentially crash the economy with merealy one ship and they used a _moneyless_ economy! To the Viceroy of the Trade Federation that was not only impossible it was inconceivable. All the power to single handedly topple an economy meant to support an entire galaxy and they had no interest in any form of wealth or material gaine.

Gunray just couldn't understand how they could have access to untold riches and yet have no need for it.

It was maddening!

It was strange.

It was…for the lack of a better term alien.

Jarock turned her eyes to the Nemoidian. "You are Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation, correct?"

"I am."

"I just wanted to be sure when I addressed you, Viceroy. You are right, we don't trust you." Jarock answered honestly.

"Excuse me?" Gunray asked, sounding insulted and likely he was.

"We've only just come to this galaxy and come into contact with you. What we've learned that this galaxy has been plagued for the last two years by civil war caused by the main government fracturing which you played a pivotal role in if I recall correctly." Jarock said, not stopping as Gunray began sputtering in outrage. "You ordered an assassination on Senator Amidala in revenge for her capturing you during the occupation of her home planet, an occupation that you ordered and caused the deaths of many people before it ended, I might add. That assassination led up to the battle of Geonosis when the Jedi tracked the bounty hunter you hired to that planet and causing the entire war to begin in a way, all because you wanted revenge on a woman for defending her planet which you had no right or logical reason to invade."

Grievous chuckled loudly as he saw Gunray's cheeks turn red with anger from the way Jarock was speaking to him and it made him even like her a bit. Anyone who was bold enough to humiliate Nute Gunray was worthy of respect in Grievous's book. Count Dooku remained calm but he smirked a little at the way Jarock addressed Gunray.

"Now see here you little-" Gunray was about to argue but Dooku raised a hand.

"Enough, Viceroy. Commander Jarock is right to distrust us as we have only recently met. We must prove we are worthy of their trust as they have for helping us when we need them. Please continue, Commander." Dooku stated.

"In addition to the phase cannons the Klingons have agreed to supply you with the plans of the disruptor cannons used on their Bird of Prey class ships. My people and the Klingons have relied on disruptor weaponry for years and we have no issues supplying the plans to build your own. It will be rather simplistic to construct these weapons and based on our observations they will have the same dimension as your main turbo-laser weaponry." Jarock continued, turning away from Gunray who simply settled for glaring at her.

Dooku nodded. "We appreciate the effort on your part and we promise not to disappoint the trust you have shown us."

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant**

" _Status._ "

" _We have produced nearly over a thousand ground units with as well as fifty copies of ship design labeled Munificent, thirty copies of ship design Recusant and ten copies of ship design Providence._ "

" _Good._ "

" _Our drones have begun producing armored tank units and fighter units without our instructions. Their programming is adequately advanced._ "

" _Commander, our patrol unit in the Mirror Universe reports Terran patrol approaching._ "

" _We shall test our new drones. Prepare the fleet._ "

" _Yes Supreme Commander._ "

 **Mirror Universe  
Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Azure Nebula**

Eight ships resembling Starfleet vessels, only adorned with golden markings approached the nebula.

"Sensors are detecting ships leaving the nebula."

"Tholians. They must be setting up new bases nears their rifts. Let's see if they have found anything interesting."

Emerging from the nebula came ships of a class the crew did not recognize but they appeared to be warships. They came with Tholian ships, numbering in a total of eighty frigates, cruisers, and even dreadnaughts.

"They are heavily armed, Captain. Multiple tetyron arrays and cannons with a dozen thermionic and tri-cobalt torpedo launchers."

In this universe the ships did not resemble anything they had seen before but in the Prime Universe and the Skyriver galaxy they would be recognized as CIS ships. Only they had been modified with Tholian technology, including weapons and shields. The lead ship, a _Providence_ class dreadnaught was missing its rear tower and its hull was made of the same materials as Tholian ships.

"Capture them."

The Imperial Starfleet ships moved to attack as the new Tholian ships opened fire, launching nearly a thousand fighters of different types and design.

"Enemy fighters incoming!"

The Starfleet ships came under assault as the fighters attacked with tetyron pulse weapons, proton bombs, and thermionic torpedoes that weakened the shields just as the Tholian fleet opened fire. The Starfleet ships were quickly overpowered, half of them destroyed in the opening attacked.

"Retreat! Retreat! We must inform the Empire!" The three surviving Terran ships turned away as the Tholian fleet attempted to finish them.

This was a turning point as the Tholian Assembly had revealed its own droid army that it was building to secure its goals in this or any other universe.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
Paris  
Café des Artistes**

"Well, I'll say this much about Earth, it spares no restraint in extravagance." Riyo Chuchi commented as she looked out across the restaurant, seeing the many people eating at the tables while eating her own vegtables.

"They put as much effort on elegance as our own people." Che Amanwe, one of Chairman Papanoida's daughters commented.

"Still, how can one planet have so many different languages?"Chi Eekway wondered as she took another bite of her food which she started to enjoy the moment she tasted it.

"Different places on a single planet can lead to different cultures." Bail Organa answered. "Still, much of it reminds me of Alderaan."

"Still, Senator what do you think this means for our galaxy? Can this people help us end the war?" Che asked.

"It is hard to answer." Bail glanced at Chuchi and Ahsoka who had ordered meat for her dinner. "They will not intervene but they have offered help in that regard. At the very least the Separatists are as interested in this galaxy as us."

"That can be seen as a bad thing as well. What could the Separatists gain from this galaxy that would give them an advantage?" Chuchi rhetorically asked. "Many in the Senate want help from the Federation and the Klingons to stop the Separatists once and for all."

"Based on what we have learned about the conflits they face here helping us put an end to the Clone Wars is the least of their concerns." Ahsoka commented. "Understanble with threats like the Borg and the Undine out there. Can we even say we have the right to burdon them with our problems?"

"They have offered to help but you are right, Miss Tano. We do not have the right to force them into the war even if many people would want that. We would be no better than Count Dooku or General Grievous in that regard." Bail agreed.

Ahsoka glanced away for a second, remembering Q's trial and the few crimes she had learned that had been committed by the Republic. She had thought the Separatists were evil but she was mistaken when she had met Mina Bonteri and her son Lux. They were people who believed in democracy as well but they believed the Republic Senate who called them pawns of Count Dooku no longer supported the idea and sought to start over. There were some people with the Separatists she believed were evil without a doubt.

Dooku.

Ventress.

And Grievous, even though he possibly had every right to hate the Republic and the Jedi.

It seemed that the more she thought about the more the lines seemed to blur. Is this what Sisko meant about the Prophets not completely trusting the Jedi?

"Still though, many in the Senate have begun believing that the Milky Way Alliance is slowly plotting to take over the galaxy. The many conspiracy theories Mon Mothma have sent me are disturbing." Bail admitted.

"Plotting to take over the galaxy?" Ahsoka asked. "How would they do that?"

"Many neutral worlds have applauded the alliance for defending the Kiros colony from the Zygerians and there is word that many neutral systems are considering approaching the alliance for membership and protection, even Republic and Separatist worlds. If accepted the Milky Way Alliance could establish a firm foothold in our galaxy and that many would sooner or later start to join them instead of the Republic or Separatists." Bail explained with a sigh. "Some even suspect that the Alliance conquers its territory by making these same promises and slowly absorbs new worlds without even having to fight. They even allow threats like the Borg to appear first before coming to the aid of anyone who needs help to assimilate them instead."

"That's ridiculous." Ahsoka said, slightly annoyed as she had met and even worked with people from the alliance.

She sensed nothing but good and honest intentions from them and she even liked them for helping with the problems in her galaxy even though they didn't have to. To accuse them of being conquerors in disguise annoyed her.

"I know but the winds of fear and conspiracy are running rampant through the Senate." Bail stated as he leaned back in his chair. "And then there are people from the Trade Federation and from the Banking Clan who are afraid of how they might collapse the economy."

Now Ahsoka was worried. If the Republic had such thoughts about people who could be their greatest allies what would really mean for their galaxy?

"How can they collapse the economy?" Che asked.

"Their replicators can out produce any form of production in our galaxy which is very concerning. Given how fast and efficient these replicators they could replace the Republic and the Separatist economies in a few short months. That has caused a great deal of concern in the Senate. Enough concern that it has spread rumors of the Trade Federation planning to blockade the portal." Bail answered.

"They can't do that. It would jeopardize the relations this galaxy has with both the Republic and the Separatists. Not even the Separatists would resort to that." Chuchi stated. "The Republic would be provoked to act and possible cause the Milky Way Alliance to enter the war on the Republic's side since everyone knows the Trade Federation is in league with the Separatists no matter what Senator Lott Dodd said."

"You are right, of course. The Separatists would not go that far as it would cause many in their senate to protest and cause civil unrest." Bail nodded to Pantora's Senator. "But many in the Senate are still odds with the Milky Way, especially since they, mostly the Klingons have criticised the Republic for the use of clones and the Separatists for their droid armies. It has led to arguments on both sides and groups being formed that both support and oppose the Milky Way's policies and political views."

"They are not wrong though. The continued producing of clones and droids will eventually leave both sides in heavy debt. It is only a matter of time before our funding is dried up and we can no longer pay for the creation of more clones." Chuchi admitted. "We've been trying to convince the Senate that the continued production would financially cripple the Republic but no one seems to be listening at all."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kuat System  
** **Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array**

"As you can see the _Imperator_ class is our most advanced ship we have fielded yet, even though it is few in numbers. Due to the recent emergence of the Borg the Chancellor ordered a mass refit of all our vessels, including stronger shields, additional armor plating, and increased weapons. To that end we've been working to improve the design of our engines and add reactors for increased power." Walex Blissex stated, going over the designs of the Star Destroyer class. "Of course the main weakness of the Star Destroyer class had always been the bridge tower and the hangars. Even our newest class has these weakness as it is difficult to better protect the bridge without compromising the reactor of the ship. But we have designed a weapon against the Borg."

Walex tapped his pad and projected what appeared to be an _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer only its front end was split open to reveal a large dish inside.

"This is based on the ion cannon used by the Separatist dreadnaught _Malevolance_. In theory it could disable an entire fleet of ships operated by droids." Walex stated.

"Impressive. But still, the Borg could adapt to it eventually." Captain Shon stated.

"Perhaps but it could aid us a great deal. We will need all the help we can get." Walex stated, bringing up another image. "That leads us to our next class."

The new design was over seven hundred meters in length with the bridge connected to a long neck like body with an X-shaped split wing structure at the rear end. A hangar bay based off of the hangars on the new _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer was located at the ship's rear end, on the 'belly' underneath the main reactor. The engines and maneuvering thrusters on the wings allowed the new ship to be extremely maneuverable at sublight speed. The armaments consisted of fifty five turbo-lasers, five laser beam cannons, eleven torpedo and missile launchers, eleven point defense laser turrets, and ten ion cannons while able to carry over a single fighter squadron while using multiple shield generators for better protection.

The secret weapon through was the composite-beam laser that focused the laser beam cannons from the tips of the wings into the forward laser cannon at the very front, creating a more powerful and deadly laser beam that was exceptionally powerful and destructive.

"This ship design features a compression laser which takes the power of several laser cannons and turns them into a single high powered super-laser that hopefully will be powerful enough against the Borg." Walex stated. "The prototype is under construction now and should be finished shortly. We'll be needing to test the compression laser shortly but all reports coming in state it should be ready. Another new design is this."

The second design was modelled after the Star Destroyers used by the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War known as the _Harrower_ class dreadnaught which measured over eight hundred meters in length and sported reinforced heavy armor and four shield generators for protection while being armed with heavy turbo-laser batteries, quad laser cannons, ion cannons along with launchers for proton torpedoes and concussion missiles. The most powerful weapon would be a Plasma Cannon, which acted like a Romulan Plasma Torpedo, capable to obliterating any unshielded starships instantly. In addition to its impressive armaments it carried over nearly a hundred starfighters, specifically the new T.I.E. fighter class that was still in testing stages but would be ready very soon.

"Perhaps we can use your help on this. The plasma cannon uses a lot of energy and right now the current design would take five minutes to recharge." Walex commented.

"Given what we've offered you already would you be against us looking over the designs for your ion weaponry and see if it's possible to upgrade it?" A Romulan officer asked.

"By all means." Walex nodded. "The Chancellor has agreed to aid the Alliance in anything so as long as it's not classified."

"Thank you for that." Shon nodded. "We've been permitted by our governments to provide you with the schematics for our older generation impulse engines and warp drive along with providing you schematics for upgrade plasma based weaponry and polarized hull plating. This will allow your larger ships better speed and protection without the need to redesign your engines from the ground up."

"Interesting." Raith Siener remarked, knowing that their impulse engines made their large ships almost as fast as frigates and fighters. "This will be a huge benefit."

"In addition to that we're offering subspace scanners to detect incoming ships at warp or in hyperspace. This will give us better reaction time." Shon's Chief Engineer Kirayoshi O'Brian said.

"Your scans can detect ships in hyperspace?" Lira asked, filing that away in her mind.

"Yes and it's come in handy more than once." O'Brian nodded with a small smile. "But it means the Borg will likely see us coming as well. So we need to make sure every ships is prepared."

 **Raxus  
CIS Council Chamber**

"Based on our experience with the Borg they will no doubt have left beacons, better known as interplexers which the Collective uses to receive information from their ships outside of the Maw." Jarock projected the image of a Borg Interplexer. "That is how we find the Borg Unimatrix. By scanning these devices we'll know the exact location of the unimatrix. Once we find it we must locate the Queen's ship and destroy it. That will weaken the Collective's processing power enough for us make a direct assault and destroy the Unimatrix."

"A bold plan but still risky." Dooku commented as Jarock turned off the projection. "No doubt the Borg will be ready for an attack."

"That is why we have come with one last technical upgrade." Jarock replied as she tapped her PADD and passed it to Salen who walked around the table and handed it to Dooku. "A shielding system designed to block Borg sensors, created by scientists who studied the Borg for a long time."

She was of course referring to the Hansens, the parents of Anaka Hansen who was known as former Borg drone Seven of Nine who specialized in Borg knowledge. The multiadaptive shields were as a stealth technology as the cloaking devices used by the Romulans and Klingons. Erin and Magnus studed the Borg for three years, using their multi-adaptive shielding to avoid detection until a subspace particle storm caused their shielding to fail and the Borg assimilated the entire family, including their daughter who grew up to Seven of Nine. Upon _Voyager_ 's return to the Alpha Quadrant Starfleet had worked to understand and utilize everything Janeway and her crew had learned during their seven year journey, including the shield system designed by the Hansens.

The latest version was far superior and proven to be a complete success against the Borg on reconassance mission.

"All ships in the Omega taskforce are equipped with these shields and we can modifty your ships to use them as well. Theoriatically the Borg sensors will not be able to detect any of your ships until the attack has begun." Jarock explained.

"Impressive. I assume the Republic will recieve these shields as well." Dooku surmised.

"Yes and they cannot be used with deflector shielding and weapons since they are not suitable for combat." Jarock nodded.

"So in other words these will allow us to approach the Borg and surprise attack them." Dooku stated as he put the PADD down. "A good plan and possibly the only plan to ensure the Borg are removed from this galaxy."

"We have allies in the Delta Quadrant who could possibly help us but we have yet to receive an answer from them. For now we'll have to settle on preparing the fleets here." Jarock said, coming to the end of her presentation.

"When can you get started?" San Hill asked.

"It depends if I have your complete approval."

Dooku nodded. "You have the approval of this council and the Separatist Senate. General Grievous will be in charge of super vising our staff to ensure nothing goes wrong."

 **Kuat Sector  
Kuat System  
Kuat Drive Yards Orbital Array**

The debate had gone mostly well, with the proposal that had been submitted by the Milky Way Representatives being accepted by the senior officer, Admiral Tarkin. The upgrades, including polarized hull plating, phase cannons, improved plasma weaponry, and improved scanners would be a great boon to the shipyards and many of engineers were interested to see how they can improve their current designs. In addition to that plans for improved flights suits for the pilots were made that not only provided oxygen supplies that lasted much longer but also keep their bodies warm if forced to eject into space. This would save many pilots through and after space battles and the Milky Way ships used their industrial replicators to give the Republic much needed supplies.

Captain Shon spotted Anakin looking out the window and slowly walked over. "Master Skywalker, are you all right?"

Anakin glanced at Shon, seemingly surprised. "I'm all right…I was just thinking."

"About the confrontation with the Borg." Shon guessed. "I read up on what happened at Naboo. I'm sorry you and Senator Amidala's people had to experience that. A great many people in the Milky Way know all too well how it feels…Myself unfortunately included." When Anakin looked at Shon in confusion the captain explained. "My family was on the Vega colony when the Borg launched a massive attack against us. I wasn't there for it and by the time I heard anyone who wasn't assimilated was presumed dead or evacuated. My wife and daughter were not one of them."

Anakin was silent as he considered Shon's words. "How does one live with that?"

"By making sure they don't take anyone else." Shon answered. "It's been a rough year but we've worked hard and managed to unite against the Borg. We've hurt them in our galaxy and we're still growing stronger. They won't keep on getting away with it and people like you proved that they can be stopped. We just have to keep showing that they are not unstoppable or to prove them that…"Shon smirked. "Resistance is never futile."

Anakin nodded. "Yes…Never futile."

He'd remember that when facing the Borg.

He needed to believe he'd be coming back…

For Padme's sake.

 **Coruscant  
Padme Amidala's Suite**

"You seem to be perfectly normal now, Senator Amidala." Dr. Lea, a Bolian woman said with a smile as she ran her scanner over Padme's head. "The best news is the assimilation was temporary enough that you won't need to rely on any implants to live."

"Thank you, Doctor." Padme sighed, lying back on her couch. "I guess not a lot of people are as lucky as me."

"At the very least you are going by your name. Many former drones retain their Borg designation, believing they can never be who they were again." Dr. Lea put her scanner away. "It's a process but every day they struggle to regain who they once were."

"I can understand." Padme looked at her hand, remembering the cybernetic implants that had been there before. "Those poor souls…"

Dr. Lea watched with a saddened look on her face. "Senator, perhaps you should wait a little longer before returning to your position. The mental affects of a Borg assimilation can have lasting effects that often takes years to recover."

"Believe me, Doctor. I would like nothing better to rest a little more but I'm needed at the Senate. There's been a lot of talking, especially regarding your galaxy." Padme closed her eyes.

"There always is talking between politics. You're no good if you are still coping with what happened to you and your planet. At the very least Naboo's people are still themselves." Dr. Lea stated. "I consider that a gift from the universe itself."

"As do I." Padme smiled softly. "And I'm sorry so many people blame you for the Borg and the Undine appearing in our galaxy."

"It's natural. The people are afraid and they have a good reason to be afraid. I understand threats like the Borg, the Undine, and the Devidians have never been encountered before." Dr. Lea shrugged as she sat down.

"Not to my knowledge but there are always stories. With all that you have encountered I'm surprised that your galaxy has not been fully explored." Padme commented, remembering what she had read upon. "It makes me a bit sad though."

"Hm?" Lea raised an eyebrow.

"You people, your Federation is lot like the Republic but in many ways it is economically and socially better. Allowing all citizens to be equal and not tied down by corruption and greed like so many senators." Padme sighed as she frowned. "I wish the Republic had embraced these ideals and perhaps this war could have been prevented."

"I think you're offering us too much credit, Senator. We're not a perfect society. We have made our share of mistakes and they have been costly ones at times. The treaty with the Cardassians before the Dominion War nearly split the Federation in two and we allowed ourselves to be manipulated by the Undine that led to our war with the Klingons. Many times we have become complacent and it has cost us." Lea admitted. "I don't think any society is perfect."

"It's a sad fact, isn't it?" Padme offered a smile. "At least you're doing better than us at the moment. I heard of the slaves the Klingons rescued from the Zygerians."

"Yes and we've had our share of them asking for asylum." Lea stated.

"Asylum?" Padme asked, not knowing about that.

"Yes. A great many of them blame the Republic and the Separatists for ending up as slaves and many of them ask for political asylum with the alliance. The Klingons and the Romulans have been accepting new refugees to our universe ever since attack on Zygeria and we've been accepting our own refugees." Lea explained. "It's caused more than a few worlds to come forward for membership and it's caused a lot of criticism towards us by people who do not like that we might end up establishing a beach head in this galaxy."

"Which worlds?" Padme asked, wondering who would wish for membership.

"Well, one is an inner rim world, Corelia. The Twi'lek homeworld Ryloth has been asking their senator to ask us for membership. Even a few Separatist worlds have asked for asylum."

"Really?" Padme was not expecting that.

"It's not easy though. Both governments don't want to get in our way of dealing with pirates but there are arguments against memberships or alliances." Lea nodded.

"I guess a lot of people believe they'd be safer with you over either side." Padme rubbed her forehead.

"We've ended the war with the Klingons and Admiral Tuvok was able to convince the Undine that they had been tricked but there is still the matter of the Iconians. Everyone knows that the Iconians are coming and when they do it will likely be a galaxy wide war. We might not be around much longer to help you, Senator." Lea pointed out.

"I really hope that doesn't happen, Doctor." Padme said lying down, taking the moment to rest like Lea had suggested. "I really hope not."

"As do I, Senator."


	28. Chapter 28

**Near Milky Way Gate  
Republic Star Destroyer _Absolute  
_ Briefing room **

The doors to the briefing room of the _Absolute_ opened up and onto the bridge walked Aayla Secura, ignoring the salutes the assembled troopers of the 128th Legion offered her. "At ease. As you no doubt know we have been chosen as part of the detachment sent through the portal and learn more about the Milky Way."

She activated the holo-projector and showed an image of the Milky Way.

"The majority of people who have greeted us are from here, the Alpha and Beta Quadrants." She gestured to the highlighted quadrants. "As we speak, Senators Bail Organa and Riyo Chuchi are on Earth, representing the Republic in the negotiations. At the moment we cannot risk sending anyone to the Gamma Quadrant on account of the intergalactic power known as the Dominion who could be as dangerous to us as the Separatists. That leaves only one last place."

Aayla pointed at the highlighted quadrant. "The Delta Quadrant. According to Starfleet records the Federation starship _Voyager_ was stranded there for seven years before returning to Earth. During that time they made contact with over a dozen species, learning about certain threats like the Borg and the Undine. Our mission will be take part on any Federation, Klingon, or Romulan mission as we observe and learn more about them as the Republic branch of Operation: Delta Rising and learn more about the current threats and possibly more."

"I hear these guys are advanced." A clone spoke up.

"You should have heard about the Borg. Nasty cybernetic freaks."

"What about on the ground?"

"They helped the Jedi take out those Undine things that attacked Coruscant."

"That is part of the reason the Chancellor asked for us to be part of the Delta Rising. We will rendezvous with whoever meets with us at the portal and we will be under their command. I expect you all to be professional about this as you represent the Republic in the Milky Way. Is this understood?" Aayla asked.

"Yes, General!" The clones all replied.

The _Absolute_ emerged from hyperspace and approached the portal where a Starfleet ship, _Miranda_ class was waiting for them.

"IFF reads as the _Demetrius._ " The commander stated.

"Inform them we are on their way." Secura said, turning her to her captain. "Ready the men, Bly."

"Yes General." Bly nodded.

 **USS _Demetrius  
_ Shuttle Bay**

The Republic shuttle landed gracefully in the hangar and the troopers disembarked, standing in perfect formation as Secura and Bly stepped out onto the floor, passing the troopers and spotting the captain who was a female with blue skin and white hair with antenna on her head. If Secura remembered right she was an Andorian.

"General Aayla Secura?" The woman asked.

"Yes." Aayla nodded.

"Captain Zeela of the _Demetrius._ " Zeela's left antenna twitched as she held out her hand which Aayla shook. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you. Is there anything specific you need from us?" Aayla asked.

"Nothing really. I'm here to give you and your squad the basic run down what to expect in the Delta Quadrant. We can speak in the briefing room."

 **Briefing Room**

"The planet is known as Kobali Prime, colonized by a species known as the Kobali and has been attacked by an aggressive species known as the Vaadwaur for a year. The Kobali are not experienced in war and have asked us for help and we've agreed but there is something you must know about the Kobali." Zeela brought up the image of a male and female Kobali. "We have learned that the Kobali do not reproduce like most species. They are sterile due to failed genetic engineering by their ancestors and so they found another way…They reproduce by reanimating dead bodies and turning them into Kobali."

The clones and the Jedi were shocked to hear such a thing and one of the clones spoke up. "Reanimating the dead, Captain?"

"I'm afraid so." Zeela nodded gravely. "They've somehow developed a genetic pathogen that converts DNA into a structure matching their own, leaving only trace amounts of the original DNA. They were originally nomads but they have settled onto a planet to possibly build a new civilization. It goes without saying that many people in the quadrant hate the Kobali for their reproductive method. We only agreed to help after stipulating that they would not resurrect anyone from the alliance into more of them and on your behalf we've made the same stipulations."

"Thank you." Secura nodded gratefully as she read up on the Kobali.

The fact that a race in the Milky Way could actually bring someone back in the Milky Way would catch more than a few eyes but the way the Kobali did it was concerning. Bringing a person back to life as something else, forcing them to become someone else and forget their previous life? The Jedi Order would not react well to this fact and would be wary, especially to make sure that the Kobali didn't try to bring a deceased Jedi back to life as one of them. A power like that would be sought by Dooku and the Sith, believing it to be a form of immortality and she was concerned about the species known as the Vaadwaur as well.

 _Vaadwaur Intelligence File 3242-M_

 _The Vaadwaur are a dangerous and aggressive foe, and could be a major problem for our ships in the Delta Quadrant. It is perhaps for the best, then, that Starfleet Intelligence puts their total active numbers less than 500. These are the remnants of a dead race, and while we mourn the loss, we do not miss the chaos they have sown in the quadrant._

 _Historical records for the Delta Quadrant are few and fragemented. From what we know, mostly from ancient Talaxian records, the Vaadwaur discovered and mapped the Underspace, a series of subspace corridors that cross the quadrant, sometime before Earth's 15th century. The Vaadwaur used the Underspace for commerce and conquest, conquering hundreds of species and earning the ire of much of rhe quadrant. At this time, there were more than six billion, spread across dozens of worlds._

 _The Vaadwaur were tyrants, and tyrants usually meet an untimely end. So it was for the Vaadwaur. In the Earth year 1484, the Turei led a coalition of races in a war against the Vaadwaur. Their homeworld was devastated by the orbital bombardment, and at the time, it was believed there were no survivors. The Turei seized control of the Underspace, and in time forgot about the Vaadwaur._

 _In 2376, the crew of Voyager was pulled into an Underspace tunnel and encountered the Turei. To avoid a Turei assault, Voyager descended into the irradiated atmosphere of Vaadwaur Prime. There, they found a battalion of Vaadwaur soldiers in stasis units. Awakened, the Vaadwaur first agreed to move to another world with Voyager's assistance, but quickly turned on the crew and tried to sieze the ship. The Vaadwaur were defeated, with the help of the Turei and one of their own sacrificed his life to help Voyager, but approximately 53 Vaadwaur ships escaped into the Underspace._

 _Voyager encountered one of these vessels later in its journey, but the crew was dead. That was the last Voyager saw of the Vaadwaur._

 _At the time of the Vaadwaur's discovery, Commander Chakotay speculate that the Vaadwaur might have more caches of stasis tubes with Vaadwaur waiting to be arrived, either on the homeworld itself or on other planets. I would like to believe this is not the case._

 _Even if it is, Vaadwaur technology is 900 years out of date. It will take significant effort on their part to catch up with the species who have passed them by. But from what we know of the Vaadwaur, they meet challenges head on. This may just be one more issure for them to overcome._

 _End Log_

Apparantly Starfleet was wrong as later reports showed that the Vaadwaur's outdated technology has been upgraded through unknown methods, becoming a significant threat to the quadrant. Their aggressiveness reminded Aayla of the Sith and the Mandalorians during the ancient times and even more so that they were more than a match for even the most advanced powers in the Milky Way. They had returned and launched assaults on major planets across the Delta Quadrant and now the Kobali were the next victims. Strangely enough it was taking much longer to conquer the Kobali than it was with the other factions for some odd reason.

Starfleet Intelligence speculates that there is something special about Kobali Prime that is preventing the Vaadwaur from wiping it out but for now all that mattere was reaching the planet. Right now though Secura was more concerned about making sure all of her men made it out of this mess alive based on what she had read about the Vaadwaur.

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **Arrival on Kobali Prime**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _I suppose we should have been grateful to be the first clones to arrive in a new galaxy, if only to get a layout of the land and do some fighting. A hostile race called the Vaadwaur laid siege to the planet Kobali Prime, a planet home to people who are more or less zombies. The mere idea that they could revive the dead as more of them had men in the 128th more than a little nervous. Sure it would be nice to bring back all the brothers who died in the war but not as aliens who are forced to forget their previous life._

 _General Aayla Secura made it a point that if any Kobali made anyone nervous that they should talk to her immediately. I think she was just a disturbed as we were and that made us feel a little better. When we finally arrived on the surface it was easy to see that the Kobali had no idea how to fight, relying on Starfleet and the Klingons to show them out to fight and rallying them to defend themselves against an enemy that specialized in warfare. The Vaadwaur were organized, ruthless, and they knew how to fight._

 _They dug themselves into the ground surrounding the Kobali city and used just about every dirty trick to try and get the upper hand. If that wasn't enough the Seps sent their own contingent to help the Kobali, led by some kind of super thinking droid that wasted in no time in burning through the enemy ranks and coldly killing anything in their way. Things were a little awkward, having to work with the droids but we followed our orders and fought the Vaadwaur but right when it seemed that we'd finished burning them out of the system a whole new army would pop up and we'd be pulled right back into the meat grinder again. It was the first time we saw how the people in this galaxy and they, especially the Klingons were impressive._

 _If not for the General Secura I doubt we would have survived._

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kobali Prime  
Kobali City**

The trip to Kobali Prime had been surprisingly quick for the visitors from another galaxy but they had plenty of time to be prepared. Aayla had taken the chance to learn more about the people of the Milky Way Galaxy, even reading up on the Vulcans who seemed similar to the Jedi in their approach to control their emotions. She even thought of suggesting applying the Vulcan's approach to logic to handle the more rambunctious padawans of the Jedi Order. Aayla even smirked at the though of it trying to help keep Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano in check.

The Starfleeters had equipped them with personal shields for better protection against Vaadwaur weapons. The 128th was well equipped, even with jet packs if necessary. When the 128th beamed down to the Kobali city a Federation officer was already waiting for them, possibly someone to greet them upon arrival.

"Jedi Knight Aayla Secura?" The man asked as he stepped forward.

"Yes." Aayla nodded.

"I'm Captain Harry Kim. I'm in charge of Starfleet operations here on Kobali Prime." Captain Kim held out his hand which Aayla shook. "Welcome to Kobali City."

"Thank you, Captain." Aayla nodded and gestured to her men along with the equipment they had brought. "These are the troopers of the 327th legion. We're here to help set up a proper defense for the city."

"It's a pleasure to have you here. I have officers waiting to help your men set up." Harry nodded to his officers. "We'll help you set up at all the necessary points."

"Bly, start setting up the equipment and coordinate with their officers." Aayla said to her second in command.

"Yes General." Bly nodded and got to work.

Aayla followed Harry as he led her to the Kobali command center. "I assume you've read up on the Kobali."

"I have." Aayla nodded. "I was surprised to hear about their method of reproduction but I was a litte put off by it at the same time."

"A lot of people feel the same way and they're worried that if they are killed by the Vaadwaur the Kobali may bring them back as one of them or do it to someone they might be close to. The ability to bring someone back to life is astounding but the Kobali also do it in a way that can be seen as brainwashing and graverobbing." Kim said, understanding the Jedi's feelings. "I should let you know now that it's possible the Kobali are keeping secrets."

"Secrets?" Aayla questioned.

"The Vaadwaur claim that this planet was one of the planet that their people placed themselves in suspended animation during the fall of their empire centuries ago. They claim the Kobali know this and are converting their people in stasis into more of them and unfortunately knowing the Kobali it is more than likely." Kim explained. "A planet with an endless amount of bodies would be perfect for the Kolbali to colonize."

"Why not break of negotiations with the Kobali then?" Aayla asked.

"We have no evidence. We only have the word of the Vaadwaur leader Gaul and he is considered a liar as much as he is a murderer. Unfortunately it's possibly the only thing that's keeping the Vaadwaur from destroying all life on this planet. I have several officers looking for proof right now but the Vaadwaur have called for reinforcements." Kim explained as they walked up the steps towards the command center. "As we speak the Vaadwaur are preparing for an assault on the Kobali temple and we need all the help we can get to defend it."

"Why the temple? If the Vaadwaur are so intent on conquering the Kobali why not focus on the city…Unless the temple is where their people are." Aayla realized.

"I thought the same thing but the Kobali have barred all access to the temple." Kim agreed. "We have no way of proving that the Kobali are holding the Vaadwaur inside. We're hoping that we'll have the chance to slip through during this attack. That's where you come in, I'm afraid."

"I'll need a map of the terrain. The best way to distract the Vaadwaur would be to slip through the front lines." Aayla said. "How adept are the Kobali at fighting?"

"Not very good. Warfare is not something they have adapted well to. They've had to rely on us for help more than once but they're slowly getting the hang of it. We have people teaching them and running training drills for them but it's still difficult because some can't mentally handle it." Kim said with a sigh. "Even if some had been soldiers before they became Kobali those memories are almost lost in the rebirthing process. Only General Q'Nel and his 'son' have managed to rally their people to stand up and resist the Vaadwaur."

"Then it's fortunate we are here to lend a helping hand." Aayla commented.

"There's one thing you should know. The Confederacy contingent is already here." Harry pointed out as they reached the top of the stairs.

Aayla stopped, seeing that Captain Kim was correct. Lines of B1 battle droids, B2 battle droids, Commando droids, and even Magna Guards could be seen conducting standard patrols with Droidekas wheeling through the city in groups of three.

"Who is the commander?" Aayla asked, her mind flashing with possible candidates, from a simple Nemodian commander or Genoisan to either General Grievous or Count Dooku themselves.

"A tactical droid apparently." Kim pointed inside the command center. "He's been coordinating with the Kobali ever since he arrived."

Aayla looked and saw it was the new model Super Tactical Droid that was rumored to replace the standard models.

"He's called Kalani." Kim continued. "He's reinforced the outer lines with his droid units and is making plans to push the Vaadwaur back."

"What kind of weapons did he bring?" Aayla asked.

"Standard blaster weaponry with a dozen grenade and rocket units. You sure can handle working with them here?"

"So as long as they don't point their weapons at us we will not provoke them. We were left with specific orders not to attack anyone from the CIS without sound cause." Aayla said.

"Then let's hope no one does that."Harry said as they walked in. "Generals."

General Q'Nel nodded as Kalani faced the two. "Captain Kim. Master Jedi."

Aayla nodded neutrally to the droid as she addressed Q'Nel. "General Q'Nel, I am Jedi Knight Aayal Secura of the Jedi Order. I've come with reinforcements on behalf of the Republic and our alliance with the Alpha Quadrant Alliance."

"Thank you for coming, Miss Secura. My people have done all they can but the Vaadwaur are too many and too well trained for war. We have never waged war like this and many of my people lack the training needed to fight." Q'Nel spoke. "The Vaadwaur continue to call for reinforcements from their transporter pods and they continue to push."

"They will fall. I will personally see to it." Kalani stated as he looked at the map. "Our units can establish a staging area once we take the bridge and move forward from there, eliminating their forces on the other side to establish a perimeter. With additional reinforcements we can push to their forward camps and cut off their main communications and supplies in this area."

"Thoughts, Miss Secura?" Q'Nel asked.

"Kalani's plan is sound. My men can establish shield generators to minimize casualties. We can set up snipers to provide cover as our forces push the Vaadwaur back." Aayla pointed at several areas on the map. "Eliminate the transporter pods and we cut off reinforcements for the Vaadwaur and force them to either fall back or surrender."

"The Vaadwaur have set up camps in the mountains nearby. They would fall back to those camps to await reinforcements." Q'Nel replied. "We have several camps set up that are monitoring them and there Alpha Quadrant teams dealing with them."

"Then we only have the ones outside of the city and the temple to deal with." Aayla surmised.

"And they will be dealt with." Kalani said before leaving the command center.

"Pleasant individual isn't he?" Harry asked once the droid general was gone.

"For a tactical droid." Aayla replied.

()

"General Q'Nel accepted General Kalani's strategy so we will be doing our own part in the plan. The droids will be establishing a permiter leading to the transport pods the Vaadwaur are using to bring reinforcements. Our job will be to secure a permiter to the temple that the Vaadwaur are assaulting to give relief to those defending the temple entrance and if necessary allow our allies into the temple and see if the Kobali are hiding anything." Aayla said to the troops of the 128th. "We will have snipers provide long range cover and set them up as we move down the path to the temple. I want you all on high alert for we will be walking straight into enemy territory so be careful."

"Yes ma'am." All the clonetroopers nodded.

Soon enough the 128th watched as the battle droids moved into formation and marched across the bridge, firing on the Vaadwaur on the other side. B1 battle droids moved in single line formation with B2 super battle droids behind them, shooting at the Vaadwaur with blasters and rockets while Starfleet MACOs and Imperial Klingon Guard warriors followed behind, aiding the droids in taking out surprised Vaadwaur troops. Commando droids slipped under the bridge, rushing through the shallow river and onto the other side, taking the front enemy lines as surprise as they wreaked havoc on the Vaadwaur troops. The overwhelming fire from the battle droids allowed them to break through and made it to the other end of the bridge.

At that point the droids split up, moving with off in different directions towards the locations where the Vaadwaur were heavily concentrated. The Commando droids and the Magna Guards were the most effeciant in dispatching incoming Vaadwaur troops as Kalani directed the droids through its built in communicators.

"The droids have the Vaadwaur distracted. Now it's our turn." Aayla turned to her men. "We move towards the temple at full speed and we do not stop."

"Yes General!" The clones nodded and followed Aayla as she led them over the bridge and into the war zone.

The battle was intense as even with the droids creating a diversion the Vaadwaur were still numerous and skills. Aayla deflected incoming polaron bolts that were thankfully not powerful enough to pierce the magnetic field of her lightsaber while clone snipers took appropriate positions to pick off incoming Vaadwaur from the distance. Jet troopers took to the sky, firing down on the incoming Vaadwaur with blasters and rockets, surprising the Vaadwaur who were forced to fall back. The troopers were moved through the path, shooting at incoming Vaadwaur who were overtaken by the combined assault of Alpha Quadrant alliance soldiers and their new Skyriver allies who had been in engaged in a galaxy spanding war for nearly three years.

The 128th made it to the bridge leading to the Kobali Temple, taking down any Vaadwaur that had fired on them.

"Establish a perimeter and hold the bridge." Aayla called out over the sound of enemy fire.

"Yes General." Bly nodded, setting up a defensive line around the temple. "Keep those guys away from the bridge. No one gets through!"

The Vaadwaur were not about to let these new enemies get away with attacking them. They came in at full force, putting the Republic troops on the defense. Aayla deflected incoming bolts with her lightsabers as the clones took cover and fired back. The Vaadwaur were more formidable than the droids they were used to fighting.

But the clones had Aayla Secura with them as she continued to deflecting enemy fire, even as the droids arrived, having cleared out several nearby enemy camps and converged on the bridge, cutting off Vaadwaur reinforcements. The remaining Vaadwaur were massacared by the droids who seized their firing, their programming telling them that for this mission the Jedi and the clones were not enemies.

Aayla held up her wrist communicator. "Captain Kim, the temple has been secured."

" _The Vaadwaur have pulled back for now. They will call for reinforcements but for now the battle is over. Thank you for the help._ " Kim answered. " _We've discovered Vaadwaur stasis tubes in the temple that the Kobali were using to make more of themselves. It's a mess and I'll be speaking to General Q'Nel but for now at least we've stopped the fighting._ "

"That is all the best we can hope for, Captain." Aayla sighed as she closed the channel.

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **Arrival on Kobali**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _By the end of the battle the men of the 128th shared a drink for winning our first battle in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Vaadwaur pulled back, waiting for reinfrocements to help them get the temple. It was a bit of a beating but we made it through and General Secura made it a point to make sure all of our wounds healed before we rotated off of Kobali Prime. We heard Captain Kim raised all sorts of hell with the Kobali for their little secret._

 _We were just glad that none of us were killed and left in their hands. After we made our report the Chancellor ordered all data on the Kobali be sent to him. Apparently he became interested in their ability to bring back the dead. It would not be the only time we would help out the locals in this galaxy…nor would it be the last time that we'd clash with them._

* * *

 **Kobali Prime  
Kobali Temple  
Revival Chamber**

 _Personal Log_

 _It's almost time. The healers tell me all his damage is repaired and that the genetic virus is transforming his DNA. Not much longer now, and he'll be with us. His family._

 _I still can't believe we found him. I knew where he might be, but it had been so many years, and anything could have happened. Just finding him was a miracle. Bringing him back…it's a dream._

 _We've decided to name him Keten. It just feels right, you know? I'm practising using his name now. I've gone to visit every day since we brought him home, just to see how he's doing. He doesn't know I'm there, but…I know. That's all that matters._

 _I still don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I know how hard the transition was for me. I fought it for so long, even ran away from my home and family to my old life. But I didn' fit there anymore, no matter how hard I tried. They'd moved on without me._

 _I don't blame them. People die. Their friends mourn, and then…then they keep on living. It's what we're supposed to do. Me coming back…I don't know if any of us were ready for that. I certainly wasn't._

 _I thought I'd just step into my old place on Voyager, and it's be like I never left. But my old place wasn't there anymore, and my new place was here._

 _Rebirth was bewildering, and infuriating, confusing…all of it at the same time. I didn't know who I was, where I belonged…and it's going to be just as bad for Keten. Maybe worse – he was always so close to his family. I remember this one time back at the Academy when I had no place to go for the fall break, so I asked him to come with me to Risa. It would have been great but…Harry had to go see his folks. No time for fun._

 _It's going to be hard for Keten. But his place on Voyager was filled. His life was over. This is his only chance now, and I want to give it to him._

 _He just has to accept it._

 _End Log_

The Kobali known as Jhet'leya, formerly Ensign Lyndsay Ballard looked at the stasis pod containing, seeng the body inside. "Don't worry, Harry. I will take good care of you."

Inside the pod was the body of Ensign Harry Kim from thirty years ago.

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **Pirate Raid**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _After our trip to Kobali our next stop was near the giant space station called the Jenolan Dyson to answer a pirate raid. A people called the Ocampa were being harassed by the Kazon, a bunch of apparante pirates who make a habit of capturing ships and stealing technology. From what I heard they have a nasty attitude. Our orders were to go in, chase after their ships and make them stop by any means necessary._

 _We had to get use to the transporter very quickly._

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
Near the Jenolan Dyson Sphere  
USS _Versailles_**

The 128th legion has been transferred to the _Galaxy_ class starship _Versailles_ and for the most part they were enjoying the little time they had gained. The clones had come to enjoy the holo-deck, using it for tactical simulations mostly while a few crew members used it to show them many worlds in the Milky Way Galaxy. Aayla had brushed up on the Kazon, learning their history with Starfleet. The Kazon had originally enslaved by the Trabe but turned against their slave masters and since then had acted as scavengers throughout the quadrant.

They did not develop their technology, rather they stole it. The Alliance was friendly with a part of the Kazon known as the Kazon-Ogla but other tribes such as the Nistrim hated the Alliance, specifically the United Federation of Planets.

" _Bridge to General Secura._ "

Aayla tapped the console. "I am here."

" _We are picking up a distress signal from an Ocampa convoy. They confirm to be under attack by Kazon._ "

"I'll ready my men."

The _Versailles_ came out of high warp, coming upon a convoy under attack by two Kazon Raiders and a massive _Predator_ class carrier that somewhat resembled a Republic _Dreadnaught_. Forward phaser arrays fired, forcing the raiders to back off and regroup while photon torpedoes and a tachyon beam from the deflector dish disabled the carrier's shields. By this time Aayla and her clonetroopers were ready and waiting.

"The carrier's shields are down. We are locking into you and beaming aboard. Good luck, General Secura."

Aayla nodded before she and the 128th were beamed aboard the carrier.

 **Kazon Carrier  
Aft Section  
Cargo Room**

The Jedi General and the clone troopers appeared in one of the carrier's cargo boys, readying their weapons even though they were being beam into an area where there were no guards.

"All right. We split up. Bly, take a team to the engineering section. I'll lead the others to the bridge." Aayla stated.

"Copy that, General." Bly nodded and quickly picked who he wanted with him.

The 128th moved out, well prepared for anything. Bly led his team to the engineering section, moving quickly until they came upon the warp core where Kazon engineers and guards spotted them. Knowing that shooting the warp core would destroy the ship Bly made it a point to make sure everyone remembered that. Kazon guards shot at them but the clone troopers got the advantage as they fired, taking cover and taking out the enemy guards quickly.

The clone troopers swarmed the engineering, quickly capturing it.

"General Secura, we've captured the engineering."

" _Good work, Bly. Contact the Versailles and they'll instruct you how to shut down the warp drive. Then move to the hangar to stop them from launching more ships._ "

"Roger that, General." Bly said before contact the _Versailles._

A moment later the warp drive was off-line, preventing the carrier from escaping.

"All right men, move to the hangar." Bly said, keeping his pistols out as he left the engineering, leaving behind a few clonetroopers to guard it in case the Kazon tried to reactivate the warp drive.

()

" _Keep moving and you'll find the bridge._ "

Aayla deflected incoming plasma bolts with her lightsabers as she and her men moved through the hall to the bridge, taking down over a dozen Kazon that tried to stop them. The Kazon were fighters but they were not soldiers compared to the clonetroopers under her command. As they reached the bridge Aayla maintained contact with the _Versailles_ who gave them instructions and updates every minute. They already reached the main fire control room which a clone left an explosive in, taking out their main tactical systems.

Eventually they reached the bridge, taking down the Kazon before they had a chance to call for help or even activate the self destruct sequence.

"This is Secura to the _Versailles_. We've taken the bridge." Aayla said upon knocking the captain out.

" _Acknowledged. We've locked our tractor beam onto you now._ "

"Thank you." Aayla nodded in gratitude. "I'm sure the Republic will want to keep this carrier to better understand the technology."

" _In that case I will leave that to the diplomats._ "

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **Pirate Raid**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _Amazingly enough we made it through another fight without suffering a lot of damage. The Kazon were aggressive but lousy fighters. They barely even measured up to the clankers we were used to fighting. The Versailles towed the Kazon Carrier back through the gateway to our galaxy._

 _It might not be much but it was big and it could launch more than just fighters. The Chancellor sent it to Kuat to study it and see how it could benefit the Republic and our galaxy._

* * *

 _Personal Log, Aayla Secura recording._

 _We've certainly been busy in the Milky Way Galaxy, helping the Alliance deal with their share of problems. We've mainly been in the Delta Quadrant, helping with the local races there such as the Kobali who still are dealing with an invasion from the Vaadwaur but they have been mostly on the defense thanks to additional help from the 128th and the droid forces. The Force feels different here, more quiet and yet I know it is still with me in this new universe._

 _It feels good to be helping save lives here, even though there is still a war being fought in my home galaxy. For the moment it feels calmer now but it is unlikely the war will end any time soon, especially with Count Dooku and General Grievous still leading the Separatists._

 _I do worry though._

 _Though we are helping in this galaxy I fear it's almost no different from how things are in my home galaxy. The Jedi are meant to be peace keepers but even though I along with the 128th are helping people here it may slowly become no different from how we have been forced to become generals and military leaders to fight the Clone War. And with threats like the Borg, the Undine, and even powerful beings like the Q I have heard about it could force my galaxy, the Skyriver Galaxy as labelled by the people of the Milky Way and strangely appropriate to me, to become something unrecognizable from the peace and democracy my fellow Jedi have struggled to keep alive for over a thousand years. Public support has slowly turned against the Jedi due to how long the war has lasted and there is no end in clear sight._

 _How long must either galaxy endure the harsh life of war?_

 _Why must the people suffer?_

 _And what must be done to end it?_

 _End Log_

" _Bridge to General Secura._ "

Aayla tapped the communicator on her desk. "Yes?"

" _We are being called back to the Solanae Dyson Sphere. Dyson Joint Command is under attack by the Voth. You will be assigned to help defend the Spire along with the CIS contingent that is on its way there._ "

"Understood." Aayla nodded.

She would take the time to inform the men and study up on the Voth and their tactics.

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **The Hour of the Wolves**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _Our third and final mission called us back to the giant construct known as the Solanae Dyson Sphere to deal with an invasion force from a bunch of reptiles called the Voth. We spent the whole reading up on them and they sounded like a piece of work. Strong as Wookies, dense armor, anti-proton weaponry, personal cloaking devices and their own use of walkers was concerning before we were informed that Republic walkers had been ordered and shipped to the Dyson Sphere. They apparently wanted the sphere to isolate themselves from other races and they were willing to destroy subspace which would cause a lot of problems for everyone else. We left the science talk to the eggheads and readied ourselves for the toughest battle in this galaxy since Kobali Prime._

 _Everyone was joining in this battle, even the gear-heads sent by the Seps who came with Spider-Droids and Trade Federation STAPs, letting us know that they weren't about to let us have all the fun._

* * *

 **Solanae Dyson Sphere  
Dyson Joint Command**

The members of the 128th beamed into the joint command spire, taking a chance to check themselves over after having beamed down.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

"Better than being shot down on a drop ship."

Aayla watched as the Romulan officer at the desk in front of them stood up. "Commander Kohl, I presume."

"I am." The Romulan nodded. "Welcome to Dyson Joint Command, General Secura. The CIS contingent is already here, coordinating our forces. We have detected Voth troop ships approaching Spire 487 and they are escorted by a Citadel ship." He tapped the console on his desk and it showed the image of a Voth _Citadel_ Dreadnaught that resembled a Star Destroyer somewhat only it was bigger and lacked the control tower, looking more streamlined and what looked like a large single ion engine instead of several. "We've requested reinforcements to deal with the _Citadel_ ship and stop any transports but the Voth are presistant."

"What is our mission?" Aayla asked.

"You along with our ground forces will be defending the spire from Voth ground forces. The Voth want to access the Omega particle producing facilities here to isolate themselves and their part of space but if they destroy subspace they will be putting millions of lives in this quadrant in danger." Kohl explained as he brought up images of the Voth.

"Why do all this for simple isolation?" Aayla asked.

"Our intelligence division has learned the Borg have been making incursions into their space and they want this Dyson sphere to produce the Omega particles to cut the Borg off. Recently a number of Voth have defected over to us as 'free-thinkers' who oppose their people's way and their Doctrine that basically claims they are the first form of life in the quadrant and anyone who disagrees is treated as a heretic. They have helped us greatly since then but Voth remain a threat." Kohl explained. "We've received what you call walkers from your galaxy, given how dangerous the Voth are and as a counter against their own walkers and larger dangers."

"Thank you." Aayla nodded as she accepted a PADD from Kohl. "We're ready to start the mission."

"Good luck, General Secura."

 **Spire 487  
Alliance Ground Force**

The ground force that had been assigned to protect the Spire was large, even without the Republic and CIS contingents there, setting up their defence lines with AT-RTs and a few AT-TEs while the droids brought forth spider droids, both small and large. Outside the Spire were Alpha Quadrant ships with even a Federation _Odyssey_ and a Klingon _Bortasqu_ class dreadnaught that would provide defense against the incoming Voth dreadnaught.

"What's our status?" Aayla asked.

"The Starfleets report that enemy transports are approaching." Bly stated as he watched the Milky Way soldiers fall into a formation that he did not recognize. "Never seen that before."

"It's called a phalanx." A Starfleeter answered, earning their attention. "It's an old tactic used for centuries that was effective on Earth before the creation of cannon artillery. It will allow us to form an unbreakable wall against Voth soldiers before they bring their walkers and larger monsters. The soider droid along with yours will be assigned to use your scout walkers to flank them from behind and cause havoc."

"Our AT-RTs are fast enough that we can launch quick enough attacks and retreat." Bly stated. "What are the droids doing?"

"Their spider droids will be lining the building walls around us, providing sniper cover from above."

It wasn't long before the enemy transports, escorted by the massive Voth dreadnaught appeared, drawing the attention of the defense fleet surrounding the spire. The Voth dreadnaught moved forward, firing its anti-proton beams at the Alliance ship, providing the transports the distraction they needed to slip by but more than one transport was shut down. The transports were escorted by fighters that were armed with anti-proton beam weapons like their larger counterparts that proved to be an annoyance as the fleet shot down as many transports as they could.

The transports that made it through began beaming down their troops who wasted no time in fighting their way to Dyson Joint Command. The Voth believed they would be victorious as they were superior to mammals despite their resistance. Only they had not counted on the heavy reinforcements from the Skyriver Galaxy, including the fast AT-RT walkers that were fast and armed enough to give the Voth pause in their advance. If that wasn't enough battle droids on STAPs flew in, harassing the Voth as they attempted to march towards the front lines, relying on their armor and shields for protection while shooting back at the walkers and speeders that attacked them.

"Fire!" Bly shouted.

Blasters and rockets along with phasers and disruptors fired on the advancing Voth troops that slowed them and forcing them to take cover and fire back but they continued to advance.

"Something is not right." Aayla mumbled, watching the Voth continuing to press forward. "They are pushing on with no artillery support. They cannot be that arrogant."

Aayla's instincts told her something was wrong and they were right.

In a flash of green light appeared a giant reptilian creature, commonly known as a Tyrannosaurus Rex on Earth that was armored and anti-proton weaponry attached to its head.

"A V-Rex!" A Starfleet shouted as it roared and marched towards the forward lines, its mouth ready to snap its nearest victim in two.

Igniting her lightsaber Aayla rushed forward, knowing that many would die if she did nothing. Dodging the anti-proton beams as she leapt up and fell towards the head, her lightsaber cutting through the arm and leaving a nasty scar under the left eye that earned a roar of pain and anger from the Rex as it turned its attention to her. Aayla ran under it and plunged her lightsaber into a leg, earning another roar as the Rex fell over and Aayla quickly leapt up and plunged her lightsaber into the head where the brain was. The creature gave one final scream before dying and Aayla jumped away as the Voth troops fired at her.

That was when the spider-droids lining the building wall from above fired down, surprising the Voth as the Alliance line fired, forcing the Voth back and breaking their offense before they had a chance to truly make an impact. Outside it seemed the Voth were not doing any better as their dreadnaught, now looking heavily damaged pulled back.

"General, the enemy is in full retreat." Bly said once Aayla was back, watching the enemy through a binoculars.

"Good job, Bly." Aayla nodded with a small smile. "I think we made a good impression on everyone."

"I'd say so, General." Bly said, smiling under his helmet.

* * *

 **Journal of the 128th**

 **The Hour of the Wolves**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _At the end of the day the 128th was finally rotated back to our galaxy and we had a lot to talk about. We all shared our stories, had our laughs, and made our reports. We made a few friends there, especially the Klingons who considered us to be the kind of warrior humans would be if they were more Klingon. The Chancellor asked for detailed reports on the places we'd been at and the people they encountered._

 _By the time we were done he made a point to have us all rewarded for our service to the Republic and our allies in the Milky Way. He said what we had seen their would be of great help to the Republic in the future._

* * *

 _Personal Log, Kalani Recording:_

 _This contain my full report to Count Dooku regarding the status of the Milky Way Galaxy. My forces have been rotated to deal with several states classified as enemies to the Alpha Quadrant Alliance._

 _The first encountered enemy are the militant race designated the Vaadwaur. All historical records show them as a highly militant and aggressive species that has risen to high power status in the Delta Quadrant. Their technology, originally nine hundred years out of date has advanced considerably. It is logical to assume the Vaadwaur had found these advanced technologies from an unkown source. Their tactics are highly adaptable and they combine their aggressiveness with advanced technologies such as drones with tractor beam like properties._

 _The second enemy state we encountered was the Cardassian terrorist organization designated the True Way near the station hub Deep Space Nine. We were part of a taskforce assigned to track down a True Way scout fleet consisting of three Jem'Hadar fighters, in actuality these fighters are Corvette class and also designated as Attack ships, which have been harassing Cardassian and Bajoran ships in the quadrant. Their transporter technology was an efficient method of boarding one Attack Craft where we fought the species designated Jem'Hadar for control of the ship. The Jem'Hadar's ability to cloak themselves without any form of technology made it...difficult and half the droid boarding party was destroyed before the ship was captured and taken back to Deep Space Nine._

 _The third and final enemy before our mission was complete was the reptilian species known as the Voth on the massive construct designated the Solanae Dyson Sphere. Their tactics relied on a combination of powerful defense and use of powerful creatures that have theoretically engineered to massacre their enemies. Jedi General Aayla Secura proved instrumental in stopping one of these creatures as the ground force fought the Voth invaders off and forced them retreat._

 _There is also a discovery I have made during my study of the Delta Quadrant. A race of machines known as Automated Personnel Units, created to fight for their creators similar to the battle droids from our galaxy. The Alpha Quadrant, specifically has created their units that show sentience and are recognized as sentient beings while the ones in the Delta Quadrant seek to find a way to reproduce due to the complexity of their technology. If we learn to duplicate the technology used to create these units we would have new advanced units for our armies._

 _My analyses of the Milky Way shows that the species here are highly advanced and adaptable with many enemies operating on the illogical organic belief of their superiority, especially strong in species like the Voth and the Vaadwaur. The Jem'Hadar are formidable, likely more formidable then the Republic Clones due their hardened skin, strength and cloaking ability. We have scanned their weapons, discovering their energy output to be enough to cut through ship armor. We will submit these reports to the Hypori factory._

 _End Log_


	29. Chapter 29

**Outer Rim  
Wazta Sector  
Lotho Minor System  
Lotho Minor**

The Banking Clan _Munificent_ class frigate hovered in orbit of Lotho Minor, the junk planet, collecting junk from the surface to provide resources for the Fabricator that was being constructed on Hypori. The Fabricator was constructed as a way to compete with the Replicator technology from the Milky Way Galaxy. The ability to create almost anything from pure energy or molecules as the technicians had explained was considered magical which could render shipping companies absolete. Many people saw the benefit of the use of Replicators if they could get their hands on it.

It could eliminate hunger on many worlds in the Outer Rim.

It was also a source of huge concerns as many shipping companies, including the mega-corporations that made up the Confederacy as such technology could put them out of business. This led to many of them competing to try and develop something like the Replicators or something close to ensure their buinsess was not threatened.

That led to Lotho Minor, better known as the junk planet.

It was perfect to pick up so many discarded resources and could be reused by the Fabricator and no one would be stupid enough to come near a planet with a Separatist ship in orbit.

Except for the small cargo ship that just left the planet with two beings onboard.

The droids onboard didn't bother to go after the cargo ship. Lotho Minor had no stragical value and the Republic would not bother to chase down a single Separatist ship.

 **Arkanis Sector  
Tatoo System  
Tatooine**

Asajj Ventress watched the blue tunnel of hyperspace, her pale blue eyes staring into the tunnel with her destination at the far end. Her life had been turned upside down in a horrible way and she could only go to a planet where someone like her could find a place to blend in earn money that would get her food and water. She returned to Dathomir, seeking purpose and perhaps a home which Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters had given her, accepting her as one of them.

Only for Count Dooku to rip it from her.

During the celebration of her gaining a new family the Nightsisters had been attacked by the Separatist droid army, led by Grievous. She fought as hard and best she could, even managing to damage Grievous in a one on one fight but it had been in vain. The Nightsisters had been completely wiped out and she was alone again. Mother Talzin appeared before her and told her to find her own destiny before disappearing.

But how?

Where would she go?

Who could she trust?

Almost the entire galaxy, both the Republic and the Separatists wanted her dead. Well, possibly alive by the Jedi but she would never allow herself to be captured by anyone. The only way to find shelter would be on a planet not aligned with either side but at the same time had no form of strategical value to the Republic or the Confederacy and only one named sprung up in her mind.

Tatooine.

It was perhaps the one planet in the universe that neither side would visit. The Hutts, specifically Jabba were allied with the Republic but only to allow them access to their hyperspace lanes while going about their own business and Jabba no doubt still harbored a grudge against Count Dooku for kidnapping his son. So as long as he didn't know she was on the planet she would have no trouble from him. She had no interest in going to see him or the Hutts for a job anyways.

Her ship emerged from hyperspace and sure enough Tatooine, the dustball of the universe and perhaps the farthest planet from the very center of the universe. She entered the atmosphere, expecting to find a spaceport but upon finding the coordinates for Mos Eisley she came upon the ruins of a devastated spaceport.

"What the…" Ventress mumbled and continued flying.

It was the same everywhere she want. All known settlements had been attacked and destroyed by an unknown enemy. It could have been the Republic or the Separatists but Ventress considered that to be unlikely. Either way, she was not going to find shelter on this planet so she decided it was to move on. She piloted her ship back into orbit, planning to make the jump to hyperspace.

Perhaps she would find shelter on Nal Hutta instead.

However just as she reached orbit her eyes widened as the sight of a massive ship, one that she knew was not Republic or CIS, waiting for her along with several ships that moved to intercept her before she could make the jump. Gripping the throttle in her hands Ventress preformed a set maneuvers to get out of the way of the incoming ship before it could catch her.

Only for her to disappear in a flash of green light just as a green beam of light obliterated her ship.

* * *

 _I don't know if anyone will ever see this message, but…I have to leave something. A sign that I existed._

 _I'm going to die soon. I accepted it. The aliens take us away one by one. Sometimes the cloaked ones come, and the pain follows. I don't know what they're looking for, why they keep testing us, dissecting us, but the one thing they don't care about is killing us._

 _And maybe that's a mercy. N'Kden was taken by them three days ago. He didn't return. He was my friend, and I grieve for him, but at least he's free now._

 _The other way we can die here is far worse._

 _She tells us to stay strong. To remember who we are. And I try, for her, but…I don't know how much strength I have left. I'm not like her._

 _Her will is indomitable. Her strength is endless. She watches and waits and schemes. I've heard her talking to the guards._

 _Questioning. Looking for weaknesses. Searching for an opportunity._

 _She is more than our leader, now. She is our hope._

 _We have collected a few weapons. Not enough – we will be destroyed in a fight, but it would be a better end than this. I asked if we should stand up as one, but she wants to wait for the right moment to strike. Perhaps she is right._

 _If we fight, it should be for more than an honorable death._

 _I know people are looking for us. We were loyal, we were true…they won't abandon us. The fleet will never stop searching. But will they find us in time?_

 _There were more than 900 of us here when we first arrived. Now there are less then two dozen. Tomorrow there will be fewer still._

 _Maybe tomorrow I will be gone too._

* * *

She opened her eyes, hearing the sound of whispering as she felt the cold metal floor she had been resting on.

"She's awake…"

Ventress sat up, seeing herself surrounded by a dozen people who looked down at her with concern.

A man with pointy ears sat down next to her. "Are you all right?"

Ventress frowned. "I'll live. Where am I?"

"A prison." The man said sadly as he offered a hand which Ventress reluctantly accepted and helped her stand up. "We are all prisoners here."

Ventress looked around, seeing the large room that they were all in with an apparent window.

"Don't try it. There's a seventy megawatt shield that'll stop you." The man said, seemingly knowing what she was thinking.

"Who has us here?" Ventress questioned.

"The Elachi and the Solanae."

Ventress turned around, seeing a woman with short blond hair and the same pointed ears as the man standing in the center of the room. "The who?"

"The Elachi, a race of creatures that reproduce by infecting people with fungal based spores, turning them into newborn Elachi. The Solanae are subspace aliens that want to experiment on us, learn everything about us." The woman answered darkly. "They both serve the Iconians."

"The who?" Ventress asked again.

"I see you don't know much. Are you even from the Milky Way Galaxy?" The woman questioned with a scoff.

Ventress narrowed her eyes as she took a step forward. "As a matter of fact I am not but I've heard about the so-called Milky Way. Who honestly hasn't?"

The woman smirked. "Then you must be from that other galaxy. We've heard a bit about it from the guards here. A galaxy that the Iconians formerly explored and possibly conquered, knowing them."

"I've never heard of these Iconians so why don't you start from the beginning?" Ventress put a hand on her hip. "And who are you?"

"I am Sela, Empress of the Romulan Empire."

"Former Empress." A voice spoke up from the crowd.

"That's right. You don't control us anymore."

"Silence!" A few men with the same pointed ears shouted. "You will respect her!"

"She's a monster!"

"Let her be tortured!"

"Better to kill her now!"

Ventress raised an eyebrow at the arguing. "Apparently you have a few objections, _Empress_?"

Sela waved it off. "Their views are of no concern to me. The only thing that matters now is escaping before the Elachi or the Solanae decided to kill us all and they will."

"Then perhaps we should leave." Ventress looked down at her belt, seeing her lightsabers were gone but that did not make her helpless.

Sela smirked. "I agree."

()

A pair of Elachi guards entered the room, drawing their weapons on the prisoners who backed away as they came in, followed by several probes. When Ventress saw them she raised an eyebrow, seeing their mushroom shaped heads. The guards walked up to her, gesturing for her to follow them and kept their weapons trained on her.

Ventress smirked as she raised both hands…

And telekinetically lifted them off the grond and slammed them into the wall with the probe droids. The impact was enough to kill them both and they fell to the floor.

"Impressive." Sela remarked as a few of her surviving men picked up the weapons.

"Thank you." Ventress simply said as she towards the door. "Now where is the weapons room?"

"I believe I know the way." Sela followed after Ventress and led her to a door that opened for them.

Ventress walked in, seeing the lines of numerous weapons on the wall and stopped when she saw her lightsabers on display, like a pair of trophies. She grabbed them and watched as Sela and the other prisoners armed themselves.

"Now what?" Ventress asked.

"We escape." Sela answered, turning to the door with a disruptor rifle in her hands. "Follow me. I know the way to the command center."

()

" _The prisoners have escaped._ " A creature reported, watching the prisoners move down the hall.

" _Call in reinforcements. Lock down the perimeter._ " The supposed commander replied. " _They shall not escape._ "

" _As you command._ "

()

Ventress allowed Sela to lead her and the others through the strange complex fighting off against the few guards they encountered and strange squid-like droids that attacked. Sela opened the door at the end of the hall and came upon a large room filled with capsules and people inside.

Some of them looked like they were being horribly mutated.

"What is this?" Ventress asked as she walked into the room.

"It's likely where the Elachi reproduce. They take their prisoners here and infect them with spores that mutates the body into an Elachi, killing the previous owner of the body." Sela explained as they slowly walked through the room.

Ventress took a moment to consider what Sela had told her, looking at the people bring mutated. It brought out a level of disgust in her that she had only felt towards the Jedi. She heard it before but she never saw how it was done.

Truly the universe was an unkind place.

"We will remove the ones still in stasis that have no been infected. It will give us a better fighting chance." Sela remarked as she moved from pod to pod, releasing the ones that were still alive. "We'll have more fighters with us."

"For what?" Ventress asked.

"We have more than Elachi to deal with." Sela pointed at the door on the other end of the room as it opened.

Ventress raised an eyebrow as out of the other room came creatures, strange creatures that Ventress had never seen before come into the room, snarling and just reeking of evil. Ventress ignited her lightsabers as the creatures lunged at her. However even though she managed to injure them her lightsabers did not directly kill them. Several creatures spat acid which Ventress barely dodged as she danced around the room, slashing and hacking away at the creatures that were awfully stubborn at dying.

Sela and several others fired on the creatures, managing to aid Ventress in killing them after a few minutes of fighting. Ventress watched as the last one exploded in a pile of green mucus like slime.

"What are these?" Ventress spun around, facing Sela.

"Bluegills. A parasitic life form that infest people, giving them enhanced strength and immunity to energy weapons." Sela answered, kicking a dead parasite. "I've heard they can grow to the size of small buildings."

"Why are there here?" Ventress questioned, looking at the slime.

"They were created by the Solanae, likely because they were ordered by the Iconians." Sela said, freeing the last prisoner.

"I've been hearing you mention these Iconians. Who are they?" Ventress deactivated her lightsabers.

"An ancient race that was thought to wiped out over two hunded thousand years ago but they survived and have been planning their return to re-establish their galactic empire in the Milky Way Galaxy ever since." Sela walked to the door.

"Why are they here?" Ventress followed her out of the room.

"Why? The Iconians are conquerors, historically remembered as the Demons of Air and Darkness. They committed genocide against my people, destroying my home planet and hunting my people to extinction. They don't need a reason. They want to conquer everything simply because they can." Sela gritted her teeth.

Ventress could literally feel the hate rolling off Sela, even without the Force.

"They're planning a war and I don't doubt they plan to use your galaxy." Sela glanced at Ventress. "Two galaxies waging war against each other and the Iconians move in once the dust settles."

Ventress raised an eyebrow.

"We have to move. The Elachi have no doubt called for reinforcements." Sela quicked her pace. "We need to send a distress signal and hope anyone picks it up."

Ventress followed quickly as Sela entered a large room with consoles and screens lining the walls. Sela walked up to the main console and looked over the controls.

"Well?" Ventress asked impatiently.

"We are in subspace with several Elachi patrols. This is good." Sela grinned.

"Good? What are you talking about?" Ventress looked at the controls, not able to understand them due to how different they looked.

"If modulated correctly we can send a distress signal to anyone in either galaxy. This is what we want." Sela explained as she worked away on the console.

"Anyone in either galaxy?"

"We are in subspace, meaning we're basically we're in another dimension from your perspective. The Elachi can possibly monitor either galaxy from here with the help of the Iconians, making it the perfect staging ground and outpost. A transmission sent along whatever they use to traverse either galaxy will bring help." Sela pointed to the screen, showing images of both galaxies.

"Then don't contact the Separatists or Count Dooku." Ventress stated sharply.

"And why not?" Sela asked smoothly.

"Because if Dooku gets his hands on this base both our galaxies are done for." Ventress said, tightening a hand into a fist.

"That is irrelevant. The Elachi are calling for help." Sela said as she activated the beacon.

The beacon activated, sending a signal in the form of a powerful pulse across subspace, going through the communication relays the Elachi and the Solanae had set up to monitor two galaxies.

At least it _was_ two galaxies.

()

Across the gulf of space every space faring civilization received what appeared to be a distress signal only its origins were strange.

Some recognized the signal while others remained skeptical of its origin.

Either way the signal attracted a large amount of attention and people were scrambling to find out where it had come from.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
Paris  
Palais de la Concorde**

The Palais was a large, cylindrical, fifteen-story building. It was located on the Place de la Concorde and is elevated above the Champs Elysées, which it straddled, supported by four duranium beams at each corner that lead to the basement levels. When Senators Bail Organa, Riyo Chuchi along with Ahsoka Tano and Chairman Papanoida's daughters entered the building even they were taken by the beauty that the Senate Builing on Coruscant seemed to lack. They walked onto the first floor where they were to meet the Federation Council along with full and sub-council members who had all come to meet with the visitors from another galaxy.

The doors opened to reveal the council chambers that were rectangular; towards the south wall is the podium, typically used by the Federation President, or by another Councillor, when presiding over a Council session. The podium was emblazoned with the Great Seal of the United Federation of Planets, and the Federation flag hangs on a pole behind it. On the south wall was a view screen used for a variety of purposes, most commonly for tabulating votes during a session. The east and west walls feature matching rows of twenty seats each, with four rows on each side.

When the number of Councillors exceeded the number of seats, two new rows of twenty seats each were installed on either side. The center of the room was the area in which those acknowledged by the podium are allowed to address the Council or sub-council - the speaker's floor. The northern side of the chambers features the gallery, an area of seating where spectators may observe full sessions of the Council; the galley is closed during classified sessions. The council chamber was large but nowhere as large as the Senate Chamber on Coruscant and was somewhat simplistic but in many ways perhaps it was less of a complex problem compared to the Senate.

"Wow." Ahsoka whispered. "This is a pretty neat set up."

"It somewhat reminds me of the government building on Alderaan." Bail nodded in agreement.

The Federation President, a Saurian which was interesting, Aennik Okeg stood at the podium, gazing at the assembled delegates and seemingly welcoming them all as the doors shut.

"Representatives of the Federation and honored guests. Let me be the first to say that we have had a long year, perhaps one of several long years in the last decade. The hours and days as President are long and hard and quite possibly the one job that guarantees that when you retire you will be happily skipping out the front doors when your term finally ends." Okeg started, earning a few chuckles. "But in addition to the long hard work there is the honored job of welcoming distant travelers who have come here to see our world and begin a hopefully long and fruitful friendship between not just two worlds, but literally two galaxies. My friends and honored guests, we are here today to welcome the delegations of the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems."

The Republic representatives glanced at the Confederate representatives as they all stood up, welcoming the praise, a few of them recognizing the representatives who graciously bowed to the applause. The first was Senator Voe Atell followed by Bec Lawise and the third was Gossam senator that no one recognized.

Okeg waited for the applause to die down before continuing. "The first speaker is Senator Bail Organa of the planet Alderaan who was among the many people to welcome us when our galaxies made contact."

Bail swallowed a bit as he moved out of his seat and walked towards the podium, sharing a brief nod with Okeg as he took a deep breath. "Honorable representatives of the United Federation of Planets, on behalf of the Republic and our galaxy we humbly thank you for the warm welcome we have received. Considering the cirumstances our galaxy, the Skyriver galaxy has faced in the last two years it is truly humbling to be able to meet with new people and mend new bridges in ways no one had ever expected. Perhaps with your help we can end the war in our galaxy that is leading to many worlds suffering, not just because they have been unfortunate enough to be invaded or used as staging grounds but because of the loss of funding and resources for the schools and homes that so many people have lost. The Clone War has waged for too long and though this galaxy has seen its share of conflict perhaps by working together we can bring peace and-"

A beeping sound caused Bail stop in mid-speech as the screen on the wall activated, showing the UFP symbol.

"What is happening?" Okeg asked a guard next to him who whispered in his ear before he turned to the delegates. "Everyone, there is a transmission being broadcasted on all frequinces throughout the quadrant. The origin is unknown but it is apparently from former Romulan Empress Sela."

This caused a few people to speak or murmur to each other as they all knew of Empress Sela and her reputation. They all became silent as the screen showed Sela, looking battle worn but still maintaining her dignity.

" _To anyone who is receiving this transmission, I am Sela of the Romulan Star Empire and I am transmitting from an Elachi base in subspace. I and a number of prisoners are fighting for our lives right now to bring you this information that is vital to the survival of the galaxy. The Elachi have abducted my people and many more from not just our galaxy but also the new galaxy known as the Skyriver Galaxy. The Elachi captured us for the purpose of using our bodies to create more of themselves and to provide test sujects to the Solanae who are responsible for a parasite creature that was discovered by the Federation in the year 2364 when the admiralty of Starfleet became infected and tried to sieze control of the Federation. The Bluegills were created by the Solanae who serve the Iconians as a scientist caste and are building an army with the Elachi to invade the Milky Way Galaxy and re-establish their empire._ " Sela looked over her shoulder for a second. " _The Iconians are using servitor races to fight their battles as they wait in the shadows and prepare for their return. Even now as we speak they have manipulated factions like the Undine, the True Way, and the Tal Shiar to to spread discord and chaos. It is only now a matter of time before-_ "

Sela was cut off by the sound of an explosion and looked over her shoulder again as the sound doors slamming open boomed throughout the room.

The transmission was cut shortly after that.

But it had already been seen across every major communication network in both galaxies.

 **Beta Quadrant  
Tholia**

" _The transmission has been sent across the galaxy. We have pinpointed the precise location of its origin in subspace._ "

" _Send a fleet to the location. We will capture the Elachi base and learn its technology._ "

" _Yes Supreme Commander._ "

 **Beta Quadrant  
The Vault**

The gathered Romulans and Remans watched as Sela, a Romulan who many of them despised ended her transmission.

The Reman, Obisek closed his eyes. "So it has begun."

"Captain?"

"The Iconians, their eyes are fixes on us and Empress Sela may have just lit the candle that will turn into the great fire." Obisek opened his eyes as he looked around. "Contact New Romulus and inform D'Tan I wish to speak with him immediately. It will begin there. Their eyes are fixed on the remaining survivors of Romulus."

"Yes Captain." The Reman nodded and moved to fulfull Obisek's request.

 **Beta Quadrant  
New Romulus  
Romulan Republic High Command**

D'Tan stood up as Sela's transmission ended. "Contact Earth and Qo'nos immediately. We have to find the source of that transmission."

 **Delta Quadrant  
Borg Unimatrix**

 _Receiving Transmission_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Analyzing Origin_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Origin Confirmed_

 _Technology Confrirmed: Species 47_

 _Subspace Location_

 _Downloading Coordiantes_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Dispatching Tactical Cube 1005789 to Coordinates_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Mission Protocol: Assimilate_

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
Maw Cluster  
Borg Unimatrix**

 _Receiving Transmission_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Analyzing Origin_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Origin Confirmed_

 _Technology Confrirmed: Species 47_

 _Subspace Location_

 _Downloading Coordiantes_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Dispatching Tactical Cube 237590 to Coordinates_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Mission Protocol: Assimilate_

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Vaadwaur Prime**

Overseer Gaul watched as the transmission ended and crossed his arms. "Foolish woman. She has no idea what she was done." He glanced over his shoulder. "Prepare my flagship and assemble the forward fleet."

"Yes Overseer."

 **Deep in Delta Quadrant Space**

"Send a Fortress Ship to the origin of this transmission. We will take that facility and learn all we can. We will no doubt learn a way to repel the Borg and all mammals from our space."

"Yes, Minister."

()

"This could lead to a glorious hunt. Contact the clans."

"Understood, Alpha."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Raxus System  
Raxus  
CIS Council Chamber**

Jarock actually snarled when she saw Sela's face on the broadcast but remained silent until the transmission ended. "Salen, can you track that transmission?"

"I am in contact with the _Lleiset_ and Embassy now, Commander. The frequency was broadcasted on all known channels without encryption, most likely what Sela intended from the very beginning." Salen answered.

"Count Dooku, I believe our negotiations will have to be put on hold in light of this development." Jarock said to Dooku and the Separatist Council. "Former Empress Sela is a wanted criminal by the majority of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and if what she has said is true our governments will be scrambling to find the origin of that transmission."

"I understand." Dooku nodded calmly. "Perhaps a joint venture is possible."

"You wish to help us?" Jarock raised an eyebrow.

"Given to what I just heard it is likely that these Elachi are possible threat to us as well. I would like to see for myself how dangerous they and these Iconians could be." Dooku explained. "The flagship of our defense fleet is in orbit as we speak. General Grievous and I can accompany you to this base once you have found it."

Jarock was naturally suspicious, especially after the trial Q had set up for the leaders of the Republic and the Confederacy but refusing him might be the wrong move for now so she accepted. "Very well. Salen will track the transmission while I contact our representative on Coruscant."

"In the meantime I will have to speak to the populace about what has happened." Dooku stood up straight. "I imagine the transmission has generated many questions."

He also needed to contact his master and speak to him of the transmission and of something else. He could sense that monster, Savage Oppress, out there somewhere in the galaxy. His former apprentice's monster was growing even stronger than before. Even if Ventress was no longer pulling his leach Savage was a growing threat and there was something else.

Dooku could feel an awakening in the Force.

Something was rising.

Something sinister.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

Chancellor Palpatine had been in a meeting with the Milky Way Representatives regarding the Kiros colonists and the over three thousand rescued slaves from the Zygerian slave camps. Apparently neither of them wished to return to the Republic or the Confederacy as many of them blamed both sides for their suffering at the hands of the slavers. The Klingons had gone as far as to destroy as many slave guilds without provoking the Hutts and jepordizing the alliance with Jabba but the planned invasion of Hutt space would still go forward. As far as the former slaves were concerned they would either live on Kiros or actually move to the Milky Way Galaxy.

Kiros could only take in so much but the Alpha and Beta Quadrant had plenty of colonies to welcome them.

They had painfully made it clear that they did not trust the Republic.

In fact it was implied that they down right hated both the Republic and the Separatists.

Unfortunately this might put a damper on Palpatine's plans due to the fact that the suffering was needed so the people would be so desperate for peace and order that they would never even consider question his leadership for when the time came. The last thing he needed was people and even planets joining up with the Milky Way Alliance, even though he could use this in his favor when the time was right.

Of course the transmission was former Romulan Empress Sela might complicate plans for the refugees.

"This transmission was sent not just here but it appears to have been sent all across both our galaxies." Alex Candice said after speaking with the Embassy on Coruscant. "Wherever Sela is at the moment she must have found some pretty advanced communications."

"Perhaps these Elachi and these Iconians have access to our Holo-Net." Palpatine commented thoughtfully.

"Chancellor J'mpec has ordered the source of the transmission be found and our governments are in agreement. If Sela is at the Elachi base where many people from our galaxies have been abducted then a rescue mission may in order along with learning more about the Iconians and their plans." Candice continued.

"Then perhaps a joint mission is in order, especially if people from our own galaxy has been abducted." Palpatine offered with a helpful smile.

This was an opportunity to discover more about the Iconians and whatever plans they had for the galaxy he planned to rule. The technology onboard could even be used as an added benefit towards his goals if he played his cards right.

"We'll have to discuss it, Chancellor but if the Elachi present a threat to this galaxy we wouldn't be in a position to say no." Candice carefully answered.

"Of course. I will speak with the Jedi Council immediately."

 **Jedi Temple  
Council Chambers**

" _To that end I suggest a joint operation with the Milky Way Alliance in tracking down the source of this transmission. With the base captured we can understand just what these Iconians are planning for both galaxies._ "

Mace Windu looked around the chamber. "We still are preparing for the confrontation with the Borg."

" _If I may suggest, Master Windu, perhaps only a handful of Jedi go then to aid in the rescue of the prisoners and possible capture of the Elachi base. As I understand Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker is at Kuat now. He can lead a Republic strikeforce with our Milky Way allies as a better way to facilitate cooperation._ " Palpatine suggested.

Yoda closed his eyes. "Hm…Ignore this transmission, we cannot. Possibility to understand this new threat, there is."

" _So it is agreed?_ " Palpatine asked.

"Join Skywalker in this mission, I will. Join in this joint venture, no doubt Count Dooku will." Yoda nodded.

" _Very well._ " Palpatine nodded as his image vanished.

 **Subspace  
Elachi Base 001  
Control Room**

"We're done here. Now we either hold out and hope for rescue or we try and steal a ship." Sela turned away from the destroyed console.

Several Elachi guards had broken into the control room, quickly dispatched by Ventress and the prisoners but not before the console was destroyed.

"I'm not used to waiting to be rescued." Ventress remarked.

Sela smirked. "Neither am I."

In a flash of green light appeared two rather large Elachi that towered over most humans, seemingly snarling at the intruders.

"I believe our decision has been made." Ventress ignited her lightsabers.

The two Elachi went on the attack, actually fighting with their hands and killing several prisoners by the time Ventress attacked. The former Dark Jedi grunted as she slashed at them, her lightsabers bouncing off their shields as they turned to her. Ventress sensed a dark intent in these creatures, the same kind of intent she sensed from the Bluegill parasites and realized that these Elachi were infested with the same parasites from before. It made them stronger and faster, even faster than she was and the only thing keeping her alive was her Force sense.

Sela and the survivors fired on the Elachi with their disruptors and threw the few grenades that knocked them back, allowing Ventress to gain the upperhand as she fell on them, slashing at their bodies, managing to cut them up several times for good measure.

"Well done." Sela smirked, looking at the remains of the Elachi. "I believe we just eliminated the Alpha and Beta Elachi in charge of this base."

"Hmph." Ventress deactivated her lightsabers. "Not so strong if they needed those parasites. I suppose this means we now control the base."

A beeping console earned Sela's attention. "Not for long."

Ventress raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"A fleet of ships are approaching. They are identified as _Obelisk_ class carriers, piloted by the Solanae. They will be here in thirty minutes. This base's defenses will be no match for an entire fleet." Sela scowled. "And we don't have a ship to escape in."

"So what do you suggest?" Ventress asked, narrowing her eyes.

Sela glanced back at the former Sith apprentice. "…Pray that help arrives before the fleet does."

Neither one liked the decision.

But there was no choice.


	30. Chapter 30

**Journal of the 501st**

 **Come Hell and High Water**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _When both galaxies received a transmission from the woman who was known as the former Empress of the Romulan Star Empire everyone started to feel the heat and it wasn't just because of what she had said. The Republic, the Seps, and the Milky Way factions all scrambled to find the source of the transmission, leading to one giant slug fest. As the Clone Wars raged many ground based troopers, including the men of the 501st found themselves pressed into space combat. For months, every hour of our downtime was spent in the simulator and running endless scenarios using the fancy holo-deck at the Milky Way Embassy, preparing for the time we would be facing our enemies in the cockpit of a 170._

 _Finally the day came to earn our wings._

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Jenolan Dyson Sphere**

Inside the massive Dyson Sphere a fleet of alliance ships had already assembled, lead by the famous starship that had braved the Delta Quadrant for seven years, USS _Voyager_.

"This is Admiral Tuvok of _Voyager_. All ships have gathered and reported in. We have located a possible subspace rift, most likely underspace used by the Vaadwaur where the transmission originated from. We are to locate the base and capture it, rescuing all onboard." Tuvok announced to the fleet. "There is a chance we will encounter resistance from the Elachi and Solanae so be prepared."

The fleet acknowledged before leaving the Jenolan Dyson Sphere, following the coordinates of the transmission.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant Orbit  
USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F**

Captain Shon stepped onto the bridge, followed by Anakin Skywalker who looked at the fleet of gathered Milky Way and Republic ships. "Status."

"The taskforce has all reported in, Captain." Winters answered. "We received word that source of the transmission has been located…In both galaxies."

"Both galaxies?" Shon asked.

"It's likely that if the Iconians can reach this galaxy than Sela is broadcasting from whatever staging base they are using." Winters stated.

"So we might have just found it before the Iconians could begin their invasion." Shon nodded. "Inform all ships we make the jump to hyperspace on my mark."

"Ready, Captain."

"Engage."

The entire fleet made the jump to hyperspace, following the coordinates of the transmission.

 **Raxus System  
Raxus Orbit  
 _Invisible Hand_**

Count Dooku sat down on the command chair with General Grievous by his side as the Confederate fleet led by the _Lleiset_ inputted the coordinates for the signal's origin and dispersed it throughout the fleet.

"We've received coordinates and are inputting them into the nav computer, sir." The pilot droid reported.

"Signal the _Lleiset_ that we are ready." Dooku stated, watching the Romulan flagship move smoothly out of orbit.

"Roger, roger."

"And now we see more of what the Milky Way can offer." Dooku mused as the fleet jumped to hyperspace.

 **Subspace  
Elachi Base 001  
Control Room**

"My Lady, the Solanae fleet will be in firing range in thirty two minutes." One of Sela's officers reported.

"Can you modify the shields to hold against them?" Sela asked, pacing back and forth.

"We can transfer power from the labs to increase shield power but even then it will not hold long against a fleet this large."

Sela scowled. "I did not spend a year in this place to be blown up. Is there any way to confirm our transmission reached anyone?"

"The transmission was sent diretly through several subspace tunnels. The Elachi probably use them to traverse through the galaxies. Everyone should have received it."

 **Delta Quadrant  
Nal Shadaan System  
USS _Voyager_**

The Alliance fleet entered the system where the transmission originated from and a subspace anamoly was instantly detected.

"Admiral, I am detecting a subspace tunnel, definenitly Underspace." Lieutenant Commander Kyla VanZyl reported.

"Underspace. Then it is logical to assume that the Vaadwaur and their advanced technologies are linked to the Iconians."Tuvok mused as the subspace portal appeared. "We must move fast. Move forward into the tunnel."

The Alliance fleet moved into the subspace tunnel, entering subspace moments later and in front of them was a large space station that matched Elachi design.

"Detecting multiple life forms aboard the station." VanZyl stated and frowned. "I am also detecting a large fleet on approach to the station. They match the same Solanae ship that was stolen by the officers who escaped the Solanae base."

"Then it is confirmed that the Solanae and Elachi serve the Iconians." Tuvok stated. "Move in range of the base and prepare to beam up survivors."

"Aye-Admiral sensors detecting awarp signature! Confirming…" VanZyl's eyes widened. "They are Borg, Admiral."

"Visual."

The view screen showed a Borg Tactical Cube entering the system and was on a direct course for the Elachi base and the Alliance fleet.

"They must be aware of the transmission." Tuvok stated, knowing the Borg's obsession with assimilating new technologies.

"More warp signatures!"

This time it was Voth _Citadel_ dreadnaught followed by a Vaadwaur fleet, all of them on a direct curse to the Elachi base like the Borg Cube.

"Put me through to the fleet…" Tuvok stated and stood up when the channel was open. "This is Rear Admiral Tuvok to all ships. We must buy time until the survivors are onboard before we leave. Move in defense formation Alpha Sigma."

The fleet moved, taking formation around the base as the enemy ships moved in. The Vaadwaur fleet split with one group moving to engage the Borg, the second to engage the Voth, and the third one on a direct course to the base.

"The Vaadwaur are engaging the Borg and the Voth."

The Vaadwaur were obviously confident that they could defeat anyone in their way and it showed as they attacked both the Borg and the Voth. Both opponents fought back with considerable fire power while the third fleet approached the space station.

"We are being hailed."

Tuvok was silent as the face of Gaul appeared on the screen. " _This is Overseer Gaul of the Vaadwaur Supremecy. You will surrender your fleet and the space station or be destroyed. This is your only warning._ "

"I am Admiral Tuvok of the starship _Voyager_. We wil not surrender ourselves but you can have the station as soon as the survivors are onboard." Tuvok replied.

" _Voyager._ " Gaul grinned. " _Yes, it was you who awakened us. I am indeed grateful your assistance, Admiral Tuvok but do not mistake that for a weakness. You will surrender or die._ "

"If you attack us we will defend ourselves." Tuvok stated calmly.

" _Then die well, Admiral Tuvok._ " Gaul said before cutting the transmission.

"Gaul's fleet is moving to intercept."

"Full power to weapons and shields." Tuvok sat down, knowing it would be difficult battle.

With the Vaadwaur and the addition to the Borg and the Voth it would be a massacre no matter the tactics.

"Admiral, more warp signatures!"

Tuvok watched the view screen as two groups of ships appeared. One group was led by a giant ship, supported several smaller ones. The second one was composed of multiple frigate class ships surrounding three large dreadnaughts that were all colored dark blue with yellow glowing wings made from a web like pattern.

"Hirogen and Tholians."

A fleet of Hirogen ships consisting of a _Huntmaster_ dreadnaught, _Apex_ battleships, and _Hunter_ escorts appeared out into subspace and moved on an intercept course towards the station.

" _Glory to the hunt!_ " A voice, no doubt a Hirogen shouted as the fleet fired on the Vaadwaur, forcing them to hold off their attack on Alliance fleet.

"The Hirogen are concentrating their fire on the Vaadwaur. The Tholians are approaching the base."

Tuvok nodded. "Let us take advantage of this diversion. Lock onto any survivors and beam them out. Order the fleet to provide cover fire."

"Aye sir."

The battle was turning into a complete free for all as the factions fought each other without end and a fanatical determination to be victorious.

 **Elachi Base 001  
Control Room**

"The Alpha Quadrant ships are locking transporters." The Romulan officer reported.

"I suppose I'll have to be grateful." Sela muttered as she looked at Ventress. "You know about transporters right?"

Ventress only raised an eyebrow before they disappeared in flashes of blue light.

 **USS _Voyager  
_ Cargo Bay**

Ventress barely blinked as she looked around, seeing herself in some sort of cargo bay. "Where are we?"

"On a Federation starship." Sela answered, looking at the door. "If they know I'm here they'll be wise and keep the doors sealed."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Yavin System  
Yavin 4 Orbit**

Cad Bane was beginning to wonder if this assignment was just a waste of time.

Sure Dooku had offered a lot of money but so far they had nothing to show for it and they were bounty hunters, not scientists or geologists. Looking for some kind of alien gateway from that other galaxy was not a particular job he had wanted, even if the reward was tempting. They had just finished looking on Hoth, Manaan, and Dantooine with nothing to show for it. Now they were in orbit of Yavin 4, a backwater moon of a gas giant.

" _So what's the big deal with this gateway? I don't see why Dooku has us doing this for him when we could be, I don't know, killing Jedi?_ " Bossk commented over the comn channel.

"You want to back out, Bossk, more money for me." Bane said, not planning to show his irratance anytime soon.

" _Still, finding something from another galaxy would be pricy._ " Boba Fett commented, sharing a ship with Bossk.

"If we can find it." Bane looked down at his nav computer, frowning as it beeped. "Ships coming out of hyperspace."

Near the orbit of Yavin an entire fleet of Milky Way and Republic ships emerged from hyperspace, led by the Federation flagship _Enterprise._

" _Uh…Bane? I think we've worn out our welcome._ " Hardeen said, slightly nervous.

Right after that another fleet, this one primarily composed of Confederacy ships led by the _Lleiset_ emerged not far from the Republic fleet as they moved into orbit of Yavin.

"I think so as well." Bane said, angling the _Xanadu Blood_ to make a jump to hyperspace. "Dooku might have just found what he wanted."

That means his job was done and he had no interest in sticking around.

Only more problems arrived when in a flash of green light appeared a giant cube and approached the planet.

"Uh, Bane?" Bane's droid, Todoh stuttered when saw the Cube. "I think that is a Borg ship."

Bane knew what the ship was. Stories had spread across the Outer Rim of the Borg and what they did to ships and people they captured, especially when the Borg began harassing both Separatists, Republic, and any non-aligned parties in the Outer Rim. Even Bane avoided the areas where the Borg had been sighted, due to his instincts to survive to continue collecting credits.

" _Oh kriff!_ " Hardeen swore. " _Borg!_ "

" _Every man for himself!_ "

" _I'm out of here!_ "

Luckily the Borg were not interested in bounty hunters today.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Captain, I'm picking up a Borg Tactical Cube on an intercept course." Jirelle reported, showing the Borg cube on the view screen.

"Red alert. Hail the entire fleet." Shon quickly said, readying himself as the channel was open. "This is Captain Shon of the _Enterprise_. A Borg Tactical Cube is on an intercept course with us. It's obviously here for the same reasons we are and we cannot allow them to capture the Elachi base. We are moving to intercept the Cube now."

The _Enterprise_ , along with the Milky Way ships from both fleets readied themselves for battle against the Borg.

 **Republic Star Destroyer _Protector  
_ Bridge**

"Full power to weapons and shields. Coordinate with the Alliance ships." Anakin said, not willing to let the Republic's allies fight this threat alone.

 **Providence class destroyer _Invisible Hand  
_ Bridge**

"General, order our ships to assist against the Borg." Dooku said calmly.

"Yes, Count." Grievous marched forward. "Launch all fighters and bombers and recongifure the IFF codes to recognize the Republic ships as friendly for now. Move into attack formation and fire on the Borg."

()

Before engaging the alliance fleet the Tactical Cube emitted a high powered pulse that caused a subspace vortex to appear.

"They've found the subspace portal where the transmission must have come from." Nathan said as the _Seraphinite_ engaged its full impulse drive.

The battle began with the Milky Way peppering the Borg with various beam weapons, ranging from phasers and disruptors to polaron and anti-proton and various torpedoes that had all been designed against the Borg. Anakin led the Republic fighters in his Eta-2 with R2 next to his cockpit as the Skyriver ships fired on the cube. R2, along with other astromech droids attached to the Republic fighters to modulate the laser frequency of their blasters and ion cannons for better use against the Borg but there was no way to tell if it would work.

"All fighters, stay in groups of two or three but do _not_ make yourself a target. Move fast, hit your target, and retreat." Anakin said through the comn as the Tactical Cube in range.

The Tactical Cube was on the full offensive, high powered plasma beams, bolts and torpedoes lashing out anything it targeted. The Cube suffered heavy damaged but it continued fighting, destroying a _Venator_ and a _Munificent_ in several moments while destroying a _B'rel_ and a _Centaur_ a moment later along with a dozen fighters. That was when Grievous ordered the _Vultures_ and _Hyena_ Bombers to preform suicide runs on the Cube which they did without hesitance, slamming into the hull and blasting it open. The shields around the Cube slowly failed from the combined assault and the Cube's hull was covered in tears and burning scorch marks.

"The Cube's shields are failing. Keep the preassure up!" Shon urgered as the _Enterprise_ fired a spread of quantum torpedoes that damaged the Cube even further.

The ion cannons from the Skyriver fighters and capital ships caused power distortions throughout the Cube, weakening it further until finally the combined assault destroyed a vital section and caused a chain reaction that destroyed the Cube.

"Q'apla!" Koren shouted along with almost every Klingon in the fleet.

"Borg Cube destroyed." Jarock stated, sounding satisfied. "We better move now before they send another one."

"We are collecting our fighters now." Yularen reported as all fighters returned to their ships. "Is entering the portal save?"

"Any ships damaged can remain here and hold the portal." Shon suggested. "But we have move and fast."

"Move we will." Yoda said from his flagship, the _Republic_.

Any ships that were not heavily damaged entered the tunnel, moving into subspace and appearing just on the other side of the Elachi base.

"Multiple ships ahead. Voth, Borg, Vaadwaur, Hirogen, Tholian, Klingon, Romulan, and Federation." Jirelle reported, looking at the _Enterprise_ 's scanners that detected over a dozen ship signatures.

"It's a slug fest." Malcolm said as the _Friedrich_ evaded fire from a Vaadwaur battle cruiser. "And we're in the middle of it."

"This is Admiral Tuvok to the approaching fleet. You must leave now. A fleet of Solanae ships is on an intercept course as we speak." Tuvok said, just the large Solanae fleet appeared.

The ships were all like the one that had been discovered at the Solanae base and they had the same drones that were launched and instantly attacked. The drones swarmed the largest ships, the Voth and Borg dreadnaughts, peppering them with anti-proton beams and transphasic torpedoes that slowly brought the shields and down and destroyed them in a matter of minutes.

"I believe we should heed Admiral Tuvok's words and head back out the way we came." Shon said, realizing the Solanae outnumbered and outgunned the Alliance fleet by a considerable degree.

"Agreed." Dooku stated, knowing the battle was not in their favor. "Pull back to the portal."

By this point the Vaadwaur had joined the Solanae and were turning their attention to the other intruders who hastily pulled back into the portals they had appeared from. Anyone that remained were slaughtered by the Solanae who remained near the station along with the Vaadwaur.

Their masters needed to be informed.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Yavin System**

"Sela is onboard the _Lleiset_ and we'll be delivering back to our galaxy. She has a lot to answer for but she might prove to have valuable information." Jarock stated from the bridge of the _Lleiset_.

"In the meantime I believe a serious situation needs to be answered." Shon stated. "If the Elachi and Solanae could access both galaxies it is clear now that the Iconians do have an interest in this galaxy. The question is what?"

"A question that perhaps will be revealed later, Captain. In the meantime I will have take this discovery back to my government. There is much to be done." Dooku said, ordering the Separatist fleet to return to Confederatr space. "Until next time."

"Yes. Much to be done." Yoda closed his eyes. "Much to be done there is."

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Come Hell and High Water**

 **Post Battle Entry:** _Amazingly most of us came out of that mess alive but it was costly one. The Chancellor decided to meet with Count Dooku and the CIS to discuss terms of a temporary cease-fire until threats like the Borg, the Elachi, and even the Iconians we've heard so much about were addressed. So for the most part we wouldn't be seeing much fighting with the droids, at least for a while._

* * *

 **USS _Voyager  
_ Cargo Bay**

Asajj Ventress watched as a man with pointed ears, obviously the commanding officer stepped into the cargo bay to address the people that had been beamed aboard. "I am Rear Admiral Tuvok, commanding officer of the Federation starship _Voyager_. You have all been beamed aboard and if you'll follow me we will begin setting up temporary quarters on this vessel. Rest assured you will all be returned to your peoples and planets."

Ventress watched as the people filed out one by one but she stopped in front of Admiral Tuvok. "I don't suppose you know who I am, Admiral?"

"I do not." Tuvok answered calmly. "Though I believe from the lightsabers you carry you are from the Skyriver Galaxy."

"Hm…I have proposal for you, regarding Count Dooku and the Separatists whom you have diplomatic relations with I understand." Ventress said smoothly.

Tuvok raised one eyebrow as he calmly considered her words. "And what proposal do you offer, Miss…"

"Asajj Ventress, former commander of the Separatist Alliance and apprentice to Count Dooku."

 **Coruscant  
Chancellor's Office**

Palpatine sat back in his chair with his hands holded together as he contemplated the latest events. For the most part convincing the Senate to ally with the Separatists against the Borg and any other threats was easy. Supplies were coming in and the fleets were being modified to better combat the Borg while his own divisions were secretly working with salvaged Borg technology. Yes, everything was still going according to plan.

"Always the schemer, aren't we oh great Chancellor?"

Palpatine shot up, seeing someone sitting in chair as luxurious as his own and looking at him with an annoying grin. "Q."

"I see you remember me, Chancellor. Or was it…Darth Sidious?" Q asked thoughtfull tapping his chin.

"So…" Palpatine scowled. "You know who I am. If you knew why didn't you reveal me at the trial?"

"And spoil the surprise?" Q asked rhetorically. "That was the Jedi's trial. I wanted to see if they could try and put the pieces together but I see that they haven't done much. Honestly, even those Starfleeters were never _that_ dim. I can't believe that they learned basically nothing from the whole venture."

"And why are you here?" Palpatine asked, not in the mood for Q's ranting.

"Just to pop in and see how things are going, Palpy." Q chuckled at the annoyed expression on Palpatine's face. "You're still the big Chancellor and running the show so there's no need to be grumpy. I want to see how far you might get with our dear Starfleeters kicking around."

"Hmph! They are nothing in the grand scheme. They will never find out because they are just as blind as the Jedi." Palpatine scoffed.

"I admit they are not the brightest but even Worf is smarter than what you believe. After all, you did just only start a war to get back at those monk wannabees because they kicked your Sith posterior thousands of years ago. This is not the work of some all powerful being, just a petty megalomaniac with an obsessive need for control and dominance." Q retorted.

"And what of the Q? You, who take delight in teasing so many mortals? Why do you bother with them when they can be controlled with a mere wave of the hand? Do you even know or understand your powers and place?" Palpatine snapped. "Or are they simply pets for you to play with?"

"Whatever they are…They are not for you." Q stood up. "I know of your plans and your desire, Sidious. You can try and play God here in this galaxy but remember that outside is where the playing field is even."

In a flash of light Q was gone, leaving Palpatine to contemplate his words.

Q had basically made the same warning that Sisko had made but Palpatine would not be intimidated.

No one spoke to him like that and the Q were no different.

He would succeed.

He would destroy the Republic and the Jedi.

He would rule the galaxy with an Empire that would last forever.

He would call upon the powers of the Dark Side to ascend and become all powerful.

And no one would stand in his way.

* * *

 **END OF PART III**


	31. Chapter 31

_History is where we look to for answers and guidance._

 _History explains who we are, where we came from, and everything about our world._

 _History is full of lies._

 _Constantly being rewritten with various forms and ideas of the truth that sometimes history is the worst that we learn from. What do we do when we cannot rely on history to help us? Who do we turn to? Whose truth do we trust?_

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE IV**

 **PARADOX OF THE FORCE**

 **THE CLONE WARS HAVE BEEN HALTED. SUPREME CHANCELLOR PALPATINE OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC AND COUNT DOOKU OF THE CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS HAVE BOTH AGREED TO A CEASEFIRE DUE TO THE THREAT OF THE CYBERNETIC RACE KNOWN AS THE BORG THAT ARE PLANNING TO TAKE OVER THE GALAXY AND THE MYSTERIOUS ICONIANS. INDUSTRIES AND RECOURCES ARE NOW BEING DIVERTED TOWARDS THE PLANNED INVASION OF THE MAW WHERE THE BORG STRONGHOLD LIES ALONG WITH THEIR ALLIES OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS, THE KLINGON EMPIRE, AND THE ROMULAN REPUBLIC HAVE SHARED INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY WITH THE GALACTIC FACTIONS TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE BATTLE TO COME.**

 **AS BOTH GALAXIES PREPARE FOR THE HOPEFUL FINAL BATTLE AGAINST THE BORG IN ONE GALAXY MYSTERIOUS FACTIONS WORK IN THE SHADOWS WITH PLANS OF THEIR OWN TO DOMINATE THE GALAXY.**

 **MEANWHILE A FORMER ENEMY OF THE JEDI HAS AWAKENED AND PLOTS HIS REVENGE AGAINST THE JEDI AND AT THE SAME TIME AHSOKA TANO IS ON A JOURNEY TO A POINT IN THE CENTER OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY KNOWN AS THE CREATION POINT TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE FORCE OUTSIDE HER UNIVERSE, NOT KNOWING THAT BOTH UNIVERSES ARE SOON TO BE DRAWN INTO A BATTLE FAR GREATER THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE FORSEEN…**

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Unknown Regions  
Uncharted System  
 _Venator_ Class Star Destroyer**

Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin stood at the front of the bridge, watching the massive moon sized construct in orbit of the planet they had chosen as part of the special project that he had personally set up. Planets that were far from any known space-faring governments or species were being colonized, bases and research facilities were being built by offshoot companies that had been established by the better known corporations such as Blastech and Kuat Engineering to avoid suspicion. Resources from both galaxies were slowly shipped here and the project was progressing smoothly.

The Kaminoans had received several DNA samples of the same template they had used for the clone army before the war had begun and had set up a cloning station in the Uncharted Regions as part of the project to ensure a new and advanced fighting force was ready for the renewed war against the Separatists and any threats from the Milky Way. The Borg and the Undine were single threats but there were many more that Tarkin had read about that existed in the Gamma and Delta Quadrants. The interstellar power known as the Dominion was dangerous with its army of Jem'Hadar and shapeshifting leaders that could easily infiltrate the Republic and destroy it from within. Then was the matter of other powers that represented a danger to the Republic and its right as the central government of this galaxy.

It was already predicted that the battle station they were building would be more powerful than originally thought. He gazed at the newly built shipyards were ships were being modified with Milky Way technology, including salvaged Borg technology and the few bits of Milky Way technology they had gained that would hopefully improve nearly everything. Of course Tarkin had orders to make sure that nothing happened that would cause the ships or crews to become assimilated so careful testing would be done first. Then there was of course needing to build and test the new technologies such as the warp drive that while was slower than hyperdrive but more flexible.

Tarkin considered the possibility of using both technologies to create a hybridized hyperspace/warp field weapon that would be able to travel a great distance to almost any world in the galaxy. It would be unstoppable and possibly allow for the person in control to become the most powerful being in the entire galaxy. Staffs of scientists were already studying and researching the new method of FTL, based on the information provided from the Milky Way and warp drive was surprisingly easy to mimic, even without the anti-matter and quantum singularity reactors used by the Federation, Klingons, and the Romulans. It was just a matter of installing new and smaller reactors onto their ships for the modified warp drive the Republic fleet would be using in the future that was based off the designs for the first Earth ship to use warp drive, the _Phoenix_.

A primitive design but easy to replicate and upgrade enough that the fleet would be ready. Then there was the deflector technology that would make travel through an asteroid field much safer and for a moment Tarkin wondered why no one ever thought of it before.

It was not much but it would be a start.

"Admiral, we have just received a transmission from Coruscant. The attack on the Maw has begun." A clone engineer reported.

"Excellent." Tarkin nodded. "Keep me informed of any progress reports. In the meantime we will learn more about the Borg here from the salvaged technology. Make sure that technology does not activate and assimilate anyone. Level 1 Quarantine procedures will be in effect at all times."

"Yes sir." The clone complied.

"And what is the status of the Clone General Project?" Tarkin asked.

"Jax is reported to be almost ready."

Jax was the name of the Clone General who believed to be the most advanced clone developed yet, grown even faster than his brethren with perfect combat skills, a mastery of strategies, and artificialy enhanced aggression that would make him the most dangerous clone yet. He would be the envisioned general to replace the Jedi in leading the clone army. The perfect commander with no troublesome moral code holding him down from doing what needed to be done.

It was strange as in some ways the Borg were similar to what Tarkin had envisioned for the future of the galaxy. A single driving force that brought absolute peace and order to all corners of the galaxy. However the Borg also threatened that vision and thus were an enemy that was to be destroyed at all costs. This project would be lead to the creation of an army with the power to strike down the Borg and any other threats to the vision of the New Order.

Tarkin would see to it himself.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Ferra Sector  
Hypori System  
Hypori  
Droid Factory**

Count Dooku stared at the massive machine shaped like sphere with a large red eye and multiple spider like arms attached to it and attached it were several power generators that powered it and the factory. "So this is the Fabricator."

It looked impressive but Dooku knew there was more to appearance to make something truly useful to him and his master.

"We have finished activated the intelligence that is designed to for production of all known form of weaponry." Gizor Delzo stated.

"And you have proof of this?" Dooku questioned.

The Fabrictor's red eye shrank as the machines around it turned on and after a few moments of listening to the sound of something being construted the machine opened a compartment and presented Dooku with a rifle.

"A mere rifle?" Dooku questioned, looking distastefully at the weapon. "One that does not look familiar to me."

Delzo took the weapon and pointed it at a nearby B1 battle droid who noticed the weapon. "Uh oh!"

Delzo pulled the trigger and released a green energy bolt that slammed into the droid and burned its entire upper torso off. " _A modified ion disruptor. Just one shot would be enough to disable an entire ship. And its effect has been modified to combine the effects of a blaster and an ion cannon at the same time_."

"Impressive." Dooku stated. "And the Fabricator can design many more?"

" _We have uploaded every known weapon schematic into its databanks along with our scans of known Milky Way weaponry_." Delzo answered. " _And we have been collecting resources, including junk and discarded products from junk worlds to give it the resources it needs to produce everything we would need_."

"You will have all the resources you need to construct as many weapons and more than that to give us the fire power we need." Dooku stated, satisfied with the results.

The Fabricator would build them weapons, droids, and perhaps so much more that would make the Separatists even more feared when the time was right. With the slow trade developing between the two galaxies in a way to prepare against the Borg and as a way to foster peace the Separatists would have the opportunity to build more weapons when the war was renewed. The Jedi and the Milky Way Galaxy would be caught by surprise when a new and more advanced droid army made its appearance, ready to kill more Jedi.

This might make Grievous happy and shut him up about how stupid the current battle droids were.

The Fabricator watched as Dooku left, discussing something Gizor Delzo but it could not hear them. Instead it accessed current data files in its memory banks…

And then looked for more data on the purpose of its existence.

 **Outer Rim  
Queli Sector  
Dathomir**

 _"This is where you live? How long have you been here?"_

 _"Years and years and years!"_

 _"Your legs."_

 _"That scum! He took them!"_

 _"Who?"_

 _"Through passion I gain strength. Through strength my chains are broken! Jedi! Revenge, I must have revenge."_

For so long his dreams had filled with darkness and madness as he lived out the life of a rabid animal for so many years. He was found by someone, he didn't know who but they had something that shined bright and illuminated the darkness in his mind. He was taken from his dwelling and brought to a planet where someone forced him into a deep sleep.

"And now we begin."

Then the green light came, taking away the darkness that had poisoned his mind and he screamed as he felt a burning sensation from below his waist as he felt his body regaining strength he had lost in his exile.

The energy filled his body, rejuvenating him and restoring him to what he used to be.

What he was meant to be.

It was all coming back and he felt himself growing stronger as he suddenly felt something he had not felt in years, the feeling of being whole.

"Arise Maul, reborn son of Dathomir!" A woman's voice echoed as he awoke.

Looking up he saw the face of the person who had found him. "Brother?"

He latched out with hand, grabbing the man's face and looked him over carefully before recognizing him. "Brother."

He looked down at his wait, seeing legs not made of flesh but of steel and metal and flexed the clawed feet.

"My legs…" He murmured, a bitter memory surfacing in his mind.

"They have been restored by Mother Talzin." His brother said as he slowly stood up and placed his legs on the ground.

"It has been so long and my path has been so dark…Darker than I ever dreamed it could be." He said as he slowly stood up but staggered forward, struggling to get used to his new legs.

"And yet you survived." His brother said, walking around the table.

He stood up fully and snarled. "Of course I survived."

He experimented with his new legs by taking a few steps that evolved into a full sprint, rushing out of the village and outside where he let out a roar to the skies, signalling his return for anyone to hear.

As his brother approached he closed his eyes as he remembered. "My hatred kept my spirit even though my body was not. Yet I was lost and became a rabid animal and such is how you found my brother." He glanced at his brother as he turned around, letting out another breath of fresh air. "Discarded and forgotten. I have missed so much. The Force feels out of balance."

"Yes. There is conflict. The Clone Wars." His brother stated.

"Ah yes, so it began…Without me." He said, disappointed that he had missed it all.

The Grand Plan had continued without him and he had been so eager to be a part of it. To lead his master's forces against the Jedi and cut them down, enacting the revenge the Sith had long sought against the Jedi.

"You can begin again, brother." His brother held out what appeared to be a lightsaber with a burned end at the bottom, the half of the lightsaber that had been his instrument of murder and that had been severed long ago.

He held out his hand, reaching out with the Force as he focused and summoned the lightsaber that belonged to him back into his hand. "I was apprenticed to the most powerful being in the galaxy once. I was destined to become…so much more. But I was robbed of that destiny by the Jedi, by Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Then you must have your revenge, my brother." Savage Oppress said, his honor demanding that the one responsible for his brother's suffering be punished.

Darth Maul, former Dark Lord of the Side couldn't agree more. "Yes, we will start with revenge."

 **Kessel Sector  
Maw Cluster  
Borg Unimatrix**

The Borg continued to work.

The Borg always worked but now they were building the device that would harness the power of the Maw Cluster. They had chosen the Maw for their stronghold due to the numerous blackholes that resided here. Their primary goal was to re-establish communications and transit to their home galaxy and the rest of the collective, with secondary goals consisting of expanding across the Skyriver Galaxy and researching the phenomenon that was known as 'The Force.'

The Force…cited as an energy field that existed throughout the universe and was supposedly the source of power for the Jedi Knights and their more elusive Sith rivals. It enabled use of psionic abilities which mostly manifested as telekinetic or telepathic abilities along with augmenting physical abilities of wielders. There was no consistent defense against its use, nothing that could prevent a Jedi from flinging back entire hordes of Borg drones or systematically disassembling them with a few thoughts and gestures-as had been explored in more recent skirmishes with the organic civilizations of the Skyriver Galaxy.

One particular individual of interest stood out from the rest: a particularly powerful and notably famous Jedi Kight by the name of Anakin Skywalker, otherwise known as the Hero with No Fear and one of the Jedi Order's most strategically competent members. He was also rumored to be a sort of 'Chosen One' according to classified and loosely encrypted transmissions between members of the Jedi Council, a unique individual born solely from the Force itself who would go on to destroy the Sith. This had intrigued the Collective for several reasons, but their main interest was in the idea that Skywalker possessed greater potential for manipulating the Fore than any other Force wielder ever born…or ever would be born. This made Skywalker into a one of a kind commodity and potentially priceless asset which could assist the Borg in subjugating the Skyriver galaxy.

The only issue lay in capturing him. Where ever he went he was usually accompanied by a team of Jedi or clone subordinates and commanded a whole fleet of his own. Skywalker was responsible for half of the Borg's earlier defeats in this galaxy, and with the growing assistance of the factions from the Borg's home galaxy it would become more difficult to maintain or expand operations in this one.

However, it was impossible to break the morale of a race of machine enhanced beings that discarded emotions and morals in their search for perfection. The Borg continued to work, but now they were beginning to adapt in ways they had never before been forced to do. As one measure they had managed to design and implement a new model of drone: a 'stealth' drone which could appear as a normal member of whatever species it originated from and even fool all but the most thorough scanners. These stealth drones were dispatched to Republic and Confederacy worlds in secret to gather information and begin building independent resource bases all with the inevitable aim of enabling the Borg to infiltrate whole sectors of the Galaxy without even firing a shot. These drones were few in number and closely monitored due to a significant risk they posed even as they benefited the Collective: they were no longer fully connected to the rest of the Borg and actually believed themselves to be normal sentients, sleeper agents made to believe that they were either working for the Republic or the Confederacy depending on their assigned location and made to act independently to minimize chances of detection.

It was a bold move by the Borg, but a necessary one once they realized that open conflict would not work in this new world. Their Queen had already deduced that their small section of the Collective was living off of borrowed time and that it would be necessary to spread out and build up before the combined forces of the Republic, Confederacy and Milky Way Alliance could crush them through sheer numbers. In the name of unifying all life under the Borg, she had been all too willing to explore options that would be considered unacceptable in the Milky Way.

 _Powering Dimensional Network System_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Graviton Emitters Ready_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Warning_

 _Sentry Post 000592 Detecting Fleet Approaching_

 _Signatures Confirmed:_

 _Starfleet_

 _Klingon_

 _Galactic Republic_

 _Confederacy of Independent Systems_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _The Dimensional Network Must Be Protected_

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
New Romulus  
D'Tan's Office**

 _Personal log: D'tan recording._

 _It's been a year of hard work and pain that my people have had to endure but the dream we have worked together to achieve is a reality. The Romulan Republic, a place of peace and tolerance is real and so many of my Romulan brothers and sisters have embraced that dream with open arms. And now I fear that dream may die in the wake of the unknown threats lurking in the deep darkness. The Borg, the Iconians and many others including my own people would see the Republic destroyed or returned to the age of fear and deceit that was embraced by the old Empire_.

 _Is it our destiny to forever live a life of possible terror and wanton death?_

 _Even as I speak the Republic is building thanks to the aid of the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the people of the Skyriver Galaxy. Many former slaves that had been rescued by the Klingons had come here, asking for asylum and our protection due to mistrust for the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the wish to leave the war in their galaxy behind. It is a lofty goal and one my people share and thus have welcomed the many new people with open arms. So many new peoples have come and for the most part they have felt welcome into their new lives and are working well with us to make New Romulus their home as much as ours._

 _Still is New Romulus truly safe?_

 _When the Iconians come will our new colonists who simply want to live a peaceful life be safe or will they find that neither universe is a place where peace is an option?_

 _So many concerns even in the face of new faces and new friends._

 _End Log_

The newly built Romulan colony had come a long way since its creation. From a simple colony to the capital of the Romulan Republic the survivors of the former Romulan Star Empire had come together to create a new of life. With the help of the Federation and the Klingon Empire the Romulan Republic had built a small but sizable fighting force even though it lacked the numbers of the old Star Empire. Additional help came in the form of the Skyriver Galaxy from the Galactic Republic and the CIS who wanted to assist the Romulans in their plight.

Supplies such as bacta, construction droids, and land based shield generators and turbo-lasers had been brought from the other galaxy once a trade was established by both galaxies in response to threats like the Borg and the Iconians. The Republic had not been able to use its own shipyards to build its fleet, instead they had to rely on Federation and Klingon shipyards to build their own fleet which was originally made of fleets that had defected from the old Empire after the destruction of Romulus. Companies from the Skyriver Galaxy had been eager to set up shop and New Romulus was the closest planet of the main factions in the Alpha Quadrant as well as a perfect place for refuge for a number of former slaves that had been rescued by the Klingons following the defeat of the Zygerian Empire. This had caused the population on New Romulus to swell and the colony had to be expanded to make room for the new arrivals.

The CIS had sent its own compliment of construction droids along with B1 battle droids and droid ships such as fighters and gunboats to aid in the construction and protection of New Romulus along with astromech and protocol droids to help the people on the surface and even donated a _Lucrehulk_ class battleship, pre-Clone Wars class but one that came with a suitable amount of battle droids and droid fighters along with two Munificent class frigates and a _Recusant_ class light destroyer to the Romulan fleet in exchange for access to their technology while the Republic had donated several Rendili Dreadnaught heavy cruisers along with a Corellian CR70 Corvette. Naboo had even sent schematics for their N1 class Starfighters, wishing for upgrades to be made to them so that they could have a better defense force. The Naboo had been scarred by the Borg and they not forgotten what the Trade Federation had done to them.

They wanted to protect themselves from future threats.

The Romulans understood that and had quickly begun modifying the ships, upgrading them and heavily refitting them which was taking a long time but they were making progress. It was evident that the Skyriver Galaxy was more experienced in building Starfighters than the Milky Way so agreements had been made to share fighter schematics. The Republic had submitted the schematics for their main fighters and interceptors while the CIS donated their own droid fighters to be replicated and upgraded so that the Romulans could protect their new home. They had already added miniature fusion reactors and began replacing the main reactors with quantum singularity cores and anti-matter generators while modifying the shields and weapons. New Romulus was quickly becoming a hub between the two galaxies and it had reaped the benefits quickly.

The new resources the Romulan Republic had received allowed it to start building new shipyards, bases, and research facilities in the surrounding systems. The Romulan Republic even started creating its own droids, based on the schematics of the droids it had accepted from the Galactic Republic and the CIS to supplement its organic security and civilian work force. Romulan B1 battle droids came equipped with their own personal shielding and improved programming like the Automated Personel Units which made them superior to their numerous Skyriver counteparts. At the same time the Galactic Republic had sent in clone troopers and even a few Jedi to help supply and train the security forces of their Romulan allies, creating training programs in the holodecks installed at the main embassy for the purpose of training cadets and to assist colonies that had been left isolated by the recent conflicts.

The Romulan Republic had even created a design of their own Star Destroyer class in honor of the people from the other galaxy for helping them and how it was a suitable dreadnaught much like how they designed their own warbird class off of the original Klingon battle cruiser class a century ago, dubbing it the R.R.S.D(Romulan Republic Star Destroyer) _Reunification_. The Klingons took a liking to the Star Destroyer design and aided the Romulans in building the first _Reunification_ class Star Destroyer and the technology from both factions would make it one of the most advanced ships in the entire quadrant. A ship that acted as a dreadnaught and a carrier would be crucial in the days to come.

This was necessary because of the threat of the Iconians as everyone was working to prepare for when the ancient race would arrive and invade the galaxy.

Everyone knew it was coming.

The destruction of Romulus and the war caused by the Undine.

The Iconians had all but outright declared war on the Milky Way Galaxy from the shadows.

And they would continue to do so when they arrived, using servitor races like the Elachi and the Vaadwaur to fight for them.

What worried D'tan the most was what the war would do to his people when they had worked so hard to leave behind the fear and paranoid life of the old Empire. The fear of the Iconians and other threats may undue everything that D'tan and even Ambassador Spock had done to try reunite the children of Vulcan. It was fear and paranoia that created the Romulan Star Empire that stayed in power for centuries and it took the destruction of the homeworld for change to be possible. What if history repeats itself with the Romulan Republic that was building a fleet of warships despite it being built in defence of the surviving people?

Measuring a kilometer long like the Federation _Odyssey_ and the Klingon _Bortasqu_ class dreadnaughts the prototype for the Romulan Star Destroyer class was colored black like the _Scimitar_ class and lacked the command towers used by the Galactic Republic. Instead the bridge was located at the near front, above the deflector array that was at the pointed bow of the ship allowing for better protection than the Republic Star Destroyers. Armed with plasma and disruptor arrays, banks, and turrets along with a dozen plasma and photon torpedo bays the _Reunification_ would be one of the most heavily armed ships on this side of the galaxy. Like the _Scimitar_ it would have primary and secondary shielding along with a lateral starboard and port hangar for launching shuttles and fighters.

Like all Romulan ships it would be powered by a singularity drive with the warp engines at the very rear and a tactical cloak that would make it a very formidable design. It would be ready soon and act as flagship of the defense fleet around New Romulus for a short time before the Admiralty decided if it was needed in the Delta Quadrant or the Skyriver Galaxy.

'I wonder how the Ambassador would handle all this if he were here.' D'tan idly wondered as he placed his PADD that had the schemtics to the _Reunification_ on his desk.

 **Outside of the Maw  
Alliance Fleet  
Republic Imperator Class Star Destroyer Prototype  
Bridge**

A year earlier no one thought that the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems would ever work together. But a year ago was before the appearance of the new galaxy, the Milky Way, along with the new allies and enemies that were part of it. Only through the understanding of a threat that would spread like a plague did the two sides come together with their new allies, the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, with the intent of destroying one of the greatest threats they had ever faced. The path to the Borg Unimatrix was found and the fleet which numbered in the thousands would be careful as they traversed the path.

Equipped with multi-adaptive shielding the fleet possessed the best stealth technology against the Borg and they planned to utilize it to their fullest potential. Leading the fleet was the Federation flagship, the USS _Enterprise_ herself, flanked by the Republic, Klingon and Confederate flagships as they began the journey into the Maw.

" _This is Captain Shon to all ships. Our scanners are detecting what appears to be a Borg interplex node, likely stationed here for the Collective to transmit outside of the Maw through the interference from the black holes. We'll scan the data inside for the exact coordinates of the Unimatrix._ " Captain Shon said on the fleet wide channel.

Anakin stood on the bridge of the prototype _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer that was the largest ship built for the Republic Navy yet and also the most powerful. Outside he watched as ships including Republic and Separatist slowly traveled the path leading to the Borg stronghold. His keen eyes alerted him to the fact that the Separatists had new ships, corvette sized and maneuverable looking based on their beetle like appearance but were manned by a droid brain like the fighters. They were high in number as they played the role of escort craft to the larger ships and no doubt scanning for any potential enemies.

The _Imperator_ had been modified, receiving Milky Way sensors along with upgraded shielding and weapons. Its plasma based turbo-lasers had been improved with additional phased based weaponry, polarized hull plating and a prototype shield generator that was designed to block both projectile and energy based weaponry. The shield was based off of earlier generation Milky Way technology but was still advanced and powerful enough for protection against the Borg. The fighters onboard had been upgraded as well, featuring upgraded plasma and phased based weaponry with polarized hull plating, improved sensors and a miniature fusion reactor that provided more power than thought possible for a fighter.

A few Jedi had been against putting Anakin in command due to what they learned at Q's trial but aside from Ahsoka who was in the Milky Way Galaxy he had the most experience with the Borg and had defeated them in all Republic engagements. So he was allowed to be placed in command of the fleet, under condition he had an experienced Jedi with him. It could be worse and Anakin wasn't going to push his luck at the moment.

In addition to that the massive Separatist _Subjugator_ class dreadnought that was even more powerful than the _Malevolance_ that Anakin had helped destroy nearly two years ago, the _Inferno_ was much larger than the _Imperator_ and perhaps even more powerful to the polarized gravitic beam weapon that had already proven effective against the Borg during the battle at Naboo along with the same upgrades it had received from the alliance as the _Imperator_. General Grievous was commanding it and though he hated this joint operation he would follow Count Dooku's orders to the letter at least until the Borg were defeated. He would have preferred Ahsoka or Obi-Wan being here with him but Ahsoka was still on Earth for the most part and Obi-Wan was not able to leave because of Master Yoda but didn't tell Anakin why. Even if they weren't joining him on this mission over a dozen Jedi along with the clone contingents they were leading had joined up with the fleet to take the battle to the Borg.

It would be a battle for all to remember, that was for sure.

"Nervous Skywalker?"

Looking over his shoulder Anakin regarded the Jedi General assigned with him: Rahm Kohta.

Unlike the other Jedi Generals Rahm Kohta did not work with clones. He did not trust them, believing that they were unfit to fight on behalf of the entire Galactic Republic and instead formed his own militia at the beginning of the Clone Wars. He was reluctant to be placed as a Jedi leading the Republic part of the fleet but the threat of the Borg along with Kohta's own experience and expertise as an unconventional General he was chosen to aid Skywalker in this battle. Anakin did not mind, in fact he found Kohta to be similar to him in a few ways.

They both believed the Jedi Code did not belong in the war and operated as true generals. Kohta was a keen strategist with unconventional ideas one would expect from a Jedi. The two had already come up with a dozen plans for the coming battle.

"Slightly. I've learned the Borg are nothing if not dangerous and unpredictable, especially when they are cornered." Anakin answered honestly.

"We'll stop them. They are cornered and they might be more dangerous but this is our galaxy and they are not welcome here." Kohta stated, absolute confidence in his voice.

Anakin nodded. "You're right. This ends here."

The Borg had caused too much destruction.

Taken too many lives.

His own wife had been assimilated and turned against her own people. The people of Naboo still trusted and loved her but there were still people who believed she might still be a drone. She herself had a long way to go before she recovered. Even if she tried to resist she had become a puppet for the Borg to use as they manipulated her body, her knowledge, and even her mouth as she declared Naboo and its people to be servants of the Borg Collective.

An unpopular saying had spawned itself against people who had been rescued from the Collective: Once a Borg always a Borg.

The people were becoming fearful of the Borg as they attacked ships and abducted people across the Outer Rim. Worlds that were neutral found themselves asking for protection from the Borg as they appeared very close, enough that the people were becoming scared. News of Naboo's near assimilation had spread like wildfire and the Senate was screaming for more protection at the Chancellor and the Milky Way Alliances. It was enough that when Palpatine stated a ceasefire with the Separatists the Senate had agreed with so little fuss.

Milky Way Alliance ships were often seen with either Republic or Separatists ships in either terratories as they helped in minor skirmishes with Borg ships that were probing the surrounding systems for weaknesses and preforming raids to make more drones. People had enough and they demanded the Borg be destroyed at all costs.

That was when the factions all agreed on an attack on the Borg in their stronghold.

* * *

 _It is the year 2410 in the Milky Way Galaxy as the Clone Wars comes to a hault in the Skyriver Galaxy and all factions unit against the threat of the Borg and the Iconians. In the meantime the Vaadwaur continue to be a threat in the Delta Quadrant as they launch an all-out assault on all major powers in the Delta Quadrant. Starfleet along with the Klingons and the Romulans work to unite the major powers against the Vaadwaur who have become pawns of the Iconians in their bid to destabilize the galaxy. It has been revealed that the parasites that nearly destroyed Starfleet years ago have been bio-engineered by the Iconians to create more servitor races loyal to them and their agenda._

 _And a disturbing discovery about the Skyriver Galaxy has been made._

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
USS _Voyager  
_ Briefing Room**

Admiral Tuvok was seated in the briefing room with two security guards at the door as he spoke with the woman before him, Asajj Ventress who stood at the window and looked out into space. "You say that Count Dooku and this Darth Sidious are manipulating the war?"

"I am. I don't know who Dooku's master really is but I know he's hidden himself amongst the Senate, influencing senators and politics for his own gain." Ventress answered calmly. "Dooku is the apprentice, a Sith Lord who answers to Sidious."

"A Sith. I have read up on them. They are a faction with powers similar to the Jedi but are said to use the 'dark side' of the Force." Tuvok stated.

"It is more than that." Ventress faced Tuvok. "The Sith are everything the Jedi are not, driven by hatred, anger, and greed. They think only of themselves and manipulate anyone useful to them for their own gains."

"And you used to be one?" Tuvok asked.

Ventress chuckled bitterly. "I thought I was Count Dooku's apprentice in the ways of the Sith. He sought me out, taught me the ways of the dark side and I served him as his personal assassin and a commander against the Jedi. Then he betrayed me so suddenly, abandoning me to die in battle but I survived…And I sought revenge against him. There's no doubt in my mind that Sidious knew and agreed since Dooku could never have done anything like this without his master knowing."

"And failed." Tuvok stated.

"Yes and it cost me even more. My sisters, the Nightsister clan of Dathomir from whom I was born were slaughtered by General Grievous on Count Dooku's orders." Ventress turned away. "My need for revenge cost me the lives of my people and my true family. Now I am alone, the last of my people who rot on the battle scared field of our home."

"And why are you telling me this?" Tuvok asked. "Why not go to the Republic or the Jedi for this information?"

"Because the Jedi are too arrogant and short-sighted to realize they are being played. I would be dead not long after they locked me away, long before I would be in front a tribunal ordering my execution." Ventress scowled. "Dooku told Kenobi of Sidious but they didn't believe him and because of that they are acting as puppets in this game they have set up. They can't see that their so-called powers have diminished, leaving them blind to the real threat lurking from within."

"And what is the purpose of this 'game'?" Tuvok asked.

"The extermination of the Jedi Order which has been the Sith's goal for the last thousand years." Ventress turned around. "The Sith and the Jedi have been mortal enemies for perhaps since the beginning of time itself but when the Sith were thought to be destroyed with the destruction of their order on the planet Ruusan the Jedi didn't realize that a single Sith survived and established the Rule of Two which states only two Sith shall exist, a Master and an Apprentice. They've been hiding for thousands of years, waiting, plotting, planning, preparing for the right time to exact their revenge on the Jedi and this war is their plan."

"These allegations are quite extreme, and will require physical evidence if you wish to convince the Federation of its existence." Tuvok stated, "You claim that you possess a vast amount of knowledge behind this plan. Is there anything that you know of which could be used to verify the existence of this conspiracy?"

Ventress nodded slowly. "Why yes, I do. In fact I know of several million things that you could take as evidence." She walked over to Tuvok and leaned in before whispering. "I know the circumstances behind the origin of General Grievous and the assassination attempt on him."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow but allowed her to continue.

"The shuttle containing Grievous that was destroyed and mutilated his body in the process, San Hill and Count Dooku told him it was the Jedi but that was a lie. It was Dooku and Hill that planted the bomb as a ruse to get Grievous to join the Separatists and become a commander of the droid armies as well as a Jedi killer." Ventress explained slowly as she stepped back. "When the Geonosians operated on him to turn him into a cyborg they tampered with his mind, enhancing his anger and rage while erasing some of his memories. That was done to create the perfect leader for the droid armies. Everyone on the Separatist Council knows the truth about Grievous and what happened to him and there is a way to confirm that the Jedi were not responsible."

"Such as?"

"San Hill's personal records and any intelligent reports on the Kalesh homeworld at the time of the incident, proving that no Jedi were on the planet at the time. I still have a few contacts in the Separatist Alliance that I can use to access my own personal information, specifically records of when I spoke to Darth Sidious himself who only contacted me with specific orders seemingly crucial to the war effort." Ventress answered. "But if you really want information I'd suggest looking at Count Dooku and Nute Gunray, they've known Sidious the longest. In fact Gunray orchestrated the blocked of Naboo on Sidious's orders."

"What would this Sidious gain from blockading Naboo?" Tuvok asked.

Ventress shrugged. "I have no idea but I know that Sidious ensured that the Senate was too bogged down on procedures to properly help the Naboo. Perhaps it was part of the plan to begin the Clone Wars by causing discontent in the Outer Rim because of the Senate's refusal to do anything about the Trade Federation. How do you think Gunray remained Viceroy of the Trade Federation after four trials in the Supreme Court for the starvation and subjugation of the Naboo people? He had help from the inside that kept him free and allowed his Trade Federation to expand its droid armies in secret for the war to come."

"You present this as proof, yet you know that we actively scan General Grievous's brain for these implants or access to Viceroy Gunray or San Hill's records without his permission and without violating one of our greatest mandates." Tuvok stated, "And even if you did provide proof we cannot directly intervene in what is essentially an internal affair."

Ventress chuckled. "Even when that internal affair is merely a prelude to what is to come? Dooku and his master had a hand in the creation of the clones as much as they did in the declaration of war between the Republic and the Confederacy. The Sith are driven to conquest, they thirst for power and will never be satisfied. Your galaxy will look like a new hunting ground to them once my own has been acquired. It is merely a matter of time…and even if they could not reach your territory you have many worlds applying for protection and membership. You cannot bring yourself to abandon them."

Tuvok nodded. "You are remarkably informed."

"All I know is what any fool with Holo-Net access can find out." Ventress shrugged, "The Sith will defeat the Jedi with how the war is proceeding, make no mistake. And once they have consolidated their power you will be their next target. They will not tolerate even an unknowing enemy."

"And what do you want in return?" Tuvok asked. "I suspect that you are presenting this information, not out of concern for the Jedi, but for something else."

Ventress smirked. "Perhaps a chance to start a new life or a chance to finally take revenge on Dooku for his betrayals. I am in a new galaxy after all with all sorts of new opportunities."

"And if I inform the Republic and the Confederacy that you are in our custody?" Tuvok asked.

"That's your choice. Knowing them they would both demand my head for whatever crimes they think I committed. All I wish now is to either have revenge on Dooku or get far away from him and his war." Ventress said calmly as she stepped back. "Perhaps you can find use for me here, Admiral. I know of the conflicts happening here."

Admiral Tuvok stood up. "I would have to speak with my superiors first. Until then you can consider yourself, as humans would say, a guest on _Voyager_. So as long as you commit no crimes here and do not wander into any sections off limits you will be treated with hospitality."

Ventress chuckled. "Well, for the moment it seems I have no choice so I will behave, Admiral Tuvok. But remember my warning."

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Near the center of the galaxy  
The Creation Point**

If Ahsoka were to be honest with herself she would much rather be with her master during the attack on the Maw rather than being safe on Earth even though she had Chuchi, Senator Organa and Chairman Papanoida's daughters for company.

And even if she was learning from a supposedly former human on how the Force works in other universes.

That being said Sisko had come to her just a few moments ago with another lesson ready for her, this time taking place in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. It was surprising that he could take anyone into the center of the galaxy but considering what she had already seen of Sisko's abilities she wasn't as surprised as she should have been.

"Well, Ahsoka what I have to show you today actually takes place on another planet, far off in the universe." Benjamin Sisko said before waving his hand.

Ahsoka blinked and that was all it took to find herself on a completely barren planet. "Where exactly are we now, Ben?"

After some convincing Ahsoka agreed to Sisko Ben since he was not a Jedi Master in anyway, simply a friend showing her another universe. "Welcome to Megas-Tu. Look the sky."

Ahsoka looked up and saw what appeared to be a Federation ship hovering in the sky but the style was different from what she had seen before.

"A _Constitution_ class starship from a century ago." Sisko waved his hand and suddenly the ship split in two before vanishing which made Ahsoka jump.

"What happened?!" Ahsoka turned and faced Sisko. "The ship was just there!"

"Was it?" Sisko asked with annoying grin.

Ahsoka frowned. "Was it a hologram?"

"Tell me, does the ground beneath your feet feel real?" Sisko asked, earning a confused glance from Ahsoka.

"Well, I wouldn't be standing on it if it wasn't real." Ahsoka glanced down for a second, in case Ben was playing some sort of joke.

He was a nice guy and all and he had a decent sense of humor but she was just a little stressed from worrying about her master and all so she wasn't in much mood for jokes.

"How about now?" Sisko waved his hand and suddenly the ground beneath them vanished.

Ahsoka panicked for a moment, thinking she was going to fall or suffocate since there was not a planet anymore but to her shock nothing happened. Instead of the blackness of space she floated in a multi-colored void with Sisko next to her, looking as if he was standing on solid ground.

"Ben, what's going on? How is this all happening?" Ahsoka asked, first thinking it was all an illusion but the Force felt so bright here.

"Don't wonder where the ground is, Ahsoka. Concentrate, imagine, and believe yourself to be standing on solid ground." Sisko said softly.

Ahsoka didn't know what he was trying to tell her but she closed her eyes and did as she was told, imagining herself standing on solid ground. To her surprise she felt her feet standing on solid ground and opened her eyes to find herself standing like Sisko on absolutely nothing.

"Okay, this is new." Ahsoka admitted as she looked around. "How-"

"The planet on which we stand upon is not an ordinary planet. It is located very closely to the center of the Milky Way, near a place called the Creation Point where matter is created and at the same time acts as a portal to an alternate universe where the laws of physics as some people would say go out the window. A century ago, the USS _Enterprise_ under the command of Captain Kirk came here and discovered a race of beings who were able to use what has logically been defined as magic." Sisko waved a hand and suddenly the two were in a beautiful forest.

"Magic?" Ahsoka asked with a raised eyebrow.

She had heard of how the Force was considered 'magic' by many people, including the Nightsisters of Dathomir who utilized the Force for their so-called magic in whatever rituals they preform but the Jedi considered them all illusions created by the Force to manipulate and deceive the masses. Any form of magic was considered a simple manipulation of the Force or perhaps a use of advanced technologies for deception.

"That's what I said and it seemingly does exist, except not outside this world. Beings from this world visited Earth centuries ago but…" Sisko trailed off as he grimaced. "The people of those times were less accepting and understanding and many here held Earth in contempt before Captain Kirk proved that humanity had changed since those times. The encounter here proved that even ordinary people, even ones in your galaxy who cannot use the Force like the Jedi or Sith simply can use powers they never imagined possible by believing they can. The step here Ahsoka is to learn…Magic."

Ahsoka looked around the forest. "Learn magic?"

"Try to imagine this forest as something else. Think of a planet you have been to and project that image. Remember the images, the shapes, the color, and the smells." Sisko coaxed gently.

Ahsoka took a deep breath and did as she was told. She tried to imagine her home planet Shilli as she best as she could recall despite how long ago it felt since she had last stood on the planet where her race originated. She remembered the humid weather, the jungle like forests, and the village she was born in.

Then to her surprise the forest Sisko had conjured slowly morphed into an exact copy of her home village on Shilli.

"A wonderful first try, Ahsoka." Sisko praised as he calmly enjoyed the scenery.

"Yes, a wonderful job!"

Ahsoka jumped when she heard a joyfully filled voice and stepped back as a creature appeared before the two, seemingly out of nowhere. The creature seemed to be half man half furry creature with red skin, cloven hooves, horns, and a tail while sporting a beard and a muscular body. His eyes had a strange red glint, his shoulders were broad and when he spoke his voice sounded like thunder. In human years he looked to be fifty years old and yet he retained a heavy muscular body and there was a wonderful vigor about him.

"Ahsoka, this is a Lucian of Megas-Tu." Sisko stated. "He was the first resident of this world to make first contact with the Federation and taught the crew of the _Enterprise_ how to use magic here."

Lucian chuckled friendly. "And now I see our teachings are being passed on to one from another alternate universe. Welcome to Megas-Tu young maiden."

"Th-Thank you." Ahsoka stuttered slightly.

It wasn't that she was terrified but Lucian's appearance looked so different, so alien and yet he looked so human. She felt him through the Force and she could sense his power which seemed to be one with the planet she stood on that shined so bright with the Force it was like a sun instead of a planet. She felt like she was back on Mortis, standing before the Son but she felt no malice from Lucian despite his appearance.

"Fear me not, young maiden. My appearance would indeed be off-putting to many, especially given the name I was known for on Earth when I visited it so long ago and especially with the lasting legacy that was left." Lucian said, knowing the reason for Ahsoka's slight hesitance.

"Legacy?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Lucian and his people came to Earth centuries ago, revealing their powers and influenced many cultures before they left. Lucian is better known on Earth as Lucifer…" Sisko said, slowly explaining to Ahsoka the religious figures from Earth's history that had possibly been influenced by the appearance of beings from other worlds with extraordinary powers in search of companionship and became advisors to mankind who worshiped them.

He carefully outlined how the Megans were hunted and burned because of their powers during the Salem Witch Trials and the survivors fled back to their homeworld, becoming bitter and fearful of mankind until the _Enterprise_ arrived and through a trial of their own proved that humans had changed from centuries ago and even saved Lucian, who had been teaching them the art of magic, from being cast out of Megas-Tu for teaching them magic much like in the legend of how his religious counterpart was cast out of heaven. In a very real sense when he was put on trial with the Enterprise crew he was cast out again but at the same time he had been saved by Captain Kirk when the Megans let them go, stating that anyone from the Milky Way galaxy who came here would be welcome.

"Now Ahsoka it's time for the next state. Lucian will summon a creature and you must also project a creature or something else to defend you." Sisko took a step back.

"Defend?" Ahsoka asked, glancing at Lucian.

"Allow me to demonstrate, young maiden." Lucian clapped his hands and in a flash of red light before the three appeared a giant monster that made Ahsoka pale in sheer shock and fear at the sight of it. "Come forth, Cerberus!"

It had three heads, sharp teeth, red eyes, and a tail that resembled a serpent that hissed at her. The creature towered over Ahsoka as three canine faces bared teeth at her and glared with eyes that glowed bright red. A smell of brimstone surrounded the massive beast, the ground melting around its claw tipped feet with each step it took while venom dripped from the hissing snake's mouth. Ahsoka backed away, staring up with barely concealed fright at the unnatural terror that had been created before her very eyes.

Her first reaction was to activate her lightsabers but her surprise they both vanished from her hands and reappeared in Lucian's hands.

"Project young maiden!" Lucian called out. "Imagine a creature that can defend you from it!"

Ahsoka stopped and swallowed. "Project, project." She whispered.

Sisko spoke calmly, his voice resonating despite the fact that he now stood a distance away from her. "Close your eyes Ahsoka, don't rely on any of your senses. You have submerged yourself in the Force in your home galaxy, now you must do the same here."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath and did as she was told, cutting off all of her perceptions of the universe except for her link to the Force. She felt the tidal forces of energy surrounding her, covering the whole planet. It was like the very rock was _made_ of the Force.

"Now picture something, anything from your travels." Lucian added as Cerberus took another step closer to Ahsoka, lowering all three heads towards her. "You have traversed a vast universe already, met amazing and terrifying beings and bore witness to many wonders. Call on one of those wonders to your defence, will it to defend you and the Force as you know it shall answer."

The only problem Ahsoka had was thinking of something that could protect her from a massive three headed dog that put off enough heat energy to melt solid rock. She thought of Rancors, the Zillo Beast, a dozen other unique and terrifying predators that she had either fought, fled from or viewed throughout her time in the Clone Wars.

And then one stuck out…one among all of the rest, one who was unique.

Ahsoka felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to look into the face of The Daughter. A warm smile crossed the face of the glowing woman as she stepped away from Ahsoka and turned towards Cerberus. She spread her arms and suddenly became the large gryphon she appeared as on Mortis, lunging through the air and colliding with the demonic hound. Cerberus snarled and snapped all four sets of fangs at the Daughter, but she easily flew up out of reach and crashed back down on Cerberus before pinning his tail to the floor and slicing through it with her talons.

Cerberus whined and scrambled back up to his feet, limping as one of his heads whimpered staring at the stump of the serpent tail. A second later the head disappeared and reappeared back on the stump, fully recovered and hissing in anger as Cerberus prepared to attack again.

"Well done!" Lucian clapped his hands and then raised one, causing the fight to stop as the Daughter lunged again. "Quite the choice if I do say so myself, young maiden."

"Is…is that really-"

"The Daughter?" Lucian shook his head, "No. This is merely a projection of your memories, or how you remember her. But on this world projections can become almost as real as the entity which they represent. And this one is rather different from most…" He appeared in front of Ahsoka and examined her while her lightsabers appeared back on her belt. "I sense that you and the Daughter bore a connection in the final moments of her life. She sacrificed herself to save you, embedding a sliver of her fading power within you to counter the corrupting influence of the Son."

He looked to the projection of the Daughter. "I sense that even in death the Winged Goddess of your galaxy still watches over you, little maiden."

Ahsoka looked down at her hands, unable to believe she actually conjured a life-like image of the Daughter. "All this power here…"

She looked so alive and felt not only alive but powerful like Cerberus did. It was hard to believe that the two were mere projections.

"It is very powerful here, Ahsoka. Megas-Tu is a conduit for for energy that allows mortals to be as powerful as any being associated with magic in our culture and history but it is a special case for you since you already use such powers in your galaxy which is easier for you but at the same time it could even amplify your abilities. The Creation Point from which acts as a portal between universes allows for matter in the Milky Way to be created and here it can be considered the exact opposite." Sisko explained, standing next to her. "The laws of physics and time do not exist here. Here exists the laws of magic and mysticism where time has no meaning to beings who can appear as young or old as they wish. Megas-Tu itself is not so much a planet as it is a manifestation of a world that gives the feeling of a home and all are able to create a world of their own within this very universe. It is very hard to tell where it all ends."

Ahsoka looked at the Daughter, swearing a second that the projection was staring back at her with a smile but shook it off. "If the Jedi or Force forbid the Sith knew of this place…"

"We are not so helpless here, young maiden. Our powers and experience would repulse anyone who would think to use our magic for selfish gain." Lucian chuckled as he waved his hand and both the Daughter and Cerberus disappeared. "They are few but we are many and our magic is one with our world. Now perhaps we can interest you in more of this world. The people of the Federation are welcome here and so are their friends. Come, let me show you the beauty of Megas-Tu!"

Ahsoka was slightly hesitant but Sisko made a friendly gesture for her to go before him and she nodded with a small smile. She had a feeling she only got a mere taste of what the people of Megas-Tu were capable of and she wanted to see more.


	32. Chapter 32

**Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim Territories  
Belsmuth Sector  
Raydonia System  
Raydonia**

" _This world will burn._ "

Obi-Wan honestly didn't think things couldn't have gotten worse this last year. The war against the Separatists which has lead to the deaths of thousands of being in addition to threats like the Borg and the Undine appearing from the new galaxy.

But all of those paled personally in his mind as he watched the recorded message sent to him by someone he thought he was dead.

The Sith Lord known as Darth Maul who had killed his master Qui-Gon Jinn more than a decade ago and who he thought he had killed not long after. Darth Maul was not only alive and sporting a pair of mechanical legs to replace the ones taken from him and he was out for revenge. And he had no qualms butchering innocent people to get what he wanted. Masters Windu and Yoda pointed out the caution of going alone but he needed to be the one to do this.

He remembered facing down Maul during Q's trial and that alone was enough to bring back the memories and pain that he felt when his master had been fatally wounded by the Sith Lord. He had cut Maul in half that day and believed he was gone but the Sith Lord had somehow survived and now sought revenge on him. This was a serious matter and he needed to be the one to face down this menace once and for all.

He couldn't risk anyone else being hurt by this monster.

He boarded his Jedi shuttle and took off, setting course for the planet that Maul had transmitted from and made the jump to hyperspace. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the planet and he landed the shuttle near the settlement. He left the shuttle and entered the village, seeing dead bodies everywhere with the houses and huts in flames. His senses told him that the perpetrator was not far.

Infact he was right above him. "Jedi!"

Obi-Wan's eyes shot up, seeing a flaming house and before it stood the same Sith Lord he had fought years ago. "I have been waiting for you!"

"Have I made your acquaintance?" Obi-Wan asked, playing ignorance.

The Sith Lord was not fooled. "I am surprised you could have forgotten me so easily after I killed your master and you left me for dead on Naboo."

"It _is_ you." Obi-Wan said, glaring up at Maul, still unable to believe he was still alive.

"You may have forgotten me but I will _never_ forget you. You can't imagine the depths I would go to stay alive, fueled by my singular hatred of you!" Maul spat, his entire body shaking with rage.

"That may be so but I've defeated you before and I shall defeat you again." Obi-Wan said, igniting his lightsaber and readying himself for battle.

Maul chuckled sadistically. "Don't be so certain."

Obi-Wan heard something land behind and turned around, surprise to see it was Savage Oppress. "You!"

Savage ignited one blade of his double-bladed lightsaber and slashed at Obi-Wan who barely managed to block but was forced to step back from Savage's strength. Maul leapt up and landed perfectly on the ground as Savage brutally attacked Obi-Wan who could barely defend himself until finally Savage knocked his lightsaber out of his hands. Savage elbowed Obi-Wan in the face, knocking him down onto the ground next to his lightsaber which he tried to grab but it flew up into Maul's hand. As Obi-Wan stood up Maul hit him with a Force push that knocked him towards Savage who punched Kenobi in the head, knocking him back onto the ground.

Obi-Wan struggled to stand back up, determined to somehow escape but when he turned around the last thing he saw was Savage's massive fist before he was back on the ground, seeing the blurred image of Maul glaring down at him.

 **Alternate Universe  
Megas-Tu**

"This world is absolutely amazing," Ahsoka said as she gazed at her surroundings, following Lucian and Sisko through sceneries which changed every few dozen meters, turning from some vast cityscape to an elaborate garden teaming with life forms she could never imagine and then to a field of elaborate ice sculptures which seemed to shift and move. "It's like anything can exist here!"

"That is rather the point." Lucian chuckled softly, "There are no limits here that are imposed everywhese else. Time and space have little meaning here, save what we allow them."

Ahsoka watched as a winged creature glided overhead almost soundlessly, turning in mid step to watch as it flew off only to spot someone else on the trail the trio were taking.

"…Lucian? Do you see that?" She asked, pointing at the new presence.

Lucian turned and raised one brow. "Indeed I do, young maiden."

"I am guessing that this is no mere projection this time," Sisko stated as they looked at the Daughter, who stood a few feet away from them in clear view, her hands folded behind her back and a neutral expression on her face.

The fallen entity stepped forward, not making a sound as she approached Ahsoka and stopped in front of her. The Daughter's expression, unlike that of her projection from earlier, was one of utmost intensity as though she was attempting to convey a sense of urgency to the young Padawan.

"Daughter?" Ahsoka swallowed.

The Daughter's only response was to reach forward and hold one hand in front of Ahsoka's face before a flash of golden light consumed her vision.

 _Obi-Wan was struck in the head by a massive fist, knocking him out cold while his attacker stood upright and stepped aside to allow a red and black skinned Zabrak to step over to the Jedi Master's silent form. He stared down at Kenobi with yellow eyes as his mouth twisted into a vicious grin._

 _"At last…" Darth Maul chuckled. "Revenge."_

Ahoka gasped as she returned to her body and collapsed to her knees. The Daughter was gone, but Sisko and Lucian were tending to her, helping the Togruta to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Sisko asked calmly.

Ahsoka nodded. "Y-yes…but Master Kenobi isn't. She showed me something- a vision! Master Obi-Wan has been attacked, captured!"

"A vision of events in another universe?" Lucian wondered aloud, "If not for the implications I would consider that intriguing. What did she show you? Project it, young maiden."

Ahsoka complied, replaying the vision before them. The larger yellow and black skinned Zabrak stood by as his red counterpart picked Obi-Wan up by the throat in triumph.

"This one…he had a part to play in events," Sisko observed, examining Maul. "And it seems he may yet have a role to fulfill. This is Darth Maul, formerly the Apprentice in the Sith Order…and a bitter enemy of Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Lucian approached the other Zabrak. "And this one…he is related to Maul, bound to him through blood and twisted magics. This is Savage Oppress, and he is responsible for Maul's return."

"I need to get back, I need to warn someone or find him!" Ahsoka insisted. "Can you get me back to the Skyriver galaxy from here?"

Lucian shook his head. "I am afraid the senses of my people are as limited as a mortal's outside of our world, but there may be a way that we can assist your friend from here." He looked at Sisko. "With the help of the people of Megas-Tu and the bending of certain rules we could indirectly intervene on his behalf."

"The Daughter," Sisko turned to Ahsoka. "You are connected to her through her sacrifice, making you a conduit for powerful energies. You could act as a vessel for the power of the Megans, and I could relocate you to Kenobi's location. I would be unable to assist beyond that, but if Lucian is planning what I believe then you will not require it."

Lucian stepped forward and raised his hands, his voice booming across Megas-Tu as the atmosphere turned dark, making it appear as if it was nighttime and the area around them slowly morphed into what appeared to be a shrine with pillars and statues of alien looking deities lining the walls, its style seemingly gothic with its mix of black and dark blue coloring lining the walls and floor while a glass window shined a pale light on Sisko and Ahsoka and a mirror with a watery surface was placed on the wall at the end of the shrine, showing Kenobi who was being beaten down by the Zabrak brothers. "Brothers and sisters, a message has been brought to us from the Great Beyond and a visitor has come to us for help! She is a friend of the Emissary and thus a friend of the humans who came here long ago, showing us compassion and remorse for the pain we had suffered on their world, showing us that they have changed since the times of their ancestors! Let us lend her our power and save a life from being taken by the evil that we once thought the humans represented."

Ahsoka and Sisko watched as many Megans appeared from out of the watery mirror, many of them looking human while others took the form of various creatures of shapes and sizes, all of them becoming glowing spirits that floated around Ahsoka who stared in complete awe at the many forms surrounding her a mere second before each turned into a glowing golden mist that shot towards her, engulfing her in a bright golden light as the impact of the misty formed Megans entering her body through her chest so quickly launched her off the ground and into the air for a moment before she slowly levitated softly back onto the ground and opened her eyes, revealing a rainbow of colors dancing across them.

"By…the Force." Ahsoka whispered, looking down at herself.

Her body was literally singing with the voices of so many beings that had merged with her.

" _So long ago, we showed our powers and knowledge to people who were not ready and paid a heavy price that left us scared and bitter. We returned here, silently cursing them for rejecting our wish for companionship so harshly but they found us again and we put them on trial for the crimes of their ancestors. That was another mistake for the sons and daughters were not guilty for the crimes of their forefathers. They showed us their compassion and we understood that they had changed from the time of the trials of fire and death._ " A multitude of voices whispered in Ahsoka's mind. " _The Emissary is another example of the great change in the people of the outside world. Through you we sense the great conflict and hear the pain brought forth by the winged sister. Through your companionsip we will assist and save the life of the one in pain whom you wish to save._ "

At first these voice overlapped in a chaotic mess. Ahsoka clapped her hands to her head as pain began to build within her skull, but over the following moments the voices began to speak harmoniously, forming a melody as the essence of every being on Megas-Tu poured themselves through the conduit that was her body and soul, tapping into the flow of the Force and reaching beyond the boundaries of their homeworld. They stretched out across space and time, and then across whole dimensions.

She witnessed…a thousand universes at once. Some were similar to her own, others entirely different where history and technology was outlandish, primitive, mythical or simply nonexistent. In one world she witnessed a whole galaxy triumph over an encroaching darkness, in another she watched as another shadow moved in on a lonesome star system where only echoes of life remained save for a single city beneath a white sphere…

And then she was back in her own universe. Ahsoka instinctively recognized it as her own, could point out individual constellations that she once never would have paid mind and identified the streams within the Force that showed different futures.

She could see it all.

Every planet.

Every persion.

Every animal.

For a mere second she saw it all.

As her vision sped across whole light years within mere seconds she saw mere flashes of scenes that she could not place any contet to…

 _A man in spiked armour writhing under the burning Force Lightning of a red skinned togruta in dark robes._

 _A blonde human male wielding a green lightsaber in one hand even as both darkness and light coiled tightly around one another within him._

 _Another man wielding a blade of crackling red fire being torn apart inside as he impaled a man standing before him._

" _You are viewing the infinite possibilities of your world, Ahsoka Tano. Block them out, deafen yourself to what could be and focus your vision on what is now._ "

Ahsoka did her best to comply, pushing the visions away. A thousand possible futures where the Sith conquered the Galaxy and just as many where the Jedi reigned triumphant were shoved aside as her vision finally reached a lone vessel dangling in space. Within were two nexuses of dark energy and a fading beacon of light…

"Master Kenobi." Ahsoka whispered as Sisko put a hand on her shoulder and they vanished in a flash of light, traveling through the border between dimensions, following the vision Ahsoka had seen through her enhanced connection to the Force.

And across the universe the Force let out a load roar of exhileration as the Lightside received a sudden increase in power thanks to the young child who acted as a true champion of it who was being guided by beings who embraced the true emotions in their hearts.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant**

It happened so fast.

Master Yoda had been meditating again, reflecting on events when the Force released a loud booming song that caused every Jedi in the temple to fall over in sheer surprise what they were feeling. Mace Windu himself collapsed as the sheer power of the tremor and the song boomed in his mind and literally knocked him off his feet. In the hundreds of years he had lived Yoda had never felt such a disturbance in the Force like this and he felt the great urge to try to cover his ears, a futile gesture to keep himself from being deafened. What was even more effecting was that the Force shook and roared like it had been a chained animal and was now free, allowing Master Yoda to sense a dark presence on Coruscant for a mere second but long enough to tell him that whatever it was it was very strong in the dark side before it vanished.

The Dark Lord of the Sith was close.

Close enough that Yoda could almost smell him.

Chancellor Palpatine had been monitoring reports of the fleet crossing into the Maw when his body literally trembled as the Force bombarded him with a loud boom that slowly morphed in a loud melody that almost caused him physical pain and made him lose control of the shroud he was using to hide himself but he managed to quickly reconstruct the shroud and conceal his darker presense before the Jedi could sense him. Something had happened that had forced the Dark Side to slink away, nearly revealing himself to the Jedi. The Force shook even greater as it seemed to break free from his grasp and was fighting his attempts to regain control.

'What is happening?! What could cause something like this?!' Palpatine gritted his teeth as he called on the Dark Side to shroud him.

It didn't end on Coruscant as the Force literally played a series of musical melodies that felt like thousands of people were conducting some sort of orchestra that rang in the ears of nearly every Force user.

Jedi staggered, collapsed, and even fainted.

Force sensitive infants and children cried out but seemingly fell into a peaceful slumber instantly as if the melody was a lullaby.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Palace**

Count Dooku let out a gasp the Force pressed down on him with such a powerful feeling that his legs nearly gave out as he fell back onto his chair. He panted and gasped as he struggled to stay awake as the song of over a thousand alien beings assaulted him, defening him and seemed to burn at the darkness within him.

He could feel the Dark Side shrieking and fighting against the sudden tremor that had caused the Force to awaken like an alpha predator that had escaped its bindings. Something had happened in ways neither he nor his Master could have predicted. Whatever it was it was powerful and Dooku felt it was very dangerous.

 **Dathomir  
Spirit Realm**

Mother Talzin had been preparing to leave for another part of the galaxy to gain more power to save her fading physical form when the Force suddenly assaulted her with a powerful shock that nearly tore her body apart. She struggled to maintain her form in the physical realm as she tried to peer and see what sudden tremor was. The power of a thousand minds washed over her and forced her to try and shield herself from the wave of pure energy.

Something this powerful could not exist and yet it did and she could only fight to stay conscious through this storm.

 **Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Republic Flagship**

Anakin and Rahm Kota suddenly gasped in the middle of directing their ship through the safe path of the Maw as their senses were on complete overload as they felt what they could only describe as an explosion in the Force that was followed quickly by the melody and songs of over a thousand alien notes that rang through their ears. They managed to stay conscious through it all but couldn't even begin to possibly identify what it was.

Though Kota could not sense it Anakin felt something familiar coming from the sudden tremor in the Force but could not identify it amongst the thousand of different feelings that at first felt completely chaotic and alien but slowly changed into a synchronous melody that made the Force feel like it was coming alive.

 **Mliky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
USS _Voyager  
_ Guest Quarters**

Ventress's eyes shot wide open as she fell to the floor of her quarters, dropping the book she was reading as she let out a cry and covered her ears. The Force was literally ringing in her ears with power of an explosion that pressed down on her. She had never felt anything like it before, not even when she served Dooku or during her time with the Nightsisters. The sheer power, the multitude of voices singing in the wave that passed over her.

Whatever it was it made her wonder if it was something that could be used to kill Dooku and his master.

()

The surge through the Force was felt all over the galaxy as Jedi Generals, Dark Acolytes, Force-sensitive species and creatures all felt the wave of power that shook them to their very core. Something had set off a massive explosion of power in the Force and they could not struggle to stay awake as it threatened to knock them from the sensory overload or cause them to fall asleep from the melodious lullaby that echoed after the explosion. The Force felt like it was harmonizing itself, the thoughts and feelings of thousands of people pouring through it all at once and bringing forth a sense of balance that had never been felt before.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Remote System _  
Raider  
_ Cargo Bay**

Darth Maul had just been preparing to beat Kenobi down, to make him suffer for all the years of agony he endured as a manic amnesiac that had been cut in half when the Force suddenly slammed into him and his brother with the weight of an entire planet. Both brothers staggered back, clutching their heads as they struggled against the tidal waves of pure power that had suddenly appeared in the Force and slammed into them, overloading their senses and blinding them while the soft melody actually seemed to defean them, physically burning at them for their reliance on the Dark Side. And in the center of the cargo bay appeared a young Togruta girl with a man wearing a Starfleet uniform standing next to her with his arms folded behind his back, calmly waiting and surveying the events that were taking place before him. The girl's eyes glowed with all the colors of a rainbow as she looked around and saw Kenobi on the floor.

"Master Kenobi." Ahsoka whispered, holding out a hand and in an instant Kenobi's unconscious form was floating before her. "We're here now."

Kenobi's eyes fluttered. "A…Ahsoka?" He whispered, staring up at her only to see a being who blazed with light and heat, embodying the Force and causing it to circle her.

Ahsoka smiled softly. "Yes." When she spoke a thousand other voices mimicked her words in unison. "We are Ahsoka Tano…and so much more."

Darth Maul had by now managed to climb to his feet. One hand clutched his head as he squeezed his eyes shut from the light and let a roar rip its way from his throat. His lightsaber blazed to life in his hand as he swung blindly and charged, following Ahsoka's many voices.

She turned and blinked…

And Darth Maul was slammed back against the far bulkhead, crashing through a pile of crates with the velocity of a cannon ball and slamming into the surface with enough force to shatter both of his metal legs and most of the bones in his body. Only the Dark Side feeding his rage and rejuvenating him kept the Sith Lord alive at that point.

"Brother!" Savage scrambled over to Maul's broken form and gently scooped him up.

Sensing that there was no chance of winning this confrontation, Savage quickly made for the cockpit area of the freighter where he sealed the doors and set Maul down on the floor with care. Ahsoka made no move to stop the Zabrak as he disconnected the cockpit section, which acted as an escape pod of its own and rocketed away from the cargo section.

"Ahsoka," She could hear Sisko's voice. "We must go, you can only hold this power in for so long."

"Yes." Ahsoka nodded, "We must return, but after one last act." She raised one hand and bathed Kenobi in a golden glow…and he vanished from where he had been suspended over the floor of the freighter. "He is in the hands of friends now. Our task is complete."

She closed her eyes. "Now, we return home. Back to Megas-Tu."

With a single thought the being that looked like Ahsoka Tano blinked out of existence and vanished from the face of that universe.

 **Alternate Universe  
Megas-Tu**

She crossed dimensional barriers and crashed back down upon the surface of Megas-Tu in a spiral of golden light, impacting with enough force to generate a sizable crater. In the aftermath Ahsoka was left standing on unsteady legs at the bottom of the crater, unharmed but dazed and left on the point of unsconsiousness from the experience she had just undergone.

"That…was…"

Ahsoka toppled forward and was caught by Captain Sisko.

"Yes." He smiled a bit as he picked the young girl up and relocated them both to a proper dwelling where she could rest and recover. "It always is like that the first time around."

Ahsoka Tano had perhaps been the first Jedi ever to go through such an experience and it would be remembered by anyone who felt it.

"She'll have her chance to rest. Right now there is something else…The Prophets sense something else." Sisko closed his eyes and vanished.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
Jedi Council**

The presence in the Force had vanished but it had left a deep impact across the galaxy. Whatever it was it had been immensely powerful, enough that it had felt like the Force had given itself a physical form and walked the mortal plane. What was even more surprising was that Master Kenobi had literally appeared in the healing room in a flash of golden light and landed softly on a bed before the healers rushed over to him to check him for injuries.

Grandmaster Yoda opened his eyes as he looked at the gathered Jedi Masters. "Disappeared, the disturbance has and yet illuminated much it did."

"But who or what could have caused such a disturbance?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.

"Whatever it was I sensed a familiarity in it." Master Plo-Koon spoke. "Whatever caused it held an immense amount of power and used it to call on the Lightside in a way that seemed to weaken the Dark Side for a moment."

"And then it simply vanished." Master Kit Fisto spoke up. "A being of such power could not simply vanish."

"Appeared it did where Master Obi-Wan had gone. To track down the Sith Lord who killed his master on Naboo he went. Possible he encountered this presence it is." Yoda suggested.

"Then we will speak Master Kenobi as soon as he is able to speak. A being capable of such power will no doubt be sought by the Sith. We cannot allow that to happen." Windu stated.

"And what of the Sith we sensed that was close by?" Eath Koth asked.

Yoda closed his eyes. "Know now, we do that exists, Sidious does. Hidden in plain sight and cunning he is. Cunning and patient too, we must be. Reveal himself when the time is right, Sidious will."

 **Senata Building  
Chancellor's Office**

Chancellor Palpatine, secretly known as Darth Sidious scowled as he closed his eyes, sinking into the Force and called on his foresight to aid him as it had always done. He focused and saw images of ships, Milky Way and Skyriver battling against the Borg in the Maw but that was not what he wanted to see for the moment. He wanted to know the cause of the massive disruption in the Force that no one could have predicted. His mentor, Darth Plageuis had mused that the Force was capable of striking back and Sidious wondered if that was it had done against him.

Then the visions came clearer…

 _A red and black skinned Zabrak whose legs were mechanical instead of flesh and blood facing off against a being who radiated pure light and heat who defeated the Zabrak with ease. A larger yellow skinned Zabrak rescued the_

Sididious' eyes shot open. 'Maul!'

His former apprentice Darth Maul was still alive somehow and he faced down the source of the disturbance. Maul was thought to be dead as it had been reported that Kenobi had cut him in half years ago on Naboo and yet the vision showed him alive, only now he had cybernetic legs which mean that he had recovered. The fact that Maul survived such an injury was surprising and yet Sidious remembered that Maul's determination to win was terrifying, even to him. Not even many Sith could have survived such an injury.

But why now?

If Maul was alive all this time why didn't he try to contact him? Was Maul only now able to resurface or was he spending the years plotting his revenge on the Jedi and planned to ursurp him as the Master. If so he would be eliminated for good this time but still it seemed for the moment Maul was still useful to him.

He faced down whatever power had caused the disturbance in the Force and he needed to know what it was immediately.

With that in mind he immediately contact Lord Tyrannus who bowed to him as soon as he answered the call, as expected. " _My master._ "

"Lord Tyrannus, I trust you felt the disturbance in the Force." It wasn't a question.

Dooku nodded. " _Yes, my master. I have never felt such a disturbance before and I am at a loss at how figure out what it was._ "

"Your predecessor might know."

Dooku looked surprised. " _My…Predecessor?_ "

"It has come to my attention that Darth Maul is somehow still alive and he had faced down the source of the disturbance."

" _Alive?_ " Dooku asked, looking as surprised as Sidious had been.

"Yes, it is indeed surprising given the reports of his demise at the hands of Kenobi. And I have discovered he is in league with your former one time assassin Savage Oppress. They both faced down the disturbance." Sidious continued. "They are alive and they possibly know what it was."

" _What must I do master?_ " Dooku asked.

"I considered leaving Maul to play amongst the rabble of the galaxy but he has answers to questions I have. I want him found and I want your best agents on the job."

Dooku nodded. " _I understand, Master. They will get the job done. I will see to it myself._ "

"See that you do, Lord Tyrannus." Sidious said before ending the transmission.

He sat back in his chair, considering current events. The discovery of the Milky Way Galaxy and the return of his former apprentice might be a great threat to his plans but for the most part he was still in control. There could only be two Sith Lords but at the same time he might need more warriors against the new galaxy and perhaps he could make use of Maul again. There was too much happening at once and he needed more competent minions to manage his plans where he could not.

He could not afford to take chances with the Milky Way Galaxy with its unpredictability and powerful beings like the Prophets and the Q.

He would do anything to make sure he stayed in control.

Even if he needed to cast the Rule of Two aside.


	33. Chapter 33

**Journal of the 501st**

 **Gates of Hell**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _The time had finally come. Chancellor Palpatine had worked out a deal with Count Dooku, agreeing to a truce until the threat of the Borg was over. Starfleet and the Klingons came together, helping us upgrade our ships, put us through dozens of holodeck simulations as we prepared for the battle. Finally it had begun as our fleet travered the only safe path into the Maw where the Borg were waiting for the final showdown._

 _Most of us thought we weren't coming back._

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Borg Unimatrix**

" _Attention all ships, we are approaching the Unimatrix. Expect heavy resistance._ " Captain Shon announced from the _Enterprise_. " _We've recently gained a new way to counter the Borg. A virus designed by an offshoot race, the Cooperative that can disconnect an entire ship from the Collective. This can improve our chances a lot if we can reduce the Collective's fighting power._ "

The Borg seemed to detect their presence as probes, spheres, and even a Cube moved on an intercept course.

"Ready all batteries. Target the Cube." Kohta stated. "Don't bother with the smaller ships. The Cube's the main threat."

"General, the _Inferno_ is charging its main weapon. The Borg ships are moving towards it." The clone tactical officer reported.

"They must know what Grievous is planning." Anakin muttered and couldn't believe the next set of orders he gave. "Order our ships to cover the _Inferno_ as it charges its main weapon."

The Milky Way ships moved forwards towards the incoming Borg ships as the Federation ships began transmitting their virus to the ships in range. At the very least they would liberate and save as many drones as they could.

"A few Borg ships have powered down their weapons and are pulling back."

Anakin and Kohta watched as the Borg ships that had been infected by the virus pulled away while the Cube continued on. There was a chance that the Borg would adapt to the virus even if it was from an offshoot of the Collective. The CIS ships launched their fighters to act as cover for the _Inferno_ along with its _Onslaught_ escort fleet. They swarmed the Cube and ships that had not been infected while the fleet went on the full attack.

Fighters from both galaxies clashed with Borg probes while staying clear of the larger ships that the fleet focused their fire on. The fighters had used the larger ships as cover just before coming in range and opened fire, phasers, blasters, proton, photon and quantum torpedoes slamming into the incoming Borg ships that severaly damaged them. The droid fighters and attack ships came into contact with the Cube, firing on the surface as the fleet opened fire on it. The Cube only lasted at a matter of moments before it was completely destroyed.

The _Inferno_ sailed through the remains as it came range of the Borg Unimatrix.

"General, the gravity polarization cannon is fully charged." The command battle droid reported.

"Then at last we wipe out these freaks." Grievous clenched his fist. "Fire!"

The _Inferno_ 's forward cannon fired, its beam tearing through the part of the Unimatrix it targeted and destroying perhaps a thousand drones. However the Unimatrix was immense and thus able to exist even after the _Inferno_ caused massive damage. The CIS flagship fired all of its cannons as continued on, deeper into the Borg construct with its ships following it.

"This is too easy." Grievous chuckled.

The one thing he knew about the Milky Way Galaxy was that even beings there could be defeated, no matter how advanced they seemed. Brute force worked perfectly against the Borg and the _Inferno_ was already upgraded even if the technology would be considered hand-me-downs. The beam weaponry such as phasers and disruptors were an interest to the CIS R &D divisions as they acted as high powered particle beam weaponry that was a research only half explored. And the other weapons were an interest due to their destructive nature which could of use to the Separatists when the war against the Republic and the Jedi resumed.

Still Grievous hoped they could get their hands on a cloaking device while they were at it, seeing the benefits of stealth technology more advanced than anything in this galaxy.

* * *

 _Alert_

 _Severe Damage to Unimatrix Detected_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Directing Power to the Dimensional Network_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Activating Gravitic Emitters_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Deploying Command Ship 3446 To Intercept_

* * *

"Captain, sensors are detecting an energy surge from the Unimatrix." Jirelle reported.

"Scan it." Shon replied.

"Sir, I am also detecting a Borg command ship approaching the _Inferno._ "

General Grievous watched as a massive cylindrical ship, almost as big as the _Inferno_ approached. "Charge the weapon."

"Twenty seconds. Sir, the _Enterprise_ is trying to contact us."

"On speakers."

Captain Shon's voice spoke through the speakers. " _General Grievous, break off your attack now. A Borg command ship is approaching your ship._ "

"I am aware of that, Captain. I will destroy it with the _Inferno_ 's gravitic polarized cannon is a few seconds." Grievous stated.

" _General, that ship will destroy your ship with one hit regardless of your main weapon. You need to break off and pull back._ "

"Your objection is noted, Captain." Grevious waved a single hand and cut off the transmission. "Fire when ready."

The Borg dreadnaught's main cannon charged and just as the _Inferno_ was ready it released a massive sphere of green plasma energy towards the _Inferno_.

"Fire!" Grievous shouted.

The gravitic polarization cannon fired its main cannon that collided with the energy sphere…and was absorbed by it. The sphere continued forward until it collided with the _Inferno_ and instantly began converting the hull and crew into energy. Grievous watched from the bridge tower with wide eyes, realizing that the ship was doomed and that he didn't have enough time to reach his ship.

So he did the only thing he could do to survive.

He rushed forward and smashed the transparasteel windows with his fist and was sucked out into the void of space. His gutsack had been pressurized to withstand space and he didn't need to breathe anymore. As he floated through the void he watched as the _Inferno_ , the large second flagship of the CIS fleet vanished completely as it was converted to data and energy. He realized in shock that no matter powerful the CIS and the Republic were the Borg were even more powerful, especially in their own territory and that he had underestimated them due to his victories against them.

Count Dooku would be sure to punish him harshly for this.

A nearby droid fighter flew by him and he quickly fired his cable, latching onto the hull and pulled himself towards.

"Get me to a ship." Grievious spoke through the electronic communicator built into his mask.

If the Borg thought he was done they were mistaken.

Anakin and Kohta had watched the new CIS flagship be destroyed by a single hit from the Borg dreadnaught. A part of Anakin was satisfied that the Separatists no longer such a powerful ship at their disposal and if they were lucky Grievous had hopefully gone down with the ship.

"Such a ship could destroy the entire fleet." Kohta muttered as he analyzed the command ship. "We'll need to stay out of range of its main weapon or we'll end up like Grievous."

The Milky Way ships seemed to know what to do as they split up, moving out of the way of the main weapon and fired their weapons at the sides, wary of the plasma arrays that massive ship was armed with. Tachyon beams lashed out, weakening the shields while photon, quantum, and even transphasic torpedoes slammed into the hull. The long struggle against the Borg had allowed the Alliance to develop countermeasures against the cybernetic species that had been trying to assimilate them for half a century.

"Follow their example. Close into firing range but stay out of way of the main weapon." Kohta stated.

"Yes, General."

The Republic fleet split apart, moving onto the sides of the command ship and rained down an endless wave of plasma and electrically charged ions down on it. The process was slow but the Borg dreadnaught was taking heavy damage, especially when a Federation ship flew close and generated a gravity well, creating a miniature black hole close enough to the hull that caused massive damage. The Republic ships were concentrating on areas that seemed to be heavily damaged and they were having an effect. The _Enterprise_ itself made a strafing run across the top of the ship, releasing plasma from its warp nacelles and released a torpedo that detonated inside the green gas, creating a massive explosion that tore through the top hull of the ship and seemingly disabled it.

"It is going critical!" Shon reported as the _Enterprise_ cleared the command ship. "Pull back! Pull back!"

The massive Borg command ship was slowly riddled with explosions before finally it was torn apart from the inside and sending massive wreckage and debris in all directions, some colliding with the massive unimatrix and causing more damage.

"The Command ship is destroyed. Begin bombing the Unimatrix." Shon commanded.

The attack began with the Borg now weakened. There should have been many more ships to stop them but the Alliance did not know that the Borg had already been attacked and lost many of their ships and drones. The attackers in question were identified as Species 47, better known as the Iconians, the Demons of Air and Darkness who attacked and then retreated for reasons unknown. The attack had damaged the structure severaly and the Borg had still be repairing the Unimatrix when the Alliance had begun its attack.

That was why the Borg had intensified their efforts to activate the Dimensional Network. Deep inside the Unimatrix a woman with glowing red eyes, pale blue skin whiled dressed in a black skin tight outfit watched as the Alliance attacked.

"The Collective will not fall here. I will not allow it." She whispered and her command was heard by every drone.

Her ship, the Queen's ship slowly rose up from the center of the Unimatrix as the graviton emitters activated and targeted the nearest black hole.

"Captain, the Queen's ship is detected." Jirelle reported.

"She's desperate." Shon said quietly. "She must be trying to flee."

"Captain, there's an energy surge. It's-" The fleet watched as a beam of light collided with a nearby black hole, causing it glow brightly and become something else.

Several more beams shot, each targeting a black hole and causing them to become bright lights in the void of space.

"Report!" Shon stood up.

"They seem to be high-powered graviton-tachyon beams and they are affecting the black holes." Jirelle said as she scanned each black hole. "I think the Borg are trying to open portals back into our universe!"

"We can't let that happen. Destroy that ship!" Shon pointed at the Borg Diamond.

The Borg Diamond was the most heavily armed ship in the Borg fleet due to the fact that it was the personal ship of the Borg Queen herself. Surviving Borg ships gathered around the Diamond as it made its way to the surrounding portals.

"If one of those ships make it through and alerts the Collective in the Milky Way they'll mount a full invasion." Shon announced to the fleet. "We have stop them all."

The Alliance fleet quickly tried to intercept the Borg ships as they fled towards the black holes that had been converted into portals. They had no way of knowing if they would lead back to the Milky Way Galaxy, forward or backwards in time in either galaxy, or even into another universe but they could not allow the Borg to escape. The remaining cubes and spheres moved to intercept the Alliance fleet to prevent them from attacking the Queen's ship as it continued on towards the portals. Just before anyone could reach the portals strange ships started coming out of one of the portals.

They were the size of mere fighters but they were unlike anything the Alliance had seen before but to the Milky Way denizens they looked familiar.

"Captain those ships…I'm reading biological life-signs from these ships much like the bio-ships used by the Undine." Jirelle reported.

"Captain, the Borg are signaling the ships."

Shon didn't reply as he listened to the open transmission.

" _We are the Borg. Existence as you know it as ended. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own."_ The voices of the Borg stated. _"Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._ "

And there was an immediate response. " _Resistance against us is futile, infidels!_ "

The ships flew at the Borg who fired their plasma beams and torpedoes at the ships, slamming straight into them and destroying several but most of them only suffered minimal damage.

"Captain, those ships suffered minimal damage. They appeared to have projected…a quantum singularity that swallowed up the Borg weapons." Jirelle stated.

"Projecting singularities?" Commander Winters asked as the aliens went on the attack.

They fired what appeared to be red bolts of energy that slammed into the hulls of the attacking Borg ships, burning their hulls as the Borg continued to fight back. More alien ships were destroyed but they were few and their weapons were having better affect.

"Status of their weapons." Shon said.

"Their weapons seem to be a form of plasma weaponry, formed from heated materials and propelled at high speed." Jirelle reported as more alien ships came out the one portal. "The Borg are taking heavy damage but they are still fighting."

It looked to be a loosing battle as only the Borg Queen's ship had yet to take any damage as it fought back against the invading aliens. Larger ships emerged from the portal now, measuring the size of Separatist dreadnaughts and moved to attack not just the Borg but everyone else in the vicinity.

"Hail them!" Shon said, wishing to avoid a fight.

"No response captain."

"Keep trying."

However a fight seemed to be inevitable as the aliens attacked, firing their plasma weapons and damaging Republic and CIS ships while the shields on the Milky Way ships were able to block them, having been designed to handle Borg and Undine weaponry. The Klingons responded by firing back, their disruptors and photon torpedoes damaging and destroying a dozen ships but the projected quantum singularities had the same effect on their weapons as they did with the Borg's.

On the bridge of a _Providence_ dreadnaught General Grievous had just arrived on the bridge and took in the carnage that was taking place. "What is happening?"

"An unknown threat emerged from one of the portals the Borg had created. They are attacking the Borg and the fleet." The tactical droid reported.

Grievous growled. "More and more of these sudden threats keep appearing ever since the Milky Way Galaxy made itself known."

Seriously, just how did a galaxy go about its usual day with the sudden appearance of threats like these creatures appearing every single moment of every day? Perhaps that was why they were so advanced. They would have to be since everything in their universe was trying to kill or enslave them and they still explored the universe.

They were either very brave or completely insane.

"Our shields cannot stop their weapons. And we are inflicting minimal casualties despite our best efforts." The tactical droid reported.

"Sound the retreat. We came here to destroy the Borg and these aliens will do our job for us." Grievous stated.

"What of the rest of the fleet?"

Grievous snorted. "They are on their own."

The CIS had already lost another powerful flagship and he wasn't going to risk the entire fleet destroyed while already suffering Dooku's wrath for the loss of the _Inferno_. He was not about to risk his neck, especially for stinking Jedi.

"Report!" Anakin shouted as the bridge of the _Imperator_ shook.

"Nearly all the shields in our fleet except ours have no effect on their weapons and our weapons keep on getting swallowed by those black holes their ships project!" The clone tactical officer reported. "The Milky Way ships are providing cover to us."

"Let's use it. Fall back and regroup." Anakin stated as he looked at the battle.

The aliens were burning through what was left of the Borg Unimatrix as they attacked everything in sight. Droid fighters were no match for them as they destroyed a few slow moving CIS ships that had begun to pull away.

Evidently Grievous had enough for one day and decided to cut his losses.

"Signal a full retreat and get a message to Coruscant. We need to warn the Chancellor and the Jedi Council of this new threat." Anakin said as a few ships even larger than the _Imperator_ emerged from the portal the aliens had emerged from. "Ask the Klingons and Starfleet vessels to give us cover as we retreat."

"Yes sir."

"These aliens…I cannot sense them." Kohta stated as he looked at the battle, even as the _Imperator_ began to turn away. "They literally do not exist to the Force."

Anakin frowned as he sensed it as well. It should be impossible as he could tell these ships and the people piloting them were clearly alive but he could not sense them. For all he knew these ships were literal ghosts or something but whatever they were they obviously were not friendly.

And that was not the end of it.

Out of another portal came a squad of ships, small by Skyriver standards but bared a remarkable similar appearance to Starfleet ships, only their hulls were painted with golden stripes.

" _This is Admiral Leeta, commanding the I.S.S. Enterprise. We are the Terran Empire and we claim this sector of space as our own. Surrender now or be destroyed._ " The voice came from the lead ship, an _Odyssey_ class labelled I.S.S. _Enterprise_.

"The Terran Empire?" Kohta repeated in confusion.

From another portal emerged a fleet of ships resembling spheres with three forward nacelle like structures facing forward with two on the side and the third on top.

" _We are the Infinite Empire and we bow to no one. You will surrender to serve the Empire or be destroyed._ " A voice that was filled with malice spoke through the speakers.

And from another portal emerged more ships that were not only made from bio-technology like the unknown aliens but they were more familiar to the people of both galaxies.

"Captain, Undine ships are coming out of another portal."

They attacked any Borg ships in their sights and seemed to be leaving the other Milky Way ships alone since Tuvok had proved to them that the Iconians had tricked them into attacking the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The organic ships moved to attack the new arrivals who fired back instantly. The Terran ships destroyed a few organic fighters while the rest survived thanks to their singularity shields absorbing the phasers. The new Infinite ships fired a barrage of turbo-lasers at the fighters swarming them, seemingly having better luck than their Republic counterparts.

The Undine fared better as their shields blocked and dispersed the plasma from the unknown organic ships and their fluidic anti-proton beam weaponry had a better affect on the invaders than most other weapons.

" _The weak will perish!_ " The Undine transmitted to the invaders.

" _We are not weak! You will submit to our Gods or be destroyed!_ " The invaders replied.

The invaders seemed to recognize the Undine as a massive threat and stopped their attack on everyone else as they concentrated on the newcomers. The diversion allowed the Borg Diamond to move towards the last portal.

"Generals, the Borg Diamond, it's making a move to another portal!" The clone at the tactical station reported.

"Figures. They have seven portals to choose from so they can still make their escape." Kohta stated grimly.

"We have no time for that. We have to-" Anakin spoke but he was cut off as his body vanished in a flash of green light.

"Skywalker!" Kohta shouted as Anakin vanished, his Force presence now originating on the Borg Queen's ship.

"General, what do we do?" The clone commander asked.

Kohta released a deep sigh. "Continue the retreat. We cannot mount a rescue mission in the middle of this chaos."

The fight was going bad now since the aliens kept coming through the portal. The _Enterprise_ , the _Bortasqu_ , and the _Lleiset_ had saved many ships from being destroyed as their weapons overloaded the singularities the aliens were using to shield their ships but they still continued on with a fanatical determination. The Borg Unimatrix was in ruins now but the Borg Queen's ship continued on towards another portal, its enhanced weapons destroying any aliens that got in its way. The Borg Diamond entered a nearby portals and vanished from the galaxy.

Along with the Chosen One.

There was nothing could be done and there were more invaders coming. The I.S.S. _Enterprise_ was forced to retreat back through the portal it had emerged from, the number of invaders finally overwhelming it despite its firepower. As for the ships of the so-called Infinite Empire they continued to fight through the invaders, suffering major damage but continued to fight on through the swarm of organic ships, following after the Alliance.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Gates of Hell**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse it did. The Borg had turned several black holes into portals and out of them came a whole bunch of new problems for the rest of the galaxy. The Terran and Infinite Empires, the Undine, another race that uses organic technology and even more were coming that started a war right there and began fighting in and out of the Maw. If something wasn't done the threats would spread out into the rest of the galaxy and destroy thousands of worlds and trillions of lives in the process._

 _A lot of us were thinking our lives made sense once. We really should have treasured that time._


	34. Chapter 34

**Inner Rim  
Coruscant**

Master Yoda's eyes shot open as Anakin Skywalker's presence literally vanished while at the same time a wave of hate had washed over him. "Gone, Skywalker is. The Dark Side…growing in strength now."

He was not the only one to feel it as Palpatine stood up, feeling Anakin's presence disappear and in its place appeared the familiar feeling associated with those who used the dark side. "Something has happened."

And Padme who was finally getting ready to go back to her work as a Senator suddenly felt that something was wrong even though she was not Force sensitive. "….Anakin?"

* * *

Benjamin Sisko frowned as he and the Prophets sensed something was wrong. The Prophets created an island for Sisko to appear on as they took the form of familiar faces.

"Something has happened." A Prophet resembling Odo stated.

"A great change is undone." A Prophet taking the form of Nathan Creed said. "Chaos is free from its bindings."

"I know. I can sense it." Sisko nodded. "It came from the Maw where the Borg in the Skyriver Galaxy reside."

"The Sisko speaks the truth." A Prophet, one wearing armored robes and a mask said. "The Matrix calls out for help and we must answer. The people of Bajor need the help of another to stop the flow the Chaos."

"What do you say?" Sisko asked, staring the Prophet who took such a different form.

"The Sisko must seek the help of the Others to stop the Chaos."

"I understand." Sisko nodded.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Location Unknown**

He had just been reviewing the latest reports on the Tholians and the mysterious activity they had had been conducting when he had been summoned to his bridge. "What's wrong?"

"A massive anomaly has been detected in the timestream. We've centered our scans on it and we've found it originated from the Skyriver Galaxy."

The Captain frowned. "The Skyriver Galaxy?"

"Yes, approximately around the Earth year 2410."

"That's far back and around the time the Skyriver Galaxy was discovered. Can you focus on the exact location?" The Captain asked.

"Location…The Blackhole cluster known as the Maw, used as a base of operations by the Borg around that time."

The Captain sighed. "The Borg must have started another time alteration. Activate our time drive and take us to outside the Maw just after the battle ended."

"Aye sir."

"The Skyriver Galaxy has caused more problems than the Milky Way ever has in the timeline. All because they are constanrly changing and altering what they perceive as the future."

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
Paris**

Ahsoka opened her eyes and noticed that she was sleeping on something that was very comfortable. She sat up and looked around, finding herself back in the guest suite on Earth that she had shared with Senator Chuchi. Grunting slightly from a pounding headache Ahsoka brought a hand to her head as she tried to remember what happened.

And she did.

 _Going to Megas-Tu with Ben Sisko to learn more about the Force in the Milky Way…_

 _Meeting the one called Lucian who showed her the power of Megas-Tu…_

 _The Force coming to her in the form of the Daughter who showed her a vision of Master Obi-Wan in danger…_

 _And the Megans actually merging themselves with her, giving her more power then she ever thought was possible._

 _Saving Master Kenobi and defeating a Sith Lord in a blink of an eye._

 _Traveling through dimenions back to Megas-Tu just before the Megans splits themselves from her._

She hadn't anticipated the headache it would bring but it was worth it to save Master Kenobi. She had literally turned herself into a vessel for who knows how many Megans who became beings of pure energy who fused with her and she could barely remember it all.

Only that she felt like she had become the Heart of the Force.

"Feeling well rested?"

Ahsoka looked at the door and saw Sisko standing at the door with something in his hands, wrapped in a fine silky cloth. "I feel better…Could do without the headache."

"Can't be helped. You did something only a handful of beings have ever done. I imagine it left an impression in your galaxy." Sisko said as he walked up to Ahsoka's bed.

"What is that?" Ahsoka glanced at the cloth in Sisko's hands.

"A gift from the Megans for allowing them to experience what they did when they merged with you." Sisko held out the cloth for Ahsoka to take.

She slowly unwrapped the silk and gasped as she placed her hand on what appeared to be a long, purple, blue and golden staff with a spear like head and a blue jewel embedded in the golden head. When Ahsoka touched the staff she felt a familiar wave of energy wash over her and she felt instantly rejuvinated.

"This staff…I feel the same power from Megas-Tu inside it." Ahsoka whispered, her headache now gone as she stood up, holding the staff.

"So that's what they gave you." Sisko commented thoughtfully.

Ahsoka watched as the blue jewel flashed and from it came a familiar voice. " _Greetings young maiden. If you are reciving this message then the Emissary has delivered you our gift for giving us the privilege of seeing so many universe at once through you when we touched the wellspring of power known as the Force. This staff has been embedded with the magic of Megas-Tu and thus can be used outside of our world. Mortals that learn of our magic can only apply it on our world but objects that have enchanted with our magic can be used in the right hands outside of our world. As a token of our appreciation we offer this staff and hope you will learn to utilize the power we have given it and it will allow us to see more of the worlds outside of our own as it protects you._ " Lucian's voice spoke through the jewel. _"This staff's power is great and can be used for many things. Learn how to use it and both you and its powers will grow stronger. Take care of it and it will take care of you. Farewell, young maiden._ "

Ahsoka listened in shock as Lucian explained the origins of the staff and looked it over. "They…gave this to me?"

"You showed them a great many number of universes when their power enhanced your connection to the Force. The Megans had been alone for a long time and they sought companionship from the outside world, only to be rejected harshly by the people on Earth of the past. You gave them something that they had wished for but never could gain when they realized how dangerous it was for them to show their magic to people who were not ready." Sisko explained with a small smile.

Ahsoka cradled the staff carefully in both hands, feeling the power that flowed through it. She felt like she was carrying a reactor with how much energy the staff was giving off, and all of that power…she shuddered at the thought of someone else acquiring it, someone like Dooku or his Sith Master.

"What if…what if I lose this?" She asked. "What if somebody takes it from me and uses this staff to harm others?"

"That shall always be a risk to those who retain such items, but it is the responsibility of those same people to prevent that _._ " Sisko answered. "And they trust you, Ahsoka, to prevent this staff from falling into the wrong hands both in your life time and beyond _._ "

"I…" Ahsoka slowly inhaled and nodded firmly. "I promise that I'll do my best."

She held the staff up, watched as energy flowed from it and into her. "I will use this in defence of others and not allow myself to be tempted by power." She vowed. "Nor will I let anyone else use it for their own selfish ends. And when the day comes…I will find somebody worthy to pass this staff to, somebody who will use it for the good of others."

"That is all that they dare ask of you, Ahsoka _._ " Sisko replied soothingly. "Now…there are matters to attend to in your home galaxy. I fear that something has happened there which threatens the very existence of both galaxies _._ "

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked, feeling concerned as she imagined a thousand different scenarios that could match the Emissary's statement.

"The Borg have taken your master _._ " Sisko informed her. "And they have taken him somewhere that neither the Republic nor any of its allies can follow. More precisely…it is a matter of when they have taken him _._ "

"When?"

"The Borg, in their haste to escape destruction, have opened a rift in time…and it has deposited them many millennia in the past, in the age of the Old Republic _._ " Sisko explained. "In the age of many wars between the Republic and a Sith Empire that once threatened to overwhelm your galaxy. The Megans and the Prophets fear what changes they could cause in that time period, and if nothing is done they may undo everything that you know and cause a drastic change that would threaten both galaxies _._ "

Ahsoka's eyes widened at the implication. "They traveled that far back in time?!"

This wasn't Ahsoka's first encounter with time travel as she experienced it with her master shortly before returning to her home galaxy. It was something to be remembered, that was for sure but now it was happening again in her own galaxy!

"What do we do?" Ahsoka asked.

"As we speak the Temporal Department will be moving to help stop the massive disruption of the time stream and the only to do that is defeat the Borg in the past before they make any huge changes." Sisko explained carefully. "To save your mentor he needs to be brought back to the present or there will be no way to truly end the war."

"The Temporal Department? As in the Federation in the future that can travel through time?" Ahsoka asked.

Sisko nodded. "The very same and they will not be the only ones who help."

"What can I do?" Ahsoka was ready to go but Sisko shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka. I can't bring you along like last time. You had the Megans merged with you at the time that allowed us to use a loophole but an action like that will have attracted attention from parties in both galaxies. I can't risk bringing you along and risking earning more attention." Sisko explained sadly.

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked, sounding disappointed and anxious.

"I mean beings aside from the Jedi and the Sith in Skyriver Galaxy sensed you during your merge with the Megans. The Prophets, the Q, and a few other beings that might become interested in what's going on between both galaxies if they sensed you when the Megans gave you their power. I know I am asking a lot of you Ahsoka to stay here with the other Republic Representatives but I have to ask you to do that while I try and stop the Borg from changing the past. In meantime," Sisko gestured to her staff. "You better learn to how to use this gift from the Megans. It won't do you any good to rush into danger and have no idea how to use it."

Ahsoka looked at her staff and sighed, knowing Sisko had a point. She no doubt caused a huge stir in her home galaxy and she even pointed out the possibility of someone like the Sith getting their hands on the Megans' gift to her. She couldn't even leave it behind and pray it didn't somehow end up in the hands of someone who just took it and unintentionally caused a huge incident by not knowing what the staff really was.

"All right but please," Ahsoka looked pleadingly up at Sisko. "Find him."

"I will." Sisko nodded. "I promise you."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
Outside the Maw**

The Alliance fleet had retreated out of the Maw while being chased by organic ships from the invaders but they had pulled back as the Undine proved to be an even greater threat to them and it wasn't getting an easier. The Undine had proven themselves a powerful enemy before and they were doing it again, even as they destroyed dozens of invader organic ships. The Alliance fleet had been given the time it had needed to retreat and regroup outside of the Maw. And with them was the fleet of Infinite warships that had suffered heavy damaging from following the Alliance fleet.

Just as they reached the outside of the Maw a signal from the _Enterprise_ was transmitted and a minefield that had been set up along the path to ensure that the Borg could not escape the Maw should the attack failed or least keep them trapped for a short time to launch another counterattack. The mines were the same type Sisko used at the start of the Dominion War to keep reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant from coming through the wormhole and overwhelming the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Only now the mines were modified quantum mines with the same cloaking and replicating abilities as their earlier versions that would hopefully keep the new enemy from launching a full scale invasion of the Skyriver Galaxy.

The Infinite fleet attempted to attack but the combined Alliance force was enough to disable the majority of the attacking ships. The Infinite Empire ships attempted to flee but it was easy for the _Enterprise_ to generate a Gravity Well, the kind of one used here in the Skyriver Galaxy to disable their hyperdrives and prevent them from escaping. Once they were disabled they were board and the crews were detained with minimal resistance. It was still a shock to the people of the Skyriver Galaxy to walk the halls of the ships that had been built and operated by the race that once maintained a galaxy spanning Empire so long ago.

The Infinite Empire came to an end though when it fractured and the Rakata faced a civil war before the races of the galaxy banned together and revolted against the Rakata. The Rakata Infinite Empire fell apart with the ruling species permanently crippled and eventually died out thousands of years later. It was similar to how the Iconians had been defeated if what Kohta had read about them was correct. In many ways the Rakata were the Skyriver versions of the Iconians, especially with how both empires met their hands.

The difference was that the Iconians had survived and were planning their return while the Rakata had been reduced to a small population with not enough to sustain their gene pool and eventually became a extinct a few generations later.

General Rahm Kohta personaly went on the enemy flagship to see this so-called Infinite Empire for himself and was shocked at what he saw. The crew were Rakata, a species that was supposed to be extinct. They put up a major resistance but in the Kohta and his men, members of his militia instead of the clone army had boarded the ship and forced the crew to surrender. Still it was concerning that an ancient race of beings who had enslaved the galaxy were now alive and in this timeline. The Rakata had once conquered the entire galaxy before they were stopped and they would no doubt attempt to do it again.

As much as Kohta wanted to stop them before they became a threat he had his orders to board the flagship and reported what he had learned to the Council. They would want to know an ancient species that was considered long extinct was back.

"This just keeps getting better and better." Kohta muttered sarcastically.

He had read up on the Milky Way and heard about the few events regaring time travel and wondered just how it quickly it spilled over into this galaxy. Now time travel was apparently becoming a daily occurance here and that was terrifying, especially if the Sith and the Separatists learned to utilize time travel themselves.

 **USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F _  
_Captain Shon's Ready Room**

"We've run a scan of the Rakata ship's quantum signature and we've confirmed it was thirty thousand years but was temporally displaced." Shon stated, sharing his report with Admiral Quinn, Chancellor Palpatine, Master Yoda, and Count Dooku who were all displayed on the same screen of the computer on Shon's desk.

" _The time of the Rakata Empire before the formation of the Republic. How…Concerning. It is good that you stopped them from invading this universe._ " Palpatine remarked, sounding surprised and a little relieved.

" _Concering it is, to know that possible to enter this timeline these Rakata and Terrans._ " Yoda commented.

" _At the very least they are contained for now by the other invaders. What of Skywalker?_ " Palpatine asked.

"He vanished into the portal with the Borg Diamond. At this point we don't know when and where they could have gone." Shon answered solemnly.

" _Is it possible he is back in your universe?_ " Palpatine asked.

"At this point we just know nothing." Shon answered. "We will work and try and-"

" _Captain to the bridge! Captain to the bridge!_ "

"Excuse me." Shon stood up, cancelling the transmission and walked out onto the bridge. "What is it?"

"We are detecting a gravimetric distortion with large amounts of chronotons similar to when-" Jirelle stopped as the source of the distortion appeared.

Shon didn't need anyone to tell him what ship that was as he had seen it before and its captain who appeared on the screen.

" _This is Captain Benjamin Walker of timeship USS Pastak. I need to speak with Captain Shon and the other commanding officers immediately."_

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Chancellor's Office**

Palpatine for the life of him could not believe how things could have gone so wrong in such a way. He was currently speaking with a Captain Benjamin Walker who was a Federation captain from the future, the Earth thirtieth century if Palpatine remembered correctly. Time travel was thought to be impossible and yet these people not only learned how to use but they used to monitor for threats to the future of the Federation. That was enough to tell Palpatine they could be a dangerous threat, especially if they already knew who he was.

Were they planning to inform the Federation of secrets in this time behind his back?

Did they know any of the many secrets he harbored?

How much did they truly know?

If that wasn't enough Admiral Thrawn had contacted him earlier and confided in him about the identity of the attackers the Borg had unintentionally summoned. A race of beings who use bio-technology like the Undine from another galaxy, known only as the Far Outsiders that have already been encountered in the Unknown Regions by Thrawn's people, the Chiss. They had send a large scouting force that the Chiss had repelled, suffering heavy casualities but managed to force them back. And now the Borg had unintentionally somehow allowed them to enter the Maw.

The Republic and CIS ships were almost no match but the Milky Way fleet had helped them retreat while setting up a cloaked self-replicating mine field that would hopefully keep the Outsiders from launching a full invasion of the galaxy. This was just getting worse and worse but at the very least the Outsiders were contained for the moment. He would have to order Tarkin and Thrawn to speed up the hidden projects to better prepare should the Outsiders break free.

And he would contact Tyrannus on the status of the Fabricator.

" _We've detected an incursion in the time stream and we've tracked to when historical records of the Skyriver Galaxy identified as just after the Mandalorian Wars._ " Capain Walker answered.

Mace Windu frowned. "And what will happen?"

" _The Borg will do what they always do, assimilate all in their reach. This is a threat to both galaxies and to the timestream. That is why we are here._ "

" _What do you plan to do, Captain?_ " Shon asked.

" _Captain Shon, we need you to come with us to the near exact time the Borg emerge and destroy them before they become a threat to both universes. We can follow the Borg through the timeline and destroy them before they become a threat._ " Walker answered, surprising everyone who was listening.

"You plan to follow the Borg into the past?" Palpatine questioned, wondering if there was a way to gain access to this time travel technology.

So much potential but at the same time that made them even more dangerous. They could easily come and stop him before he becomes a threat to them. They could perhaps even stop him from eliminating the Jedi when the time was right. His visions that allowed him to stay one step ahead of the Jedi were clouded when dealing with the Milky Way and he suspected that the Prophets and the Q had a connection to that.

If he was right than the Q and the Prophets were purposely blocking his visions, concerning the Milky Way at least which created a major situation in the plan.

" _Yes and only a few ships can make the journey without causing a massive disruption to history._ "

"Do you plan to rescue Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker as well?" Windu asked.

" _We will try, Master Windu but we make no promises._ " Shon answered.

 **USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F _  
_Captain Shon's Ready Room**

Captain Shon looked over the log reports, remembering his own encounter with Captain Walker and the time ship _Pastak_ back in the Milky Way Galaxy, helping to stop a change thousands of years before life on Earth developed sentience to help an offshoot of humanity, a Preserver seeded race from being wiped out by a race of dangerous machines.

"You're going to need more help, Captain Shon."

Shon shot up, his first impulse to grab a phaser but stopped when he saw who it was, recognizing him from the history of the Federation. "You…You are…Captain Benjamin Sisko."

Sisko smiled, standing in front of Shon's desk. "And it's an honor to meet the captain of the next _Enterprise_."

"But how?" Shon asked, wondering how the former officer in charge of _Deep Space Nine_ was standing right before him.

"I'm here to help. There is much at stake, especially in the timeline the Borg have fled to." Sisko answered.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Deep Space**

The small ship containing the Zabrak brothers, Maul and Savage Oppress drifted through space, the destination unknown but Savage was concentrating on repairing his brother's legs at the moment. The power that attacked them defeated his brother without any effort and forced them to retreat. Now they had to deal with the Jedi hunting them and recuperating long enough to become strong enough to defeat the Jedi.

Maul grunted and gritted his teeth. "That power…"

"Brother?" Savage asked.

"That power caused a massive disturbance in the Force…It has caused a change." Maul opened his eyes. "We must become stronger as well. The Jedi will be looking for this power."

"What must we-" Savage stopped as the pilot console started beeping.

The brothers looked up and watched as something appeared above the small ship they were on. There was a flash of green light and then total darkness.

* * *

"The one with the prosthetics is in critical condition."

 _"These two can be considered of great use to us. Bring them back to the base and make sure they are both properly healed_."

"As you command, Great One."

* * *

He first fell himself immersed in cool water with something attached to his face that was allowing him to breathe. There was something else. An odd sensation happening below his waist where Kenobi had cut him in half. He could feel something forming down below and he felt something he hadn't felt in such a long time.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down, his eyes widening when he saw what it was.

His legs, his _organic_ legs that were seemingly growing back!

He first saw the muscle nerves that were fully grown before the skin grew over and before his submerged eyes his legs were fully restored. He banged on the glass of the tank he was submerged in, gathering the Force and released it into a blast that shattered the tank. He took his first step out as he ripped off the breathing apparatus and spitting out the liquid he was submerged in.

"I see you've made a full recovery."

Maul looked up, seeing a man dressed in what he remembered to be Mandalorian battle armor. "Where am I?"

"Our secret base. Our friends helped heal you and restore your legs without any cybernetic enhancements." The Mandalorian answered. "Your shuttle was found was found floating in space and you were badly injured. Who hurt you?"

Maul snarled. "Kenobi."

"Kenobi? The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi?" The Mandalorian questioned.

"Something else, it wasn't the Jedi but it saved him from my revenge." Maul growled.

"Then we have something in common." The Mandalorian commented. "Who are you?"

"I am Maul. And where is my brother, Savage?" Maul asked.

"He is recuperating in another room but I can take you to him. I only have one more question. If you were trying to kill Kenobi," The Mandalorion held out Maul and Savage's lightsabers. "Then I guess you are not Jedi?"

"No. We are Sith. We serve no one!" Maul answered harshly.

"I thought there could only be two. Dooku was one but I don't believe you are his apprentice."

"We are brothers, the true Lords of the Sith." Maul snarled.

The Mandalorian seemed satisfied. "I shall bring you some garments to wear."

Half an hour later Maul was dark robes similar to the one he wore as an apprentice years ago and was following the Mandalorian through the base which was occupied with a few species Maul had never encountered before.

"I suppose by the curious look in your eyes you don't recognize a few of the people here. Then I guess you haven't heard of the new galaxy." The Mandalorian commented.

Maul glanced at his guide. "New galaxy?"

"Yes. Some time ago an apparent portal leading to a new galaxy was discovered and quickly made contact with us. Various factions have come forward, interested in our own galaxy which they call the Skyriver galaxy just as many here as interested in this new galaxy known as the Milky Way. These few species with us are known in the Milky Way as Romulans, Cardassians, and another unknown ally known as the Iconians." The Mandalorion explained as they entered a large luxurious looking room with a great view of the planet and was filled with many people who spotted the new arrivals. "We have forged an alliance to each benefit our own plans."

"Plans?" Maul questioned.

"I believe this will help you understand." The Mandalorion said as he came upon a table in the center of the room and watched as a Romulan tapped a nearby console.

The lights immediately dimmed themselves and the image of something humanoid and female looking appeared. The image was whitish-blue and the features were blank, obviously a way to hide the being's ideneity.

" _Have our guests awakened?_ "

"One has, Great One. This is him." The Romulan answered. "He identitfies himself as Maul, a Sith."

The image looked at Maul, observing him. " _An intriguing specimen you have brought before me. I can only assume you have not told him of this place and its purpose._ "

"And what is your purpose?" Maul stepped forward, looking at the creature and sensing a great malevolence that seemed to rival even his former master.

" _Revenge, revival, and overall our wish to ensure all of our wishes come true. The Mandalorion, Pre-Vizla, leader of Death Watch wishes to bring his world of Mandalore back to the ways of the ancient warriors instead of the ways of the pacisfist its people now live by._ " The image gestured to Pre-Vizla and then looked at the Cardassians. " _The Cardassian True Way works to return their world of Cardassia to a world with a great military power. And the Romulans wish to become the great Empire it once was. And my people, we were once the masters of the greatest civilization in our galaxy, the Milky Way. We brought the light of civilization to hundreds of worlds, only to be repaid by treachery and death when they attacked us and bombed our worlds to extinction. We were lost, divided, our unity shattered, and it took centuries for us to recover._ "

Maul carefully studied the image before him. "You all work together towards a common goal."

" _I am Iconian, Sith. I have lived for thousands and thousands of years and I shall a thousand more. It is the Iconian right and duty to rule the Milky Way Galaxy. But we are not above awarding those who aid us._ " The Iconian held up her hands. " _The Whole must be as One._ "

Maul pondered the words of the so-called Iconian before him, possibly seeing a way to benefit him and his own plans. "And do you offer me a chance to join this alliance?"

" _We are aware of the true purpose of the Clone Wars, orchestrated by the one called Sidious. His power is great but against us he is still mortal. Our technology and knowledge combined with the strength of all who have gathered and we will create a power greater than any faction in this galaxy. We have demonstrated what we can do by restoring to you what was once taken away._ " The Iconian answered, clearly speaking of Maul's legs. " _What we ask of you is your knowledge and fighting skills against the Jedi and the other Sith who would obstruct our plans._ "

"Can we even trust him? He's a Sith like Dooku! We trusted him and he betrayed us!" A Death Watch member stepped forward. "Sith are no better than Jedi! We should just-GAH!"

Everyone watched as Maul held up one hand and the Death Watch trooper was lifted off the ground, clutching his neck. "Doubt will only lead to failure. Our combined strength will be rewarded! Mandalore will belong to Death Watch, this other galaxy will be yours to rule! Kenobi and this Sith _pretender_ Dooku, and all our enemies who dare to stand in our way…" Maul released the trooper who fell the ground, gasping for breath. "Will fall!"

Everyone was silent at Maul's proclamation but one by one they all grinned.

" _It seems we have an agreement, Maul._ " The Iconian stated. " _The only obstacle left is to decide what the strategy shall be._ "

"We will gather an army." Maul answered, his evil mind already at work.


	35. Chapter 35

**A long time ago in the Skyriver galaxy…**

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC**

 **THE REVANCIST**

 **FOUR THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE THE START OF THE CLONE WARS AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE MILKY WAY GALAXY, THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC IS STILL RECOVERING FROM THE WAR AGAINST THE MANDALORIANS AND THE FORCES OF DARTH MALAK.**

 **THE REDEEMED JEDI REVAN, FORMER PAWN OF THE DARK SIDE HAS DEFEATED MALAK AND RESTORED PEACE TO THE GALAXY BEFORE MARRYING BASTILA SHAN AND SETTLING DOWN ON CORUSCANT.**

 **BUT ALL IS NOT WELL. LATELY REVAN HAS BEEN PLAGUED BY NIGHTMARES OF HIS PAST AND OF THE POWER THAT HAD TURNED HIM AND MALAK TO THE DARK SIDE, SEEING VISIONS OF A STORM COVERED WORLD AND A RACE OF HUMANOID MACHINE HYBRIDS THAT CONVINCES REVAN THAT A THREAT IS LURKING SOMEWHERE IN THE GALAXY.**

 **DEEP IN THE UNKNOWN REGIONS, ON THE STORM COVERED WORLD KNOWN AS DROMUND KAAS AN ANCIENT ENEMY HAS AWAKENED TO A GREAT CHANGE AND PLOTS TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE GALAXY.**

* * *

 **Four Thousand Years Ago  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
Apartment Building**

 _The darkness spread to all corners of the world._

 _No sun light._

 _No dawn._

 _Only eternal night, illuminated by lightning flashing across the skies._

 _A circle of light appearing in the darkness and from it comes a message._

 _"Resistance is futile." A ship shaped like a diamond moving through the storm._

 _The storm increases in power a cloaked form emerges, once human and now shrouded in darkness with a mask staring at him. "What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause? To use their own knowledge against them?"_

His eyes shot open, finding himself in his bedroom and kept himself from sitting up too abruptly that would wake the woman next to him. He slowly stood up, throwing a robe over his chest as he went and splashed some cool water on his face. This was the third night he was unable to sleep and it was the same reason as the last two nights. Moving through the living room of the apartment he lived in he stepped out onto the balcony and looked out into the city before him.

"Don't jump. I don't want to have to clean up the mess."

Looking over his shoulder he saw his wife, standing at the threshold of the balcony door with the bedsheet around her shoulders to keep protect her from the cold while her hair was tied into a bun on top and a short pony tail below to keep it from getting on her face.

"Sorry." He stepped away from railing to face her. "Didn't mean to wake you. Just needed to clear my head."

"Maybe you should speak to the Jedi Council. They might be able to help." She suggested.

He did not think so and threw her an amused smirk. "You want me to ask the Council for help? You might have had too much of that Corellian wine at dinner."

"They owe you. If it weren't for you, Darth Malak would have destroyed the Republic, eliminated the Council, and all but wiped out the Jedi. They owe you everything!" His wife insisted.

She was not wrong but she was not entirely that simple either. After all Malak had been his apprentice, the apprentice of Darth Revan who led an army against the Mandalorians during the war only to turn on the Republic and attempted to destroy it themselves. Malak betrayed Revan by firing on the bridge of his flagship and Revan had barely survived. He was rescued and captured by the Jedi Council who stripped him of his memories and remade him to aid them against Malak.

"The Council doesn't owe me anything." Revan stated. "All the good I've done can't balance out the evil that came before."

Bastila brought her hand up to her husband's face. "Don't talk like that. They can't blame you for what happened. Not anymore. You're the same man you were. The Revan I know is a hero. A champion of the light. You redeemed me after Malak turned me to the dark side."

Revan reached up and wrapped his around Bastila's on his face. "Like you and the Council redeemed me."

Bastila pulled her hand back and turned away. "What we did was wrong. At the time I thought we had no other choice, but if I had to do it over again-"

"No." Revan cut her off. "I wouldn't want you to change anything. If none of this had happened, I might never have found you."

She turned around, now a look of regret and bitterness in her eyes. "What the Council did to you wasn't right. They took away your memories! They stole your identity!"

"It came back." Revan pulled her close to him. "You have to let go of your anger."

Bastila placed her head on his shoulder. "There is no emotion, there is peace."

"It's cold out here. We should go back inside." Revan said, feeling him shiver against him.

Even as they returned to bed Revan knew there was something wrong as he stared up at the ceiling in contemplation.

 **Unknown Regions  
Esstran Sector  
Dromund System  
Dromund Kaas**

A single ship emerged from hyperspace and slowly entered the atmosphere, wary of the storms that covered the entire planet. Finding an opening the pilot flew through the clouds and slowly landed down in a forest that was currently being rained on. Waiting for him was supposedly the servant of the one who called for him.

The aide quickly bowed his head in submission. "Lord Scourge. I am Sechel. Welcome to Dromund Kass."

"Welcome _back_. This is not my first time on this world." He answered sharply, staring at the aide in barely disguised contempt. "Get up."

"Darth Nyrss sends her apologies for coming to meet you personally. There have been several attempts on her life recently and she only leave her palace under the rarest of circumstances." The aide explained.

"I am well aware of the attempts." Lord Scourge cut him off.

"Y-yes, my lord." Sachel stuttered. "Of course. That's why you're here. Excuse me stupidity."

"Were your Master's instruction to leave me standing here in this downpour until I drowned?" Scourge asked impatiently.

"F-forgive me, my lord. Please, follow me. We have a speeder waiting to take to the domicile."

Scourge had fought the urge to bash Sechel on the head and just continue on. It's not like his loss would be mourned that much but he did risk suffering Nyrss' wrath for killing one her servants. Pure bloods with no connection to the Force were looked down upon as weak abominations. How something like Setchel found himself in the service of Darth Nyrss was unexpected and unsettling.

The purebloods were the strongest in all the Empire just as it was meant to be as they were the strongest force in the galaxy. The Sith, the thought to be extinct species that had fled their homeworld at the end of the Great Hyperspace War when the Republic and the Jedi relentlessly pursued them and attempted to destroy them. From the ashes of the fallen and tattered Sith Lords the Emperor rose and gathered the survivors together and fled to the farthest corner of the galaxy, settling on the lost world of Dromund Kaas. The Emperor had gathered them together, Sith purebloods and their subjects and proclaimed that together they would create a new and more powerful Empire, one that was the perfect incarnation of order and power.

The Sith rebuilt their lives, creating a perfect society with a military force that rivaled even the Republic's. Their empire expanded a hundred worlds in uncharted space and slowly grew stronger as they sought out new worlds to conquer. Slowly but surely worlds were conquered, their populations enslaved, and the Empire grew in strength. They tamed the wildlife on the world that became the center of the Empire and then dedicated their lives to building the empire that was considered war manifest which in the eyes of the Sith was perfection.

An Empire where the strong lead and the weak followed.

Non-Force sensitives were either slaves or recruited to serve the Empire in any way be it military or civilian. The Emperor had decreed that no slave could ever be free and their descendants would only to continue the Empire the way their ancestors had. They were also expected to be treated harshly but that was not always the case as some Sith became quite fond of their slaves, treating them more like pets. No doubt Sith like Sechel used whatever connections he had to remain alive as people like him were treated abominations and were often killed by their families to avoid becoming social dishonored pariahs.

Sechel led him to the speeder and Scourge sat in the luxurious seat, pleased that it had a roof while Sechel sat in the pilot seat and drove the speeder to where Darth Nyriss's personal stronghold was located, resembling the citadel where the Emperor lived, only on a much smaller scale.

"This way, my lord." Sechel said, getting out of the speeder and quickly led Sourge towards the entrance.

The image of a human appeared on the holo-screen, wearing an Imperial security uniform.

"Our guest has arrived, Murtog." Sechel said, glancing Scourge.

" _Did you verify his identity?_ " Murtog asked.

"W-what are you talking about?" Sechal stammered.

" _How do we know this is the real Lord Scourge? How do we know this isn't another assassin_?" Murtog questioned.

"I don't…I mean, he seems to be…uh that is…" Sachel stuttered.

Lord Scourge had enough, angered by the security chief's statement. "This is completely inappropriate. You've overstepped your authority!"

" _I'm the security chief. This is completely within my authority_." Murtog replied, not blinking an eye at Scourge's temper. _"Just give me five minutes to confirm everything's on the up and up."_

"You dare insult me by making me wait out in the rain like some beggar?!" Scourge spat. "I am a guest! Darth Nyriss invited me herself!"

To his even furthered outrage Murtog laughed. " _You might want to check your facts_."

The image flickered and vanished, leaving an infuriated Scourge to face Sechel who began cowering before him. "I'm sorry, my lord. Murtog has become somewhat paranoid since-"

"What did he mean when he told me to check my facts?" Scourge interrupted. "Was I invited by Darth Nyriss or not?"

"You were. Of course you were. Sort of."

"You will tell me what is going on." Scourge said dangerously. "You will tell me everything or you will die. Do you understand?"

"It wasn't Darth Nyiss's to hire you." Sechel said, becoming fearful of suffering Scourge's wrath. "After the second assassination attempt, the Emperor suggested that her own people could be involved. He suggested she bring someone in from the outside."

Scourge pondered the information, realizing why Murtog had refused to let him in and why he was here. If the Emperor suggested that Nyriss bring in some outside help it would be carried out no matter objections Nyriss might have. The sound of a speeder greeted his ears and he quickly pulled out and activated his lightsaber which caused Sechel to step back as if afraid that Scourge would use it on him. Scourge watched carefully and spotted a blaster bolt which he quickly deflected with his lightsaber as the speeder came out of the woods.

The pilot fired more bolts which Scourge deflected and flew past him, turning around to make another run but Scourge acted faster by throwing his lightsaber and it slashed through the rear and caused it to spiral out of control, crashing into a statue. The head fell off and nearly on Scourge who leapt out of the way. A second assassin rushed out of the woods as Scourge summoned back his lightsaber in time to block the blaster bolts. Scourge held out one hand and used the Force to pull the rifle out of the assassin's hands and he watched as the assassin took cover behind a tree.

As Scourge approached the assassin jumped out, firing a wrist missile but Scourge stepped to the side and watched as the missile hit the wall behind him.

The assassin took cover again but Scourge simply walked towards the attacker. "Tell me who hired you and I'll let you live."

The assassin stepped away from the tree, smirking at the Sith. "Do I look that stupid?"

"You seem obviously skilled. I could use a man like you. Tell me who hired you and I'll let you work for me." Scourge answered. "If not you can throw your life away."

The assassin answered by pulling out a blaster pistol and pulled the trigger, shooting Scourge in the shoulder.

Scourge rolled the shoulder, barely grimacing. "Very well. Such a waste of potential."

He thrust out a hand and the assassin was lifted off the ground, held by the Force as Scourge used it as an extension of his hand.

"Last chance." Scourge said, holding the assassin in his grip. "Join me or die."

The assassin disappointed him by trying to point his pistol at Scourge but the Sith simply gestured with his hand and the pistol was thrown aside.

Scourge then clenched his first and with a cracking sound it was over.

He then tossed the body aside and strolled back to the entrance to see Sechel was waiting for him and the holo-cam activated, showing Murtog. " _Darth Nyriss will see you now._ "

Scourge suppressed the urge to snort as the door opened.

Of course he would have to prove himself by killing a couple of assassins to prove who he was. He had spent so much time on other worlds, fighting rebels and insurrectionists that he had forgotten the politics on Dromund Kass.

 **Present Time  
Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
Paris**

Ahsoka wished she could have gone with Sisko but she knew he was right about what she had done when Megans had helped her rescue Master Kenobi. There was no doubt in her mind she would eventually have to explain to her master and the Jedi Council about her tutorial of how the Force interacted with the Milky Way Galaxy and she could only imagine how either one would react. She even predicted the Council wanting to confiscate her new staff from her even if it was a gift to her from the Megans. For the moment she was in the apartment she shared with Chuchi who was out somewhere with Papanoida's daughters and was looking over her staff and the intricate lines that ran in a patter that suggested they were runes of some kind.

"Enjoying the fancy gift?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she jumped up and looked at the person who spoke, sitting rather luxurious on the couch. "…Q."

Q, dressed in a Starfleet uniform, grinned. "Ahsoka Tano, I haven't seen you since the trial. I see you picked up something nice from the Megans. They always liked their gifts to look…fancy. But they really know how to party and so do you from what I heard."

Ahsoka frowned, the distaste Sisko and the people of the Milky Way had for this being now inherited by her. "What do you want?"

"Why would I want anything? I am just dropping in, seeing how Sisko's new favorite little gal is doing. You really made a first impression and I can see why Sisko picked you to take around the universe and see all the nice places." Q said as he stood up. "And you really shook things up so much I had to come and congratulate you on a job well done."

"Well thanks but you can go now. I didn't do it so I could be congratulated by you." Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Well, is Sisko teaching you manners or was this learned at the Jedi Temple? Or is this your dear mentor talking? I expected you to act all calm and boringly stuck up while asking me politely to leave." Q remarked.

"Could you kindly please do that?" Ahsoka questioned dryly.

"Oh and pass up the chance to continue Sisko's job in his absence? He must be really busy to leave you alone with your new toy." Q said thoughtfully, glancing at Ahsoka's staff.

"No way. I'm not interested in learning anything from you." Ahsoka said with a scowl.

"Really? You seemed so nice to my son. I can hardly understand why he spent so much attention on you if you were like this." Q tilted his head slightly.

"Your son was actually nicer than you were." Ahsoka replied. "He at least explained why you were putting us through all that. How the Q think the Jedi are as stagnant as them and you brought that trial on to see if it could change us for the better."

"Was he wrong? I seem to recall a big few mistakes being thrown in their collective obnoxious faces at the trial." Q smirked.

"Whatever mistakes the Jedi made it was not up to you to judge us." Ahsoka turned away from Q. "I've made my share mistakes in the war and I don't make excuses for them."

"Neither did your master and it was his choice that saved you all in the end. But tell me this, dear little Tano, Sisko showed you a few neat little places and you used one to rock the foundations of your universe." Q leaned forward, his face becoming serious. "But I bet he hasn't showed you what this galaxy has for Sith."

Ahsoka turned around, glancing at Q. "The Sith?"

"The Megans were the nice magical folk who hide at the center of the galaxy but there are beings out there who are not nearly as nice. Beings who could make your Sith look small in comparison. They are at least mostly mortal but here in this galaxy that can be a whole different story." Q said ominously. "You have been shown a whole new world but Sisko's been treating you with kid's gloves when he should have been showing you the entire universe, including the not so nice side."

"Between you and him I'll take the kid's gloves." Ahsoka retorted. "At least he never threatened an entire society with non-existence."

"Oh you're still on about that? I thought you Jedi goody-goodies didn't hold grudges." Q sighed dramatically.

"We don't. I just don't like you." Ahsoka drawled.

Q chuckled. "Only because you just don't want to give me a chance. Even Picard and Kathy, by which I mean Admiral Janeway gave up eventually and let me introduce a little fun into their lives."

"That's not what Starfleet History revolving around the _Enterprise, Voyager_ and _Deep Space Nine_ says." Ahsoka said with a raised eyebrow.

"Funny you should mention history because one of the places I had in mind was a place Jean-Luc visited during his time as Captain of the _Enterprise_. So how dangerous could it be if a mere non-Force sensitive mortal visited and came out alive?" Q asked rhetorically.

"You can go and visit if you want, Q just leave me out of it. I'm not going on a tour with you just to give you some laughs." Ahsoka turned away, picking up her staff. "So you can go now unless you want me to test my staff on you."

"I might know a good substitute." Q grinned and snapped his fingers.

'Kriff!' This word echoed across Ahsoka's mind as she and her staff disappeared with Q.

She should have just punched him like Sisko told her to when they first met.

 **Old Republic Era  
Coruscant  
Galactic Market  
Dealer's Den**

Revan made it a point to make sure he was unrecognizable, specifically after the defeat of Darth Malak due to the fame he had gained. However the fame was of little help to him, especially since his attempt to find information regarding his visions had been slow. He made a short visit to the Jedi Temple to find answers, only to find that the Jedi's information was less then helpful and a little biased, no thanks in small part to the one who conducted the reports, Atris who was even less pleased to see Revan than he was about the slow progress. Needless to say they got into an argument that ended with Atris storming out of the library after Revan refused to be baited by her bigotry.

He still felt guilty for what happened to Meetra Surik, one of the Jedi who had followed him during the war against the Mandalorians and the only Jedi to return to the Council for judgement.

So now he was here, looking for someone who could be a little more helpful and it took only a second to spot him, sitting at a table in the far corner of the bar, his back against the wall. The man was being treated to a performance from Twi-lek dancer but when he saw Revan he shooed her away, causing the dancer to shoot Revan an angry glare.

The man smiled as Revan sat down. "You like death warmed over. Is being married to Bastila really that bad?"

"I'm not getting much sleep lately. Bad dreams." Revan answered. "Besides, you're one to talk. Looks like you haven't shaved in three days."

The man smiled and caressed his stubble. "The ladies around here like their men to have rough edges. You want something to drink?"

Revan shook his head. "Not from here. That concoction you've got looks like it could peel the enamel off my teeth."

The man shrugged. "It's an acquired taste. So why are you here? I get the feeling this isn't just a social call."

"I've got some questions about the war."

The man shrugged again, seemingly casual. "Not much to say. We lost. You won. We thought we could conquer the Republic but instead we ended up a broken people."

There was more to the story than that but Revan could sense the bitterness in the man's voice. "There's one thing I never understood about the Mandalorian Wars. What started them? Why, after all these centuries did you suddenly decided to launch an all-out attack on the Republic?"

"It was Mandalore's idea." The man answered simply. "Mandalore felt the Republic was weak. Vulnerable. He summoned the warriors of the clans, and we followed him into what we thought would be our greatest honor. Things were going fine until you came along. You and your followers turned the entire tide of the war against us. Eventually you killed Mandalore and everything changed."

Revan didn't need to ask about what happened after that as he read about it all when his memories returned.

But still he needed to know more. "Is there anything you can tell me about what happened before Mandalore declared war on the Republic? Anything that might have been a catalyst for the war?"

The man tilted his head to the side. "This have anything to do with those bad dreams you mentioned?"

"It might."

"You're getting more of your memories back, aren't you?" The man nodded.

"Only bits and pieces. I keep having visions of a world I don't recognize. The whole plant is covered in electrical storms, day and night. And I see a ship, shaped like a diamond of some sort, its hull black and glowing green and its crew consisting of cybernetic humanoids." Revan explained.

"Doesn't sound familiar. What do you think it means?" The man asked.

"I wish I knew. But I've got a bad feeling about it."

"And you think it's connected to our war against the Republic?"

"Think about it. Mandalore the Ultimate decides to do something none of his predecessor even considered: launch an all-out war on the Republic. Malak and I defeat you but after that we mysteriously take our troops and disappear into the Unknown Regions beyond Mandalore space. When we return we decide to launch a war against the Republic, too." Revan explained.

"It does seem like a sort of strange coincidence." The man admitted. "You think you ran across this storm-covered plant and this diamond shaped ship with a crew of cybernetic humanoids in the Unknown Regions?"

"I'm not sure but something happened to us out there. Something made us turn against the Republic. Maybe it's connected to Mandalore's decision to attack the Republic in the first place."

"And you think whatever this thing is, it's still out there? And it's still dangerous?"

"I feel like these visions are a warning. Like part of my old self is trying to tell me something I can't afford to ignore." Revan said and sighed. "Sounds crazy doesn't it?"

The man laughed. "After everything we've been though, this just feels like old times? So what is it you want me to do?"

"I want to know more about Mandalore the Ultimate but nobody's going to talk to an outsider like me. I need someone who can talk to the clans and get some answers." Revan said.

The man closed his eyes. "I've spent most of the last five years trying to avoid other Mandalorians."

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it was important."

The man sighed and took another sip of his drink. "You know why I've been hanging around this kriffing bar for two years, turning down everyone who came to off me a job? I had a feeling you were going to get mixed up in something interesting, and I wanted to be around for the fun. Guess this it."

Revan smiled. "I knew I could count on you, Canderous."

Canderous Ordo nodded. "Let me reach out to some people. See what I can dig up. Can't promise I'll find anything though."

"I'm kind of hoping you don't." Revan admitted. "But neither one of us are that lucky."

 **Unknown Regions  
Dromund Kaas  
Darth Nyriss's Stronghold**

Lord Scourge followed Murtog and Sechel into Darth Nyriss's quarters, passing the Twi'lek slave that had opened the door for them. He had heard rumors about Nyriss but had never met her in person. So when she looked up at him he was momentarily surprised to see the pale wrinkly face staring back at him.

"Not what you expected?" Nyriss asked, looking amused.

"Forgive me, my lord." Scourge slightly bowed. "There was an incident on my arrival that has left me a little off-balance."

"I'm well aware of what transpired in the courtyard." Nyriss said. "You dealt with the assassins quite efficiently."

"I expect this will not be the last such incident." Scourge stated.

"It appears you are wounded." Nyriss noted.

"You should see the assassins. I would like to conclude our business here quickly." Scourge answered.

"Let's continue this conversation in private." Nyriss said, dismissing Murtog and Sechel who quietly left the room before speaking. "You have something you wish to tell me. Discretion and subtlety have their place, but now when you speak to me I expect nothing but the truth."

Scourge nodded.

"Let me guess, you suspect my own people are behind these recent attempts on my life." Nyriss continued.

"I do not believe the attack was an attempt on your life. I think the mercenaries were hired to eliminate me." Scourge replied.

"Who you think hired the mercenaries?" Nyriss asked.

"…Murtog or possibly Sechel." Scourge answered, looking over his shoulder carefully.

"So what is it you suggest I do? Dismissal? Execution?"

"It would be foolish to throw away someone as valuable as either Murtog or Sechel without concrete proof. But I would like the chance to interrogate both of them. I need the truth. I will take care not to do any permanent physical or mental or mental damage." Scourge said reassuringly.

"Very impressive. However the interrogations won't be necessary. You were right about the mercenaries but I already know who hired them to kill you." Nyriss answered.

"Who?"

"Me."

Scourge's eyes widened in surprise by the casual answer.

"After the second assassination attempt, Murtog and Sechel found a lead. I hired the mercenaries to follow up on it but before they could the Emperor stepped in, forcing me to bring you in. Your arrival left me with an excess to outside agents, so I told Sechel to instruct the mercenaries to try to take you out of the picture. Consider it a test." Nyriss explained.

"Of course." Scourge stated but cursed himself for not seeing it.

Sechel already explained that it wasn't Nyriss's idea to hire him and that it was the Emperor who ordered to bring him in.

"You said you found a lead." Scourge said, deciding to continue the main subject.

"Sechel discovered that the assassin was hired by human separatist dedicated to freeing their world from the Emperor and the Dark Council." Nyriss answered with thinly veiled contempt.

It was understandable since the humans of the Empire had nothing to complain about since they made up a vast majority of the population, even rising up to position on the Dark Council.

"Why not just target the Emperor himself?" Scourge asked.

"The Emperor is too well protected. And since no one could get to him get to him the Dark Council members were the next best thing. His name is Darth Xedrix." Nyriss said.

"Where are you sending me?" Scourge asked.

"According to Sechel's information you'll be heading to the mountains outside the city."

"The human filth will die my lord." Scourge bowed again. "I will not fail."

 **Present Time  
Milky Way Galaxy  
Zed Lapis Sector  
Vagra System  
Vagra Two**

When Ahsoka opened her eyes she found herself somewhere. A planet but it wasn't Earth and didn't seem habited as the surface looked barren. She had her staff and her lightsabers with her which could be considered both good and bad considering that Q had dropped her onto this planet for a reason. A sudden cold swept through Ahsoka's being causing her to freeze up. She felt something on this planet that reeked of malevolence.

Anger.

Hate.

A cloud of unrelenting rage seemed to hover above her like a storm.

By the Force she had never sensed the Dark Side so strong except for possibly the Son on Mortis and the encounter with the Sith at Q's trial.

Was this what Q meant?

Was something like a Sith living on this planet?

"Q, I know you're listening so show yourself! Where am I?" Ahsoka called out. "Why did you bring me here?"

There was no answer.

"I am so punching him the next time I see him. Or maybe I'll kick him between the legs." Ahsoka muttered. "Maybe he'll take a hint and leave me alone after that."

But right now Q was the least of her worries.

Right now the presence of something very similar to the Dark Side was seemingly locked onto her as she slowly looked around, seeing the barren planet for all it offered.

 _"You…"_

Ahsoka stopped, placing her hands on her lightsabers while her staff shrank down into a rod that was easily attached to her belt.

 _"Who are you?"_

The voice was distorted and but filled with malice and hate. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder and saw something moving along the ground, a black liquid looking like oil that moved along the ground and into a pond, filled with the same black oily substance.

"Who is there?" Ahsoka asked.

 _"You…You came here…"_ The voice was now laughing. " _You came here!_ "

Ahsoka's eyes widened as something emerged from the pond, made of the same black oily substance and instinctively activated her lightsabers. "What the Force?!"

The creature laughed. " _You think you can harm me?_ "

Ahsoka felt something pulling at her lightsaber and she realized that the creature was pulling her lightsabers away from her hands. She struggled to repel the creature's power but the creature felt like it was a literal incarnation of the Dark Side as it knocked her down and laughed.

Ahsoka groaned as she sat up. "Who…What are you?"

The creature laughed. " _I am…Armus. Where did you come from? I sense…You did not come here by ship. How did you get here? Tell me!_ "

Ahsoka cried out as she was lifted off the ground and held up in the air.

" _Tell me how you got here!_ " The creature, Armus demanded.

"Why do you want to know?" Ahsoka was shaking as she felt all of the creature's rage being directed at her.

" _I want to leave! This planet…The people…Made me. They rejected me and abandoned me! I want to leave to find them…And kill them!_ " Armus roared.

"Made you?" Ahsoka asked and screamed out as she fell on the ground. She let out a groan as she stood up. "Who made you?"

" _A race of titans, who shed their darker selves which came together and formed me! They didn't want me. They left, leaving me here!_ " Armus growled.

A race of beings created this creature by shedding the darkness within them? That was possible? Not even the Jedi were capable of something like that.

Ahsoka gasped as she was knocked off her feet and slowly dragged towards the pond Armus resided in. "W-Wait!"

" _You will tell me!_ " Armus growled.

She activated her shoto and threw it Armus, watching as it was embedded in its chest but Armus only laughed as it released its hold on Ahsoka. She stood up, looking at her shoto as it was pulled out of the creature's chest.

" _You think you can kill me?_ " Armus laughed. " _I cannot die!_ "

The shoto shot back at Ahsoka who jumped out of the way, activating her other lightsaber as she watched the weapon as it came around for her again. However her lightsaber was pulled out of her hand and floated around Armus with its smaller counterpart.

" _You cannot hurt me. I cannot die. You will tell me how you came here or you will entertain me with your suffering!_ "

Ahsoka stepped back as her own lightsabers hovered around Armus, knowing that if she didn't do something she would be dead. However it seemed something heard her concern as she felt a small surge and looked down, seeing her staff flash. She pulled it out and watched as it extended itself into its true form.

"This feeling…The staff…Are you alive?" Ahsoka asked as she held it with both hands, feeling the power within seemingly respond to her.

She hadn't even begun to start training how to use it but she had been trained by her master in staff combat so that area was covered and Sisko taught her how to use magic on Megas-Tu. So all she needed to do was take what she learned from Megas-Tu and apply it through the staff. She pointed her staff at Armus as the lightsabers flew at her and closed her eyes, concentrating on tapping into the Force and wishing to channel it through her staff. Just as the lightsabers came within striking range the staff seemingly reacted as an invisible force blocked the lightsabers and knocked them onto the ground.

" _What?!_ " Armus roared in confusion.

Ahsoka opened her eyes and looked at her staff in wonder. "I did it."

Armus roared and lashed out with its powers, grabbing Ahsoka and dragging her towards the pond again to drown her in the oil substance of darkness that it was made of. Luckily Ahsoka kept her grip on her staff and she pointed it at Armus, projecting her wishes through the Force and a burst of energy traveled through the staff, releasing a shockwave of light that slammed into Armus. The malevolent entity screamed as its rough humanoid form was blasted apart, sending the oily substance it was made of flying in all directions.

Ahsoka stood up, watching as the oil attempted to reform and kept her staff trained on the large piece. "How do you kill something that doesn't die?"

"By having an escape plan."

Ahsoka turned around, seeing a familiar young man from before. "You."

Q Junior nodded and snapped his fingers and in a flash of light the two were gone from Vagra Two and left behind the evil being that resided there.

* * *

When the light faded Ahsoka looked around and saw she was back in the suite she shared with Chuchi on Earth.

"Are you all right?"

Ahsoka glanced up, seeing Q Junior. "I'll be fine. Thanks."

Q Junior smiled. "You're welcome. Looks like you passed my dad's expectations."

"Where is he?" Ahsoka frowned.

"He let me take over and went to visit Picard and his wife. Apparently he thought you would try to physically assault him." Q Junior answered with a small chuckle.

"I'm planning to do a lot more if he ever does something like that again." Ahsoka growled.

"You shouldn't go too far. My father tolerated disrespect from Picard, Janeway, and Sisko because it amused him but push him too far and he could turn you into something…unnatural." Q Junior cautioned.

"I still think it would be worth it." Ahsoka sighed as she sat down. "What is with your kind? Why you constantly toy with people's lives?"

"Mostly because they are not something we can control." Q Junior shrugged. "We Q can do anything we want and control almost anything but after so long it becomes boring. That's why we are generally interested in the people on this plane of existence. They, you, are something my people cannot control and we cannot predict or control the choices you make which makes us naturally drawn to you, no matter how much you may hate us."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow at Q Junior's explanation, weirdly enough seeming some kind of sense in that explanation. "But do all Q have to act so…"

"Obnoxious? Annoying? People no one wants around in general?" Q Junior asked rhetorically and chuckled at the resigned look on Ahsoka's face. "We are Q, Ahsoka Tano. I told you before, everyone couldn't even grasp a tenth of the knowledge we possess. We can't help it if you all seem so limited in our eyes."

"But that's what draws you to us in the first place isn't it?" Ahsoka questioned. "Testing us, seeing how we react, it's all because you can't help but see how we'd react."

Q Junior smiled. "And now someone finally gets the picture."

"I still want to punch your father." Ahsoka retorted.

"Get in line."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes but decided to change the subject. "What was that thing?"

"Armus, one of the few beings who can be considered the living incarnation of evil. The people of Vagra Two poured all of the darker ambitions and tendencies within them into a single vessel, creating a creature that only lived to cause pain and suffering for its own amusement. Bet you Jedi never faced anything like that before." Q Junior explained. "Captain Picard encountered it during the time of the _Enterprise_ -D where it killed Natasha Yar, tormented Deanna Troi, and nearly killed William Riker. After that Vagra Two was quarantined by Starfleet to ensure Armus never escaped from that dreary desolate rock the people had left it on."

"I can't believe such a creature exists. I never felt such hate and anger before. Not even from the Son." Ahsoka admitted. "At least he had some form of love for his sister. That thing, Armus, it was like a living incarnation of the Dark Side."

"Luckily only one exists." Q Junior stated, possibly for Ahsoka's benefit. "And luckily the Megans gave you an insurance policy against such monsters."

Ahsoka looked down at her staff which was carefully cradled in her hands. "All I did was remember what I learned on Megas-Tu and the staff acted as if it was alive."

"Maybe it is." Q Junior offered with a smile.

Ahsoka glanced up at Q Junior for a second and then looked down at the staff. "Is this why the Megans gave me this? To better protect myself against beings like Armus?"

"Sounds like them. They value companionship and compassion more so than even humans." Q Junior commented.

"I owe them, for helping me save Master Kenobi and for this saving me from Armus, even though it was your father's fault." Ahsoka replied as she stood up, holding the staff in both hands. "And I think I know how to start learning how to use it properly."

"That's good to hear. My father actually helped, even if it was wrongly done in your eyes." Q Junior turned around and walked towards the balcony. "Keep up the good work, Tano. You have no idea just how much fun you'll be having."

"Wait." Ahsoka stood up and followed Q Junior. "Before you go can you please tell me…Is my master all right?"

The son of Q looked over his shoulder. "He's alive and you might see him again…If the Starfleeters are as every bit as foolishly brave like my father says."

With that said Q Junior disappeared, leaving Ahsoka to ponder his words.

 **Present Time  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
USS _Enterprise_ NCC 1701-F**

Captain Shon watched as the _Pastak_ opened a time portal that would allow it along with the _Enterprise_ , the _Friedrich_ , the _Kor_ , and the _Jenola_ to travel through time towards the same time era that the Borg had vanished into. This reminded him of what happened with Captain Picard and the _Enterprise_ NCC 1701-E in the Earth year 2373 when the Borg launched their second attack on Earth.

"Captain, all ships acknowledge they are ready." Winters reported.

Shon shook off his thoughts and nodded. "Signal the _Pastak_."

A moment later the _Patak_ engaged its time drive, opening the time portal and slowly entered the vortex, followed by the three Milky Way flgaships.

The journey had begun.


	36. Chapter 36

**Old Republic Era  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Unknown Regions  
Dromund Kaas  
Mountain Regions**

Scourge made his way through the mountains, using the Force to sense his prey and surprisingly enough it was easy to find his prey in a dark cave. He was not surprised to see that Xedrex had brought two acolytes with him, a young male and a female, both wearing light armor under dark robes. Xedreix himself was an older human male, like Nyriss had said, and unlike his apprentice he did not wear armor under his robes. Upon entering the cave Scourge made himself known and attacked Xedrix who quickly defended himself before the acolytes stepped in.

The Sith Lord and the apprentices met each other in a whirlwind of clashes that lasted a mere few seconds before the apprenticse fell back, slowly becoming overwhelmed by Scourge's strength. Scourge recognized the woman was more dangerous and after a few moments of fighting he killed her by pressing his foot down on her face. Scourge lashed out the Force and sent the apprentice into the wall and then threw his lightsaber at the fallen apprentice. In a desperate attempt to stop him the apprentice thrust out a hand, only for the lightsaber to sliced through the palm and the throat was next a second later.

"I know you." Xedrix sneered upon seeing Scourge. "Nyriss's new pet. Lord Scourge. Why do you purebloods always choose such ridiculous names for yourselves? Do you think it's intimidating?"

Scourge answered by igniting his lightsaber, choosing not to waste words on a traitor.

Xedrix laughed. "Has Nyriss actually convinced you that you have the power to stand against a member of the Dark Council? Has she promised you riches and power if you defeat me?"

"She promised me nothing. You are a traitor to the Empire." Scourge answered. "It is my honor and duty to kill you."

"Ah, now I understand. She played on your loyalty to our glorious Emperor

Scourge turned around, seeing Xedrix with his lightsaber still active and seemingly ready to fight. However Xedrix surprised him by holding up his hand and stricking Scourge with Force Lightning, bringing pureblood to his knees.

Xedrix stepped back after ending his attack. "You didn't realize that Nyriss sent you here to die, did you? She never meant for you to kill me. You were nothing more than a message. A warning."

"Is that what you call the attemps on her life?" Scourge grunted as he struggled to stand. "A warning?"

"You think I am the one who hired those inept assassins?" Xedrix pointed at Scourge. "Nyriss has you twisted in knots. She's using you for a game far greather than anything you can imagine." Xedrix watched as Scourge stood on his feet. "You feel your strength returning, do you? Think carefully before you challenge me again. I might not let you live next time."

"Why would you let me live?" Scourge questioned.

"You have potential. And thanks to you, I'm in need of a new apprentice. I could find a use for someone of your talents." Xedrix answered.

"You want me to betray Nyriss?"

"What do you owe her? She sent you here to die, just to send a message." Xedrix scoffed.

Scourge chuckled as he held up his lightsaber. "Your words are hollow, Xedrix. Like your power!"

Scourge swung his lightsaber in both hands at Xedrix who hastily blocked but the power behind the attack knocked Xedrix's lightsaber out of his hands and knocked him onto the ground.

Xedris held his hands up, now fearful for his life. "Please! Lord Scourge! I'll give you what you want. Slaves…Wealth…Power."

Scourge chuckled again and smirked as he held up his lightsaber. "Power Xedrix? You cannot give what is not yours!"

A single slash to the throat and it was done. Scourge barely glanced at the body as he picked up the head and turned away, deactivating his lightsaber, and walked back to Nyriss's stronghold, his mind now full of questions.

Did Nyriss send him here to die?

Was she only using him for personal gain?

Scourge decided it was time to speak with her right hand, Sechel and find out the truth for himself.

 **Coruscant  
Galactic Market  
Dealer's Den**

Revan would have preferred Canderous contacted him instead of calling him back to the bar and speaking to him face to face while surrounded by the drunken reprobates of Coruscant.

"You couldn't have contacted me via holocomm?" Revan asked as he took a seat next to Canderous at the counter.

"I need to talk to you face to face about this." Canderous replied.

"Sounds ominous."

"You still have those nightmares?"

"Sometimes. I'm dealing with it." Revan wasn't lying about it but there were still dark circles surrounding his eyes. "Tell me what you found."

"I didn't learn anything about a planet covered in storms and eternal night or a diamond shaped ship but I learned something about a race of cybernetic humans."

"I hope you're not waiting for me to try and buy this information from you." Revan joked. "I left most of my credits at home."

"You wouldn't know about them but they are known as the Iskalloni. They are a cybernetic race that my people have had a run in on the edge of Wild Space and have conducted slaving runs in the past. They don't operate ships like the one you described but they keep to themselves and we don't know much about them aside from a few skirmishes." Canderous explained. "I also dug up something else you might find interesting."

"Well, I'm all ears now."

Canderous leaned in close. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, you being a Jedi and all, but I think you have a right to know."

"If you're worried I'll go running to the Council with your secret don't be." Revan said cynically.

"It's not just them. You can't tell the Galactic Senate either."

"Whatever you've got to say must be pretty bad." Revan commented.

"Depends on your point of view. I got in contact with some of my people, just like you asked. I found out dozens of the strongest chiefs are gathering their clans on Rekkiad."

"They're planning another invasion." Revan guessed, assuming the reason why Canderous looked so uneasy.

"No, they're not. Not yet, at least. They're searching for Mandalore's Mask. They think you hid it somewhere on Rekkiad." Canderous answered.

Revan closed his eyes as he thought back, the image of a blizzard appearing in his mind. "I think they might be right."

"You know what the Mask means to my people. Without it we are lost, vagabonds wandering the galaxy without a purpose. Recoving the Mask could be the key to restoring Mandalorian honor and power." Canderous stated. "Whoever finds it will be hailed as the new leader of the clans. Mandalore will rise again and the Mandalorians will follow."

"Do you believe the Mandalorians will attack the Republic again if the Mask is found?" Revan asked.

"Depends on who finds it. Some of the leaders want nothing more than to avenge our defeat. Others would rather try to rebuild our society. We were great warriors before we started conquering Repiblic worlds. It's possible we can restore our honor without violating the terms of the treaty." Canderous stated.

"The terms I forced you to accept." Revan reminded him.

There was no love lost between the Mandalorians and the Republic, especially after the war but Canderous never blamed Revan or the Republic for the loss of the war. Instead he became disillusioned with his own people for what they had let themselves become during and after the war. He held his own honor but in his eyes his people had lost their honor when they committed genocide and scattered themselves after the end of the war. He believe his people had allowed themselves to become weak and blamed them for their loss instead of Revan.

"I'm not going to say anything about this to the Senate or the Council." Revan said assuringly. "But whoever finds the Mandalore's Mask will shape the destiny of your people for the next thousand years. I think it might be a good idea for us to there when that happens."

Canderous grinned. "I knew I could count on you. Time to get the old gang back together for one last adventure."

"Not everyone. Juhani and Jolee are Jedi, they still answer to the Council. They might feel obligated to say something about this."

"I got no problem with leaving the cat girl and the old man behind."

"I don't want to get Mission and Zaalbar mixed up in this, either. They've worked hard to build up a nice importexport business over the past year. I don't want them to throw it all away." Revan continued.

"They would if you asked them to. Wouldn't even think about it." Canderous pointed out.

"That's why I'm not going to ask. Mission's had it rough her whole life. Now she's finally got it back on track. I'm not going to mess things up for her."

"Okay, scratch the Twi-lek kid. But what about Zaalbar? That Wookie knows how to handle himself when things get rough." Canderous noted.

"Mission and Big Z are a team. We can't break it up."

"We're getting a little short on bodies here." Canderous said.

T3 whistled and Revan patted him on the head. "Don't worry, little fella. You're too useful to leave behind."

T3 whistled again.

"Good point. HK's a little too trigger happy to bring on this mission. Things tend to get bloody when he's around." Revan agreed.

"You realize we're to a planet overrun by Mandalorions." Canderous reminded him with a small grin. "Bloody is unavoidable."

"I'm hoping at least some of the clans can be reasoned with." Revan said. "If we bring a homicidal assassin droid with us, I don't think they're going to give us much of a chance to explain why we're there."

"We're a little short on bodies." Canderous reminded him. "What about that other Jedi who help you during the war? Not Malak. The one they call the Exile."

"Meetra." Revan answered.

"I heard she and the Council had a falling out." Canderous commented.

"I don't know where she is."

"Might be worth traking her down. She proved herself during the war."

Revan suspected how much Canderous knew about Meetra, including her actions at the end of the war but he didn't feel he had the right to ask for his help. "She may have had a falling out with the Council but she's still a Jedi."

"So who's that leave, then? You, me, and this half sized bucket of bolts?" Canderous asked, giving T3 a light kick and got an angry beep in response.

"Don't forget Bastila."

"I thought you wanted to leave the Jedi out of this."

"She's my wife. I'm not going to abandon her." Revan answered.

"Hey, it's your call." Canderous held up his hands in defense. "She's welcome to come along. I mean, if you really think you can convince her that heading to the Outer Rim to explore Rekkiad's frozen wastelands is a good idea."

"Well, we never did go on our honeymoon." Revan said thoughtfully.

 **Revan and Bastila's Apartment**

Revan quietly returned home, expecting his wife to be asleep but instead she waited up form him.

"Sorry." Revan said as he came to her on the couch and kissed her. "I didn't know I'd be so late. You shouldn't have waited up."

"That's okay." Bastila said, pulling Revan onto the couch next to her. "I couldn't sleep. I've got something to tell you."

"Me, too. Big news."

"I bet mine is bigger." Bastila said with a small smile.

"That's a bed you'd lose." Revan cautioned her.

"I'm pregnant."

Revan only looked at her in stunned silence before he finally spoke. "Okay, you win."

Revan couldn't believe he hadn't been unable to sense Bastila's pregnancy even if there were no physical changes yet. He had thought he would have sensed life growing in her.

"I must be getting senile on my old age." Revan said, lightly caressing his wife's stomach after having explained why he was gone.

"You've a lot on your mind. And you haven't been sleeping much." Bastila pointed out. "Talk about bad timing."

"I have to do this." Revan said to her softly. "It's the only way I'm ever going to find out what that vision actually means."

"What if you don't find out? Your nightmares are fading. Maybe in a few months they'll stop."

"Maybe." Revan agreed. "But I think these are more than just old memories bubbling up. They're a warning. Even if the visions stop, the threat they represent would still be out there."

"Haven't you done enough already? You saved the Republic from the Mandalorions. You saved the Republic from Malak. And in return, you had your identity desttoyed and were ostracized by the Council." Bastila pulled away from him as her voice rose with anger. "You don't owe them anything anymore. You've paid for your mistakes. You've sacrificed enough. You've earned the right to live out your life in peace!"

Revan shook his head. "If I don't do anything, nobody else will."

"So what? So nobody's does anything. Whatever evil's lurking in the Unknown Regions might not show itself for decades. We could both be old and gray by then. We have a chance to live out our entire lives in perfect happiness. Are you willing to risk throwing it all away?" Bastila asked.

"I'm not doing this for the Republic. I'm not doing it for you. I'm not even doing it for me. I'm doing it for our children." Revan explained. "And our child's children. We might never live to see the horrors that are coming, but they will. We have to protect the Republic for them. We have to risk our chance at happiness so they can have a life we might never know."

Bastila was silent as she walked forward and rested her on her shoulder. "When do we leave?"

"You can't come with me. What if I find something on Rekkiad? Some clue connected to my past? What if it leads me farther into the Outer Rim?" Revan said gently. "Or even the Unknown Regions? We could be gone for months. Maybe longer. Do you really want to give birth on some uninhabited world on the edges of the galaxy? And then what will we do? How are we going to care for an infant under those conditions? I won't risk the life of our child like that. And I know you won't either."

Bastila placed two fingers on Revan's lips. "If I say you're right will you please shut up?"

Revan nodded.

"Because I can think of better things to do on the last night before you leave then talking."

Revan absolutely agreed with her.

 **Coruscant Spaceport  
 _Ebon Hawk_**

Revan and Bastila shared one last kiss as soon the _Ebon Hawk_ was loaded with the necessary supplies.

"Be careful out there." Bastila whispered.

Revan held up a finger and wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I always am."

After their goodbye kiss Revan boarded the _Ebon Hawk_ and twenty minutes later the ship rose up from the platform and shot into the sky.

 **Unknown Regions  
Dromund System  
Dromund Kaas  
Darth Nyriss's Stronghold**

Scourge slammed Sechel into the wall and held his lightsaber against the servant's throat keeping deactivated, for now. "When I ask a question I want a direct answer. So I will ask again. Is Nyriss using me?"

"Of course she is! She uses everybody!" Sechel said, trembling.

"Was Xedrix really working with the human separatists?"

"Yes!"

"Did Xedrix try to kill Nyriss?"

"No."

"Who hired the assassins?"

"Nyriss did. She wanted to draw suspicion away from herself."

"Suspicion of what?"

"Ask her yourself!"

The door behind them opened and Scourge quickly spun around, letting go of Sechel and igniting his lightsaber.

Darth Nyriss stood at the door, gazing calmly at Scourge. "I will answer all your questions but if you harm Sechel I will end you."

She watched as Scourge glared at her but deactivated his lightsaber and placed it back on his belt. She nodded at Sechel who quickly left.

"Are you loyal to the Empire?" She asked when Sechel was gone.

"I thought I was going to get ask the questions." Scourge retorted.

"Remember your place. Listen to me. When I've finished you'll have the chance to speak."

Scouge glared but answered. "I am loyal to the Empire."

"Loyal to the Emperor or the Empire? They are two different things."

"What do you mean?"

"The Emperor is mad. Unchecked he will destroy us all."

"For a thousand years the Empire has thrived under his rule." Scourge replied in denial.

"The Emperor has expanded our borders. He has made us stronger but he is only doing this for one purpose. He is planning an attack on the Republic. He intends to start another Jedi war." Nyriss explained.

"No…Impossible, you are lying. Attacking the Republic makes no sense. The Emperor is not a fool." Scourge said, unable to believe what he was hearing.

The Great Hyperspace War had never been forgotten by the Sith for it had ended in their near extinction. The Sith Empire under the rule of Naga Sadow had attacked the Republic, seeking to conquer it and gain control of the galaxy but the Republic and the Jedi fought back, destroying the Empire's fleets hunted them all the way to Korriban, the Sith homeworld, and bombarded it until nothing was left. It was only thanks to the Emperor that a small remnant had been saved and led on a twenty year exodus into the Unknown Regions where they rediscovered the Sith world Dromund Kaas, a place of safety from the Jedi and the Republic.

For the next thousand years the Sith had rebuilt their mighty Empire and expanded again across the new frontier. All Sith knew of the story and they believed that one day they would strike back at the Republic and the Jedi for their defeat which is why the Empire had worked to build a powerful fleet and army. However Scourge believed that if the Sith tried to exact their vengeance they would be repeating the mistakes of the Great Hyperspace War and the Republic and the Jedi would surely exterminate the Sith for good.

"Was Xedrix a part of this alliance?" Scourge asked.

"He was." Nyriss answered.

"Yet you betrayed him."

"He became a necessary sacrifice for the cause."

"If he was your ally why did he have to die?"

"If the Emperor suspected the members of the Dark Council of allying against him, he would kill us all. We had to take steps to protect ourselves. To throw off suspicion, we had to distance ourselves from the separatists who openly oppose the Emperor." Nyriss explained.

"That's why you staged the fake assassinations against yourself." Scourge realized. "If the separatists were targeting you, the Emperor would be less likely to suspect you were working with them."

"The plan was to have my own people 'investigate' the attempts on my life and place the blame accordingly. But then the Emperor sent you, and the plan had to change. Your arrival meant the Emperor suspected this was bigger than a simple separatist uprising. It wouldn't be enough to implicate a radical fringe group." Nyriss continued.

"So you framed Xedrix."

"You can't frame someone who is guilty. I just exposed him. Xedrix really was working with the separatists. Every piece of evidence uncovered was real." Nyriss replied. "It had to be. I could not afford to be caught in a lie if you or the Emperor looked deeper into the matter. Allowing Xedrix to take the blame will confirm the Emperor's suspicion that the separatists were working with someone on the Dark Council. His death will keep my involvement and that of my co-conspirators secret."

"And you get to eliminate a longtime rival." Scourge added.

"A fortuitous bonus." Nyriss grinned. "Xedrix will not be missed. He was a weak link chain. He was human, and his power was fading. If one of us had to be sacrificed he was the most logical choice."

"Why tell all this to me?"

"You already suspsected something was wrong. Why else would you have tried to interrogate Sechel? If I simply kill you, though, it might raise the Emperor's suspicions farther. He sent you to investigate the assassinations. It would be better if you were the one to tell him Darth Xedrix was responsible." Nyriss paused for a moment. "During your service you have proven your worth to me. You are strong in the Force, intelligent, perceptive. You have incredible potential. My hope is that by revealing the truth I can convince you to join our cause. I would hate to discard a valuable tool without good reason."

Scourge however didn't look like he was buying her answer. "What's the catch? How do you know I won't betray your confidence?"

Nyriss actually smiled. "Very good, I would have been disappointed if you had simply accepted my offer. Short of killing you, there is no way I can completely eliminate the risk that you will try to expose me. But what proof do you have? Accuse me and I will simply claim you are the real traitor, trying to kill me after you killed Darth Xedrix. Remember, whatever actual evidence exists will implicate you, not me.

He died by your blade. Are you certain you left no evidence behind that could implicate you for his murder? No drops of blood? No flecks of skin? No witnesses who can place you at the spaceport on Bosthirda the day Xedrix died?"

Scourge nodded. "Let me guess, the files Sechel recovered from the UDM manufacturing plant and separatist base will implicate me as well?"

"Sechel is very good at what he does. Even the experts can't tell when he's doctored a datafile. Even with all the evidence pointing in your direction, its possible the Emperor would still believe you over a member of the Dark Council but honestly he would probably kill us both just to be safe. That way the traitor is dead no matter which one of us is guilty." Nyriss explained. "And I don't think you're the type to martyr yourself out of loyalty to the Emperor."

"So where do we go from here?"

"Now I must truly persuade you to our cause. Have you heard tales of the Emperor's childhood?" Nyriss asked.

Scourge shook his head. "I don't even know what planet he's from."

"Few people do. He's hidden his past because if the truth came to light none would follow him. He was born almost a thousand years ago in the decades before the Great Hyperspace War with the Republic. He spend his childhood on Nathema, a lush and vibrant agricultural world on the far fringes of the Empire." Nyrisss said.

"Nathema? I've never heard of it."

"Its name has long been forgotten, just like the planet itself. The Emperor erased Nathema from the history books and the astrogation charts to hide all evidence of his crimes."

"Crimes?"

"Telling you what happened is not enough. You must see for yourself. Only then will you understand the price the Emperor was willing to pay. Only then will you understand why he must be done."

"And how do I to find this world?"

"I will take you there. It will take several days before we are ready to leave and the Emperor must never find out."

 **Present Time  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Former Borg Unimatrix**

The situation in the Maw was not seemingly getting any better as the alien invaders kept on attacking the other portals but they were getting nowhere. The Undine were repelling them as though both were advanced in bio-technology the Undine were more advanced. Already their own planet-killer weapons had destroyed several of the large ships that had come through the portal the invaders emerged from. The surviving Borg had already been exterminated and their Unimatrix and was reduced to an atomized wreckage but the fight continued.

The invaders intended to go through the other portals while expanding through the Maw but the Undine had opened up multiple rifts that allowed them to swarm the invaders, causing more and more damage to them. The invader however refused to give up and continued fighting but it wouldn't matter for long. The Undine were masters of interdimensional travel and they were merely holding the invaders back until they were ready. The invader fleet continued to emergy, giant ships slowly coming out and planning to overwhelm the Undine and invade the galaxy in the name of their Gods.

That was when the Undine launched their own giant planet killers while at the same in the portal leading to Fluidic space the Undine fleet launched a concentrated graviton-tachyon beam at the portal, slowly closing it.

" _The weak will perish!_ "

" _You will suffer the wrath of our Gods!_ "

The Undine planet killers fired, beams of concentrated fluidic anti-proton energy slamming into the large ships, overloading the singularity shields and destroying them in a matter of seconds. The invaders were scattered as debris from their larger ships slammed into the smaller ones. As this happened the portal leading to Fluidic space became smaller and smaller until it vanished. If that wasn't enough the other portals began to vanish as well, leaving only the one portal they came from.

" _You are weak. You will never pollute our realm!_ " The Undine transmitted as they began retreating back to their space.

The invaders were angry at the destruction and damage that they had suffered but they could do nothing as the Undine retreated. They couldn't even pursue the other infidels because of the invisible mine field blocking them.

They vowed this was not the end and they would have their revenge on all the infidels who dared to defy them.

And the galaxy would be theirs.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

"The scans of these new ships show they operate using bio-technology like the Undine. Our scans show that their ships are in some form actually alive unlike the Undine whose ships while advanced in bio-technology don't have actual living ships. The life forms of these new ships seem to be powered by quantum singularities, possibly explaining how they are able to generate singularities as shields. The singularities show that they can absorb kinetic and energy based attacks for a time but the battle in the Maw showed that they have a limit." Commander Jarock calmly held up holo-images of the ships used by the invaders as she explained to gathered officers along with Masters Yoda and Windu. "Their ships generate a gravitic field generated by the singularity for propulsion and their weapon appears to be a plasma projectile hybrid of some sort that uses a combination of kinetic energy and heat in a manner similar to high level plasma torpedoes."

"Can they be defeated?" Tarkin asked.

"Yes. Their singularity shields can overload under constant fire but that makes them all the more dangerous as even their smaller ships have enough power to be a considerable threat in numbers. It is likely they would have the same vulnerabilities to thalaron weaponry that some ships in the Romulan Republic fleet are armed with. Starfleet R&D is conducting simulations in seeing if the singularities in these ships can be affected by modified tachyon and graviton emitions from our deflector dishes but they are still in the testing stages." Jarock answered. "All attempts to contact these beings have ended badly with the invaders stating that they will cleanse us of impurity for their Gods. Whoever they are they are obviously hostile and religious fanatics."

"What is the status of the mine field?" Palpatine asked.

"They've tried to break through the mines but since they are cloaked and self-replicating they have yet to make it through. Several of their ships were destroyed and due to the surrounding black holes their path is very narrow. For the moment they seem to be taking pot shots at the mines, possibly to guess the time it takes to replicate." Jarock held up an image of the mine field on both sides of the Maw and the invader fleet firing on them. "They are gathering though as more seem to come through the portal. Eventually they might break through if they can time it right."

"Then we must show these aliens the price of trying to invade this galaxy." Tarkin declared. "We gather our forces and be prepared for when they break through the mine field. We push them back to their portal and then close it."

"Our fleet is still stretched to mount an attack as large as you are suggesting, Admiral Tarkin. Some of our ships have to be recalled to our galaxy due to the Vaadwaur in the Delta Quadrant."

Jarock was not wrong as the Vaadwaur were becoming more aggressive, especially after it was learned that key officers in their ranks were infected with Bluegill parasites. Captain Nathanial Creed secretly infiltrated the Vaadwaur homeworld and showed the recording, causing a civil war to break out between those loyal to Gaul and the separatists who realized that they were being controlled by the Iconians. It was only a matter of time now before the Iconians decide to stop sending their servitors to weaken the Milky Way Galaxy and begin their invasion.

"What about the Separatists?" Windu asked.

Tarkin scowled. "You'd ask for their help after Grievous fled like the coward he is?"

"The droid fleet's too powerful for us not to ask for assistance. We did forge an alliance with them against the Borg." Windu pointed out.

"That alliance ended when the Separatist abandoned us in battle. They cannot be trusted." Tarkin retorted.

"Has there been any word from Count Dooku on the Separatist reaction to these invaders?" Windu looked to Palpatine, seeing he was getting nowhere with Tarkin.

"I have spoken with Count Dooku over the priority channel and he admitted that he was not pleased that Grievous lost the Separatists their new flagship and went against Captain Shon's advice. At the moment he is in debates with the Confederate Senate on what to do next but he assures me he will speak to me again on the matter." Palpatine answered.

"Our embassy on Raxus can confirm the CIS Council and Senate are in debate right now." Jarock brought up. "However they're not happy about General Grievous breaking off from the alliance in the middle of the battle either and officially condemned him for fleeing and abandoning our fleets."

"General Grievous will no doubt run and hide in a hole somewhere as he always does." Windu stated coldly. "Grievous is irrelevant. It's the invaders who are the threat and our subject should be our ability to respond."

"Perhaps research into countermeasures against bio-technology is in order." Tarkin mused.

"I know of something that might help." Palpatine answered, glancing out the window.

This was becoming too troublesome.

The Borg were supposed to be destroyed and then he could get back to running the war and weaken the Jedi to the point they would be easy to exterminate at the right time. Now the Chosen One was lost in time and a new threat was emerging from the Maw. If more threats kept appearing the Grand Plan would be in danger and his secret identity could be compromised.

He needed to take control of this situation before it got any worse.


	37. Chapter 37

**Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _Our attempts to destroy the Borg ended in the emergence with a new threat, Lord Tyrannus. If that was not enough our dear General lost another flagship because he ignored the advice of those who have more experience with the Borg as enemies._ " Lord Sidious stated grimly.

Dooku bowed his head. "I will see to it that Grievous is punished accordingly."

This wasn't Grievous's first blunder but it was the second blunder where Grievous lost the flagship of the CIS fleet. Frankly despite his tactical genius the good general had recently lost more battles than he should have and it was getting on Dooku's nerves. This should was becoming a problem and Dooku made a mental note to fix it.

" _See that you do. In the meantime you are work on adapting the defoliator cannon for use in space against these invaders. These creatures must be destroyed before they become a threat._ " Sidious instructed.

"It will be done, my Lord."

" _Good. This threat must be eliminated quickly so we can concentrate on the war. We have spent too much time being distracted from our main objective._ "

Dooku nodded in agreement. "The extermination of the Jedi."

" _Our two sides have been building up, preparing to renew the war. We cannot afford anymore distractions._ "

"I understand, Master." Dooku bowed his head. "I will begin preparations for the renewal of the war."

" _See that you do._ " Sidious before ending the transmission.

 **Outer Rim  
Kessel Sector  
Near the Maw**

The large Klingon flagship _Bortasqu_ remained cloaked with the assembled fleet as it watched the mine field, watching as the invaders made another attempt to break through the mine field. The aliens were firing randomly into the mine field again, their plasma based weaponry causing massive explosions. All attempts at communication had ended in failure as the aliens responded with threats of destroying all infidels in the name of their Gods. It was obvious they were hostile and they had no interest in communications, only war. They presented themselves as a threat, as dangerous as the Undine given their bio-technology that while different was advanced given by what the MWA (Milky Way Alliance) had learned.

Admiral Thrawn had even stated that they had been a threat to his people, the Chiss, in the Unknown Regions and that they were planning an invasion of the Skyriver Galaxy. This was kept secret from the Senate for strange reasons but the Milky Way factions agreed not to interfere in their internal affairs.

Fortunately a weakness might have been found.

By generating tachyons and graviton emitions they might affect, shut down or overload the singularities, or they could use tri-cobalt warheads that would cause subspace rifts that would the exact same only it would affect hyperspace travel in the area. Given that the Romulans were one of the few races to use quantum singularities as a power source and that they kept their singularities shields there was never a chance to prove that theory.

Until now.

"Captain, you should see this. I think the invaders have found a weakness in the mine field."

Koren narrowed her eyes as she looked at the view screen. The aliens were firing in a specific spot every three minutes and their smaller ships were slowly making it through.

"They have figured out the timing." Koren stated as the smaller ships came through.

The smaller organic fighters moved in attack formation towards the Alliance fleet that was guarding the mine field in case the invaders broke through.

"Full power to shields and begin reconfiguring the mines. We will test ourselves against these creatures." Koren said with an eager grin.

The _Bortasqu_ uncloaked itself and quickly attacked the invaders before they could fire. The invaders fired on the Klingon flagship but the shields shrugged off their plasma projectiles due their design for deflecting superior weaponry such as the kind used by the Borg, Undine, Dominion and the Voth.

"Configure the deflector array to begin emitting high level gravitons. We will save the tri-cobalt warheads as a last resort." Koren stated.

"Yes, Captain. Deflector array ready."

"Execute."

The _Bortasqu_ 's deflector array released a modified constrated stream of tachyons and gravitons towards the invaders coming through the mine field. For a moment nothing seemed to be happening and then…

The quantum singularities that powered the alien ships began to power down, causing many of the ships that had been affected to float helplessly in space. Some had been passing through the temporary gap in the mine field and were helpless as the mines replicated and destroyed them.

"It is a success." Koren grinned victoriously.

Now that a fatal weakness in the invading fleet had been found it would perhaps force these so-called Far Outsiders to step back and forget their plans of invasion.

If not they would suffer the wrath of the Klingon Empire.

"The mines have been reconfigured. They are trapped again."

Admiral Thrawn had watched as the Klingons push back the Far Outsiders by exploiting their own bio-technology against them. A cunning move and it showed that the people of the Milky Way were not only advanced but they were intelligent, knowing how to adapt.

Much like the Borg if one thought about.

The Borg had the technological knowledge of a thousand species and yet they had underestimated the United Federation of Planets and then later the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic. For all their knowledge and technology they had failed to assimilate these few factions that should have been no match for them. It was only by watching these people that Thrawn realized why the Borg had underestimated them.

The Borg had become complacent in their quest for assimilation, underestimating the Alpha Quadrant Alliance and other threats like the Undine, the Republic, and the CIS who had all fended them off at one point. Their ability to adapt had ironically been adapted by the people of Starfleet and the Klingons who continued to grow stronger. It was this ability that made Thrawn respect them as the ability to adapt and grow was an ability not shared by many people, even his own people. It was possible that even the Supreme Chancellor himself underestimated how dangerous the Milky Way could be given their recent accomplishments.

They had bled the Far Outsiders and drove them back into the Maw that they used as a forward staging ground, replacing the Borg. They could not expand due to the surround black holes, only travel along the only safe route out of the Maw and with the cloaked self-replicating mines stopping them they could not escape and even if they did the mines could be reconfigured to replicate themselves possibly faster or slower. Even if they were not at official war with the Outsider they were managing to make them bleed and that was a start.

With this technology and science which was the perfect weapon perhaps the Outsiders would be stopped when they invaded.

Of course Thrawn was aware of the other threat, the Demons of Air and Darkness better known as the Iconians who perhaps were an even greater threat than the Outsiders due to their ability to appear anywhere with their gateway technology. The Milky Way was dealing with other threats like the Vaadwaur and the Borg but they knew the Iconians were coming and thus were working to prepare for that invasion. The Republic was working to build and prepare for a possible invasion from the Iconians as well, only known by the Chancellor and a few select members he trusted.

Thrawn being one of them.

Building ships, growing more clones, and making more weapons.

It was only a matter of time before someone made the first move and next war would start.

Perhaps it was time that Thrawn suggested a possible alliance between the Milky Way and his people for mutual protection. Despite his exile Thrawn still had contacts with his people in the Unknown Regions and a chance to gain technology advanced enough to fend off the Far Outsiders and other threats was tempting but his people would no doubt wish to remain independent. He also knew that many in the Republic were not happy that some worlds were asking for political membership of the MLA due the fact that many in in the Senate believed the Republic was the only supreme government in the Skyriver Galaxy but it was actually a wise decision.

The Republic would be deep in dept at the end of the war and at the end they had no idea what they would do with an army that wasn't needed anymore. Of course Thrawn suspected the Chancellor had other plans which was why new ship designs were being made and sent to Kuat Yard Drives, even Thrawn had drawn up a few new Star Destroyer designs, along with new fighter and weapon designs.

The Republic was preparing for a new war after the defeat of the Separatists.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Jenolan Dyson Sphere  
USS _Voyager  
_ Ten-Forward**

Asajj Ventress had been invited out of her guest quarters to the ten forward for some kind of special meeting and of course she was escorted by two security guards. Given her track record she wasn't surprised and she was actually interested in the so-called Dyson Sphere that _Voyager_ had entered. She knew Dooku and Sidious would love to see the inside of this massive construct and see what it made it tick. The technology here would be of great interest to them and their agenda and she was glad both of them were a galaxy away.

For first time in perhaps ever she was free from the Jedi and the Sith.

She entered the ten-forward and spotted Admiral Tuvok speaking with a Klingon if she was right. The Klingon had a mix of grey in hair and he wore a white pelt underneath a grey battle vest with grey pants, black boots with a symbol on his brown belt.

The Klingon looked at her and slowly walked forward, stopping a few feet in front of her. "You are the warrior known as Asajj Ventress?"

"I am." Ventress nodded, judging the Klingon before her with a critical eye. "Who wants to know?"

"I am Kahless, Emperor of the Klingons." The Klingon introduced himself. "And I am here to speak with you, regarding your galaxy."

"And what do you want to know?"

"Nothing. My people already suspected a hidden agenda all those months ago when the Republic and its clone army made their presence known. We discovered a bio-chip in their skulls, one designed to lower emotional inibitions and was imprinted with a list of orders. Admiral Tuvok spoke to me of what you had told him and your experience with the Sith made us relook over the bio-chip and we found this." Kahless presented a PADD to Ventress who took it. "Are you familiar with Order 66?"

Ventress scrolled down the list and saw Order 66 and what it meant.

 _Order 66: In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established._

Ventress' eyes widened as she read it over, almost unable to believe what she was reading. "The clones were programmed to kill Jedi? That makes no sense. Why would the Chancellor decide to implement such an order…Sidious."

That bastard.

That scheming sneaky bastard.

He was in on this somehow, she just knew it. That meant all of the battles between the Republic and the Separatists were not real battles. They were staged to cover up Sidious's true plan and it was out in plain sight.

The entire war was a farce and everything she did was pointless.

All the time she spent trying to please her former Master.

All the time she spent fighting the Jedi.

All the time trying to become a true Sith.

All of it was for nothing.

Ventress clutched the PADD, threatning to break it with her own hands as anger built up within her. They used her and then tossed her aside like trash. And her sisters, her master, the only ones who cared for her were all the ones who paid the price while she was left alone to continue suffering in their place as Sidious and Dooku played their sick demented games.

"We suspect that this Sidious played a role in the creation of the clones and thus ordered them to be modified with this chip. And since the Supreme Chancellor is the only one who can order these clones to carry out these orders he is either working with this Sidious or-" Kahless stated, mindful of the angry look Asajj was sporting.

"He _is_ Sidious." Ventress growled.

It was the only thing that made sense.

How could an order that exists to destroy the Jedi be used by the Sith if one of them was not in a position to use it?

It explained how Sidious could supply the Separatists with much needed tactical information in the war. It even explained how the Republic managed to keep fighting despite the fact that droid armies outnumbered them and managed to attack key installations in Separatist space that prolonged the war.

It was all a setup.

Sidious was keeping the war going for as long as he needed and it was all aimed at the Jedi. On one side were the droid armies led by Grievous and on the side were the clones the Jedi trusted with a secret order to kill them on word of the Chancellor.

The hidden Sith Lord.

"A cowardly tactic but unfortunately a cunning one as loath I am to admit it. What better army to serve as executioners than one you regard as your ally and one that is limitless in numbers?" Kahless stated.

"And why are you showing me this?" Ventress asked, seemingly calming down.

"You have given us reason not to trust the Republic or the Confederacy. Both sides use machines both biological and mechanical as their weapons and they both serve as a weapon against these Jedi. And you claim that these Sith will be a threat to us, thus forcing us to begin a creating a counter to them and you have more experience with these forces than us." Kahless explained.

Ventress raised an eyebrow. "You're offering me a job?"

"I offer you the chance to join the Klingon House Pegh, a covert group of warriors who fight for the Empire from the shadows. Some would say it is not the honorable Klingon approach but the path to honor can be taken in many ways so as long as you walk with honor. And this is a battle that can only be won from the shadows." Kahless said, slowly walking around Ventress. "This Sidious hides so we must drag him into the light. If he wishes to exterminate the Jedi through their own troops we must look for ways to prevent that. That is what I offer, a chance to for personal vengeance against this Sidious and Count Dooku for their own crimes against you and a chance to expose them."

Ventress thought it over, smirking at Kahless. "What you plan is not easy. Dooku will not be easy to defeat and his master I suspect is even more dangerous."

She should know since she tried to kill Dooku twice.

The first time she infiltrated his castle with two fellow Nightsisters, poisoning him before trying to kill him but he was still too strong. The second time she used the Zabrak Savage Oppress to become his assassin while secretly working for her, waiting for the right time to kill him. But Oppress became too strong and too fierce for her to control in the end and she barely escaped with her life. Dooku then sent Grievous and the droid army after her and wiped out her fellow sisters on Dathomir, leaving her alone again to wander in a galaxy that was cruel and unkind.

Did she dare to believe that help from a new galaxy would help her get revenge on her former master?

"You do know to whom you speak. We Klingons are bred for battle and death." Kahless stated with a grin of his own. "We are not afraid of death. We fear…Dying without honor."

"Honor has no place where you plan to go. Dooku tried to kill me, I tried to return the favor and failed. What makes you so different?" Ventress asked curiously.

"We are not alone. We have allies, brothers, and we seek the same as you. I do this for the sake of my people. We will not bow down as slaves to these Sith and they will learn to fear us, with or without your help."

Ventress looked at him carefuly. "We shall see."

"Then you will join us?"

Ventress held out a hand. "I believe this is the start of a good friendship, Emperor Kahless."

Kahless grasped her hand. "I believe the same, Asajj Ventress."

 **Old Republic Era  
Chorlian Sector  
Rekkiad System  
Rekkiad  
 _Ebon Hawk_**

Due to the fact that they were approaching a planet that was probably overrun by Mandalorians Revan and Canderous agreed that it was possibly safer to land closer to the site populated by Clan Ordo, Canderous's people. Of course that was no guarantee given that Canderous had avoided his people for the last five years, including his own clan and if they found out he was traveling with the man who scattered their people things were bound to get ugly.

That was if they could actually land the ship without crashing.

Revan grunted as he managed to bring the ship into the atmosphere but the blizzard it flew into was messing with the sensors. "Get Canderous up here. Tell him to check those grid coordinates again."

T3 beeped and spun around, leaving to find Canderous. Revan jammed the throttle forward and yanked back on the stick as a gust of wind hit the ship and caused it to veer down and to the left. He pulled the ship out of steep dive but he also veered off course and now it was heading straight down to a massive glacier. Revan banked hard to avoid hitting the glacier but the ship still suffered a sharp clip to the underside.

The _Ebon Hawk_ went into a spiral and Revan fought for control. He managed to regain equilibrium with the help of the Force and took the ship up to a safer altitude and set the autopilot. He slumped onto his chair, letting out a long sigh and set the autopilot. A red panel light however alerted him to another problem.

The clip from the glacier had damaged the ship's landing gear.

Just as Revan cursed T3 came back in with Canderous staggering behind it. "You trying to smash us into a gree pulp back there? I thought you knew how to fly this rusted slag heap."

"I thought you said Clan Ordo had set up a campl somewhere on this frozen rock." Revan retorted. "Couldn't see a blasted thinkg on those grid coordinates you gave me."

"Maybe they moved to another location." Canderous shrugged. "Can't have gone too far, though. Not in these conditions. Do a ground scan of the area and they'll probably turn up."

"That's what I was doing. Turns out it's a good way to get up close and personal with a glancer." Revan replied sourly.

"That's why the red light's blinking?" Canderous asked, glancing at red light on the panel.

"The landing gear got smashed up when we clipped the glacer."

"You couldn't just fly around it?"

Revan didn't dignify that with a response.

"Go around for another look. Clan Ordo's gotta be close by." Canderous advised.

"Even if we find them, then what? You really expect me to bring the ship in on busted landing gear?"

"You're a smart guy. You'll think of something." Canderous said in the co-pilot seat, actually getting comfortable.

Revan rolled his eyes and worked on bring the _Hawk_ in low again, only at half speed this time to account for the strong winds.

"See if you can do something to give our sensors a boost." Revan said to T3 who beeped affirmative and interfaced with the _Hawk_ 's main systems.

A moment later he beeped in excitement.

"I think your droid's got some rust on the brain." Canderous said, looking at scanner. "I don't see anything."

"Can you enhance the image?" Revan asked T3.

T3 whistled before a static filled image appeared on the screen with the details hard to make out but almost appeared to be a campsite.

"Could be them." Canderous gave T3 a pat on the head.

"Doesn't look like there's land stip at the camp. See any place for us to touch down?" Revan asked.

T3 adjusted the scanners again, giving them a large layout of the area.

"Perfect. Nice work, T3." Revan smiled.

"Uh…That's not a lading strip. It's a giant snowdrift." Canderous quickly pointed out.

"With the landing gear shot, we're going to need something to cushion the blow when we hit the ground."

"You really think this'll work"

"Sure…But you'd better strap yourself in, just in case."

It turns out Revan was right to suggest strapping themselves in because a moment later the entire front the _Ebow Hawk_ was buried in the snow drift they had come down on but it was more less unscathed with only the landing gear in need of repair.

"I guess sometimes it's not so bad being a droid." Canderous groaned as he stood up, rubbing his shoulder.

"You mean like when you're marching through a blizzard? This snowdrift's at least five kilometers from the campsite." Revan replied.

Canderous simply grunted before going to gather the gear while Revan and T3 ran a diagnostic of the ship.

"Doesn't look too bad. Think you can fix it up while we head off to the camp?" Revan asked T3 who beeped twice. "It's going to be hard for you to keep out there in the snow. Besides, someone has to stay and guard the ship."

T3 beeped again in compliance.

"You get started on repairs. I'll go give Canderous a hand."

An hour later both Canderous and Revan were all ready to leave for the camp, dressed in heavy white winter gear for the cold and Canderous offered a weapon to Revan who at first refused. "You don't want to be swinging that lightsaber around when we get to the camp. Jedi aren't too popular around here."

Revan didn't like it but agreed so he picked up a pair of blaster pistols. "I'll get by with these."

"Suit yourself. When we get to the camp let me do the talking. Remember: these are my people." Canderous said.

"I can live with that." Revan said as he lowered the carbo bay ramp. "But if we're going to get there before dark we'd better get moving."

It took them two hours for them, going through a subzero weather before they came within sight of the camp. As they arrived Revan spotted several vehicles near the camp and his heart race when he saw what they were.

Baslisk war droids.

At the end of the war he had ordered them to disassemble their most dangerous weapons, including the infamous Baslisk war droids that the Mandalorians used like mighty steads to ride into combat. It seems a few clans ignored his terms.

"One more step and we paint the snow with your brains!"

Revan and Canderous stopped as four sentries came into view, armed with blaster rifles and trained on the two.

"Lay down your weapons and identify yourselves!"

Canderous was the man who answered. "My name is Canderous of Clan Ordo. And I don't lay down my weapons for anyone!"

It seemed his words had an effect on them as one boldly spoke back. "How do we know you're really Canderous?"

Canderous smirked. "Well, Edric, I could punch you in the face until I straightened out that crooked beak of yours, but we'd probably all freeze to death before I finished."

The one who asked laughed, slinging his rifle over his shouders and walked up tp Canderous to big him a hug. "It's good to see you again brother!"

The other sentries lowered their weapons and came forward, welcoming Canderous.

"Let's get you and your friend out of the cold. Leave your sled; we'll have someone else come get it."

Edric led Canderous and Revan through the camp, both of them noticing eyes on them and the building excitement.

Apparently Canderous was very popular.

The entered the shack in the center of the camp that was full of supplies with over eight Mandalorions lounging inside. The welcoming Canderous got from them was much like the one from outside, thus proving Revan's observation of how close Canderous was with his clan.

Well, the welcome didn't last long.

The door swung open and in walked a tall, broad shouldered Mandalorion who slammed the door shut and causing everyone to go silent. The person removed the mask covering their face, revealing a attractive looking woman who glared at Canderous.

"Su cuy'gar, Canderous." She said, staring at Canderous and no one else.

"Su cuy'gar, Veela." Canderous replied softly.

She glanced at Revan for a second. "Do you want me to speak Basic so the Outsider can understand us?"

"I understand well enough." Revan replied, speaking Mandalorion.

Veela raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised before turning back to Canderous. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to greet a clan brother?" Canderous asked.

"Are you still my clan brother? You left us after the war. You deserted Clan Ordo to become mercenary." She said harshly.

"There was no Clan Ordo after the war. Tegris was dead. We had no leader. We were scattered." Canderous snapped back. "Broken. Defeated. I wasn't the only one who left."

"We heard you were working for the Jedi." Veela continued, her voice now scorned and angry.

"Cin vhetin." Edric suddenly spoke up.

Veela regarded what Edric said before seemingly agreeing. "I'm leader of this clan now. I still have a right to know why you're here."

"To help Clan Ordo find Mandalor's Mask."

Veela tilted her head before looking at Revan. "And what about this Outsider?"

"He is my friend. My brother. He will help us in our search." Canderous answered.

"Do you have a name, Outsider?"

"His name is Avner. He's a mercenary. We met while I was working for Davik Kang."

"You can't speak for yourself?" Veela asked. "I thought you understood Mando'a. Am I going too fast for you?"

"I understand. You speak well." Revan answered.

That caused a gasp as Revan had basically insulted Veela, implying she was only skilled at talking.

Veela only seemed to clench her teeth but remained calm. "Brother Canderous vouched for you so you can stay. But if you betray us, I'll kill you. If your weakness causes one of my people to get hurt, I'll kill you. If you slow us down, I'll kill you. Is that clear?"

"Wait…What was the second one again? Maybe I should write this down." Revan said, feigning ignorance.

This caused a bit of laughter but Veel ignored him as she turned back to Canderous. "Welcome home, brother."

She threw back on her winter gear and left without another word, leaving Canderous and Revan to enjoy the small welcoming party.

"Avner?" Revan whispered. "That's the best name you could come up with?"

"What's wrong with Avner?"

"You just rearranged the letters in Revan."

"Relax. Nobody out here's going to-" Canderous stopped as Edric approached them.

"Don't judge Veela too harshly. She's a good leader but she has a temper." Edric looked at Revan. "You should remember that the next time you provoke her."

"I just got caught in the middle. Canderous is the one she's really made at." Revan looked at Canderous. "I get the sense you two have a history."

"You could say that." Canderous answered. "She's my wife."

 **Present Era  
Skyriver Galaxy  
 _Invisible Hand  
_ En-Route to Serenno  
General's Quarters**

Grievous marched out of the bridge after leaving the droids with the instructions to make for Serenno. No doubt Count Dooku was planning chastising him for losing the the _Inferno_ in the Maw during the battle against the Borg. So he wanted to spend the entire trip in silence while preparing for the eventual meeting in his quarters. Just as the elevator came onto the top level and the doors opened he marched into his quarters where he spend time training.

Only when he came upon the balcony of his quarters he saw someone in the chair. There, sitting in the chair and reading a pad was someone he had seen before.

And someone he had known to be as dangerous to him as the Jedi.

The person looked up and smiled while at the same time dressed in the clothing as Count Dooku. "Ah, General Grievous. I thought I heard a squeaking sound. You are making sure to properly oil all your joints, are you?"

Grievous inhaled sharply, his eyes visibly narrowing at the sight of Q sitting in HIS chair. For a moment he was prepared to follow his usual response to such an outrage: snarling and shouting mixed with someone being decapitated. However, he remembered all too well how this being had returned his original form to him during the trial that the Jedi had been placed in. The General exhaled at the memory of feeling like his old, true self for the first time in many years…and at the thought of potentially feeling that again if this being truly was as all powerful as he claimed to be.

"…what do you want?" He demanded in as flat a tone as he could manage.

Q raised both brows as if genuinely shocked. "Really now, I honestly hadn't expected you to ask me that! I predicted snarling, yelling and a childish tantrum being concluded with a lightsaber to my neck! How wonderfully barbaric that would be!"

"What. Do. You want?" Grievous asked, utilizing more self control in that moment than he had in his entire career in the CIS.

Q stood up and clapped his hands together once. "Well since you asked so politely…I have an offer to extend to you."

This made Grievous tense up. "What would I stand to gain from a deal with you?"

"Well…if you say yes then you will have…" Q pretended to think over it as he paced around Grievous. "Your life back! By which I mean you will have that fleshy little reptilian number you wore before it got all mutilated and burnt in that accident."

"Accident…" Grievous muttered bitterly.

"Oh right…attempted murder is the proper term to apply." Q nodded. "You really stuck it to those Jedi snobs at that trial. Oh it was so funny to see the looks on their faces! To realize how they weren't always the good guys and have their actions thrown right back in their faces. I tell you those are the moments that I would pay to see if I had any need of this 'currency' you fleshy little meat bags like to throw around."

"What do you want from me?" Grievous asked, this time more eager than impatient.

"Well in return for giving you back your body I want to see if you can do the one thing you might never be able to do as…this." Q gestured to Grievous. "…give up hunting the Jedi."

Grievous recoiled. "WHAT?!"

"Ooh, did I hit a sore nerve there?" Q asked innocently. "Actually on that note can your nerves even feel sore anymore?"

"You want me to give up hunting the people who brought my world to its knees?! Those self righteous hypocrites?!" Grievous demanded, swinging one arm out to the side. "The Jedi are a scourge on the galaxy!"

"Oh please," Q scoffed. "Jedi, no Jedi, you flesh bags have been butchering one another long before you heard of this Force, long before you even picked up a stick! What would you do if you got your body back anyways? Go home, see the wife or wives in your case, hug the kids and go finish up crushing those bugs? I'll even lend you a can of Raid if you'd like."

Grievous stormed past Q to his chair. "You have no idea how I feel about the Jedi," He growled, "You have never watched your people being humiliated and brought low! You have never been forced to bow your head to self appointed guardians of the peace who condemn you for defending your world and your people!" He turned to Q. "What I do is not simply for my own pleasure…it is for every last Kaleesh warrior who was cut down avenging the injustices done to their world and their families!"

"Ohhhh…I get it now." Q nodded. "I thought the wiring was messed up in your head, considering how you go about thrashing everything in sight but now I see what this is: a debt you feel that you owe to your people. A jedi scalp for every thousand Kaleesh they killed?"

Q shrugged. "I actually do understand that to a certain degree. I mean even the Q never spent an eternity without throwing a few punches at one another or forcing one of their own to…" He frowned. "Endure humiliating circumstances. I was once forced to become a mere human, a weak and helpless flesh bag who had to rely on the help of others to survive. It was only because the Continuum felt I had 'learned my lesson' that they allowed me to reclaim my previous position. Believe me when I say dear General that I do know what it is like when a collective of self righteous, hypocritical and downright unpleasant individuals impose their will on me."

He walked up to Grievous. "That is actually part of why I am here, you see. I am here because in a way…I see a bit of myself in you. I see someone who was doing great things before someone else stepped in and said 'you cannot do that, because I say so'. And when you disagreed with that they forced their will on you and did everything in their power to make sure you couldn't do what you saw was right. I am here dear General…because quite simply I wish to offer you what I took for myself: freedom."

Q reached up and tapped the side of Grievous' head. "Freedom from this abomination of a body and from the things that have been done to that poor old brain of yours while you've been stuck in there."

Grievous held one claw up to his head. "What do you mean by that?" He asked suspiciously. "Are you saying that…"

Grievous trailed off as his thoughts began to race, considering Q's words. He had known that his brain would have been exposed to tampering under Dooku's surgeons, but the idea that they had actually done something to alter his brain had never occurred to him. Surgery on a brain, especially on one undergoing implantation into a cyborg body was beyond risky. A single mistake would render a tactical and cunning mind as ineffective and unstable…abnormal…defective…

He remembered that he forbade the Geonosians from tampering with his mind when agreeing to the offer of gaining a new body. There's no way they would have gone and did that, right?

He would have known.

He would have noticed something different.

Or maybe he was unable to notice.

"What do you think I'm saying, General?" Q crossed his arms. "Bear in mind: I hang out in a galaxy where a cybernetic race routinely messes with people's brains…and they don't do it to make them better or smarter. They do it to make them obedient. Do you think things are so different here?"

Grievous sat down in his seat. "…I wish to verify this claim for myself." He said immediately. "From a third party…an unbiased party."

"I think you know a few people who fit that category." Q nodded. "I tell you what: think it over, look into what you need to and when you come to a decision…" He flicked his hand once and a card appeared between his fingers. "Well I'm just a whole dimension away so here's my card for when you've come to a decision!"

He set the card down on the arm of Grievous' chair and stepped back. "With that I bid thee adieu, Herr General!"

With that, Q blinked out of existence. The cyborg General glanced down at the card and carefully picked it up to read its contents…

The letter Q, or rather its equivalent, in Kaleesh.


	38. Chapter 38

Darth Maul had spent the last day studying the people he had allied with, learning about their ways, their beliefs, and their power. When asked where they were located they showed him the so called planet they were on, only reveal to him that they were based inside a massive space station that was built around a star with an interior planetary surface equal to over two hundred planets. Maul considered such construction to be impossible but one of the leaders, a Gul Manak provided him the proof needed to convince Maul of the existence of the so-called Dyson Sphere. It operated as a staging ground and had a gateway that would allow them to launch an attack to any place in any galaxy with the blessing of the ones who made this alliance possible, the Iconians who ordered that their station remain a secret as long as possible.

Though loath he was to take orders Maul understood and would comply for now.

The Iconians were an unknown variant and he needed to learn all he could about them before making a plan to attack.

Maul studied the other galaxy, the Milky Way, the races along with the enemies of the Tal Shiar and the True Way and who were currently allied with the Republic. This made things all the more interesting since Maul now had allies from another galaxy that would helpful against his former master. He could just as easily arrange an attack on Coruscant right now and have his former master killed, thus taking his place as the Master. And then he could take deal with that Sith pretender Dooku who was stationed on Serenno most of the time.

It would be so easy to send a bomb through one of the gates on this massive station to both targets and destroy them with a mere switch.

Maul frowned as he thought it over.

He could kill his former master and take his place the Master but he would be in position to control the Republic.

The goal of the Sith was the domination of the galaxy and all other thoughts were secondary. He needed to build up a force to challenge the Republic and the Separatists and anyone else who would stand in his way. The single Dyson Sphere stationed far on the edge of the galaxy was a good place to create an army but he needed a power base where his army could grow and expand. When the time was right he would spread across the galaxy and take it right from under his former Master's hands and that of the Sith pretender Dooku.

And he knew of the first place where he could start.

The leader of the Mandalorian group known as Death Watch known as Pre Vizla spoke of his group trying to resurrect the warrior past of Mandalore and overthrow the Duchess Satine and her pacifist faction known as the New Mandalorians. A group of warriors as his ally was a good start and with the True Way and Tal Shiar he had fleets, resources, and soldiers that could aid him in establishing himself as a major power in the galaxy. Mandalore would be a good start to establish a base of power and with it as head of the Council of Neutral Systems neither the Republic nor Separatists could interfere with any government change. That made it a perfect target and Maul was already formulating a plan to overthrow the current government.

Though he had not had any training in politics Maul had spent enough time with his former master to understand that the best way to affect a government was through fear and chaos. These two elements along with a government's inability to solve the crises would cause the people to become discontent and demand a solution. A solution that when offered there would be very little question as its origin. Maul grinned, wondering if his former master even believed he was capable of such planning.

As he walked down the hall towards where his brother was recuperating Maul smirked at the sound of growling and machines being tossed around meaning that Savage was awake. The door opened and Maul was greeted with the sight of Savage bashing a droid's head in.

The leaders here were apparently smart enough to avoid being in the same room as a Sith who was awake and angry.

"Rest, apprentice." Maul said, coming into Savage's sight. "You are safe and we are among allies."

"Allies?" Savage asked, calming down.

"Yes. Allies with the power and might that can serve us well. A group of beings…From another galaxy." Maul stated.

"Another galaxy?" Savage questioned.

"Though surprising apparently this new galaxy has become wide-spread news with many factions allying with the Republic or the Separatists. And these factions have enemies and have formed an alliance with people in this galaxy, a group of warriors called Death Watch. They are powerful…And have honor." Maul explained thoughtfully.

"Then they are weak." Savage grunted as he sat up on the bio-bed.

"Yes, but they have resources along with the other groups, the Tal Shiar and the True Way. Both have knowledge and technology that can allow us to becoming more dangerous than any in this galaxy." Maul grinned as the doors opened and in walked Pre Vizla and Gul Manak.

"So, have you decided on our offer?" Vizla asked.

Maul stepped forward as Savage stood up. "Your Duchess along with the Cardassian and Romulan governments will soon learn the true burden of peace."

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle  
Courtyard**

As Grievous predicted Count Dooku was not pleased with him in the slightest for losing the _Inferno_ and made it a point to make sure Grievous knew it in the only way Dooku thought he would understand.

By sparing with him in the courtyard front of the castle where he trained both Ventress and Savage Oppress. Grievous would be amused that he was being trained in a spot where two of Count Dooku's formers assassins who had tried to kill him had been trained if not for the foul mood Dooku was currently in. Grievous figured it would be a simple spar and end with a lecture of how his skills needed more improvement.

Only Dooku made it a point to show him how dangerous a foe, whether it be Jedi or not, could be if he underestimated them.

How you may ask?

By utilizing his mastery of the Force along with his lightsaber skills in their spar to the point the Grievous had been nearly overwhelmed. Grievous didn't suffer the loss of any limbs, not that he would have actually suffered but his pride had been hurt by just how outclassed he had been.

At least Dooku didn't use Force Lightning yet because that would have seriously hurt.

But Dooku didn't stop with one match as he ordered Grievous to continue sparing with him for nearly half the day and though Grievous preformed slightly better each time he was still defeated in each and every match. And each time Dooku would scold and lecture him about the inefficiency of his fighting style. He was by the most skilled of everyone Dooku had trained in lightsaber combat, even believing he was more skilled than Asajj Ventress despite her one victory against him on Dathomir.

He chalked that up to beginner's luck than actual skill.

Dooku stated more than once that Grievous would have become fiercer, more aggressive with surprise, fear, and intimidation on his side. He pushed Grievous hard and even though Grievous was learning it was not enough to overthrow the count who managed to stay one step ahead of him for the entire day.

"Your skills are improving but still not enough. Against a Jedi Master like Windu or perhaps even Yoda you would not last more than a moment against them. I've told you time and again you must refine your speed and anticipate the enemy's movement. You are too quick to rely on your strength and you become overconfident too quickly which has led to you being defeated by opponents who should be beneath you, like my former assassin Ventress." Dooku lectured.

Grievous growled but said nothing.

"My tolerance of your constant need to show off your ability to use multiple lightsabers at once none withstanding if you wish to become a powerful adversary to the Jedi you must learn how to least operate a _single_ lightsaber." Dooku reactivated his lightsaber and held it in a classic Makashi stance. "It is all about the economy of movement and the ability to use only slightest of energy as you anticipate your opponent's movements and counter them. The Jedi use the Force along with their lightsaber skills and that is their main advantage. When our war is renewed I expect you to be able to counter their abilities with the strength of your body combined with the precision of a surgeon."

"I understand, my lord." Grievous bowed his head.

"I hope so." Dooku deactivated his lightsaber and turned around, his back facing Grievous. "Lord Sidious contacted me earlier and informed me that the Milky Way Alliance had found a fatal weakness in the invaders. They had managed to disable the quantum singularities these invaders use on their organic ships. I have already contacted our research labs to begin adapting the defoliator weapon for use in space against these invaders and I want you to begin studying them for any weaknesses. We are rebuilding our forces for the renewed war and I want to ensure that any other possible threats are neutralized by then."

"Yes master." Grievous nodded again.

"That will be all for today, General. I will contact you when I have prepared a new mission for you." Dooku said, dismissing Grievous as he walked back into his castle. "I want our fleets and armies to be ready for the first major operation of the renewed war."

Grievous narrowed his eyes as Dooku left but said nothing. The lessons had more than hit home for Grievous and he would dare not anger the count anymore than he already had. Besides this gave him a chance to do a little investigating of his own. Once he was in his fighter, the _Soulless One_ , and in orbit of Serenno Grievous brought up the nav charts and started looking for sectors with nearby Milky Way ships.

He couldn't risk going to the MLA embassy on Raxus. There might be a chance someone would recognize his ship and report it to Dooku. According to recent reports most MLA ships had returned to their galaxy following the outbreak of civil war between the aggressive species known as the Vaadwaur who had become a servitor race to the Iconians in the Delta Quadrant if Grievous had read the reports correctly. The ships left behind would be considered cruiser or dreadnaught class with the ability to protect themselves and the Klingon flagship had been posted near the mine field in the Maw to keep the invaders contained.

He couldn't likely go there as he heard some rumors about the MLA condemning him for abandoning them in the middle of battle despite them retreating no so long after. Still he needed answers to questions that had been forming in his mind ever since his encounter with the enigmatic entity known as Q.

According to the updated charts a Federation ship was in neutral space near here: USS _Seraphinite._

Grievous inputted the coordinates to intercept and a second later his ship jumped into hyperspace.

 **Old Republic Era  
Chorlian Sector  
Rekkiad System  
Rekkiad  
Ordo Camp**

 _Cold._

 _A blizzard with endless snow._

 _Winds cold enough to freeze any living thing with a mere gust._

 _"Are you sure it's here?"_

 _"It's here. I can feel it."_

 _"Maybe it's on the other side."_

 _"It's this one. The entrance is around here somewhere."_

 _"Here! I found it!"_

Revan's eyes shot open as he looked around, remembering he was in the thermal tent he shared with Canderous. The insulated lining helped keep out the worst of the cold but they still wore two layers of clothing to keep warm for the night. Canderous was still asleep, snoring rather loudly but Revan paid him no mind. He was still too busy trying to piece together the images from his dream.

Or a memory.

The memory of him and Malak searching for something, likely on Rekkiad that was hopefully, but likely connected to Mandarlore's Mask.

Revan found his personal holocam and activated it. "T3, can you read me?"

The droid's image appeared and beeped at him.

"Everything's fine. Just keep it down. Canderous is still asleep." Revan whispered.

The droid beeped but was quitter.

"See? I knew you'd be able to put the _Hawk_ back together without my help."

The next beep sound rather indignant.

"Yeah, that snow gets everywhere, but it'll melt. Besides you can worry about that later. I need you to do something for me. Start scanning the topography maps for two massive columns of ice standing close together. Two or three kilometers high, at least." Revan instructed. "When you find them, send me the coordinates."

Half a moment later T3 beeped again.

"Great work, T3. Remember, keep an eye on the ship. I'll call you if I need anything else." Revan said before turning off the holocomm and moved over to where Canderous was sleeping. "Wake up. We need to talk."

Canderous simply mumbled and rolled over.

"It's important. You have to get Veela to move the camp." Revan said.

Canderous opened one eye but was still partialy asleep. "Huh? What? What about Veela?"

"You have to get her to move the camp."

Canderous closed his one open eye. "That's her call, not mine. She's the clan chief."

"I think she's looking for Mandalore's Mask in the wrong place."

That seemed work as both eyes shot open and Canderous sat up. "Well why didn't you say so?"

()

"Everybody's here. Say what you have to say." Veela stated once everyone was gathered.

Canderous answered. "We have to move the camp."

"Move the camp? You think it's so easy to jus pick up and go?" Veela asked incredulous.

"It took our scouts weeks to find this location." A woman pointed out.

"This is a good spot. We're sheltered from the worst of the wind and snow. The mountain protects us from getting flanked and the only in is past our sentries." Edric said in agreement.

"Give me one good reason we should move." Veela stated.

"Because we'll never find Mandalore's Mask if we stay here." Canderous answered.

There was a moment of silence before Veela spoke again. "Nobody knows where Revan hid the Mask. The clans have each staked out their territory, hoping it's in their destiny to find that which we all seek."

"Seems like a poor way to choose a leader." Revan commented.

Veela glared at Revan as another Mandalorian, another woman spoke. "Fate will make the choice for us. Whichever clan is destined to find the Mask will."

"Is that how all the clans ended up here on Rekkiad? Fate? Chance? Blind luck?" Revan countered.

"You show your ignorance when you speak of things you don't understand. Fate and destiny are not the same as luck. It was not chance that brought us here. It was persistence." Veela said. "We are here because we are strong. When Revan hid Mandalore's Mask, most of our people scattered in disgrace But some of us refused to give up. We stayed behind look for what was lost instead of running off to become mercenaries and hired thugs."

Veela sent a look at Canderous who glanced down at the floor. "For years we have kept up our search. We know Revan disappeared for three days after the massacre at Malachor Five. There are only a handful of stable hyperspace lanes in that sector, only a few dozen habitable planets he would have been able to journey to in that time. So we have been searching each world in turn, scouring the surface meter by meter. On the first world there were less fifty of us; it took us two years to explore the entire planet. But with each world our numbers grew. More clans joined in the search and each clan's numbers increased. Our quest gave us purpose; it united us as a people once again."

She looked at Canderous again. "Slowly those who their backs on the Mandalorian ways have come trickling back. Now we number in the thousands. Over a hundred clans have gathered on Rekkiad. If we fail to find the Mask here, we will move on to the next world. And our numbers will continue to grow. Eventually we will find what we seak. And when one of our finally reclaims Mandalore's Mask, our numbers will be legion. On that day the new Mandalore will call upon the armies of our people, and we will answer!"

She was now glaring at Revan. "This is what we mean when we speak of fate. We will find what we seek. It is inevitable. It is the destiny of our people."

Revan looked around, seeing how her speech had moved her people, including Canderous. "I can help you achieve your destiny. I know where Revan hid the Mask. Listen to me, and I will help you find it."

"Impossible." Veela shook her head. "Nobody knows where he hid Mandalore's Mask."

"I have access to resources you don't. Republic records. Military transcripts. Battle plans." Revan explained carefully. "Flight paths and navigation charts. You say you aren't even sure if the Mask is on Rekkiat. But I am. The Mask is here, on this world. And with my help, Clan Ordo will be the ones who find it."

Veela stared at Revan before looking at Canderous. "Avner is your friend. Can we trust him?"

"I wouldn't have told him of our search if I didn't trust him with my life." Canderous answered. "And I wouldn't have brought him if I didn't believe he could help us."

Veela considered his words before looking back at Revan. "Where do you suggest we move our camp to?"

"About fifty kilometers from here two columns of ice rise straight up, towering kilometers from above Rekkiad's surface."

"The Twin Spears. Are you saying the Mask is there?" Edric asked.

"There is an entrance to a tunnel in the plateau on top of one of the pillars. The tunnel leads deep into the heart of the ice. I believe that is where Revan hid Mandalore's Mask." Revan answered.

"The Twin Spears are in Clan Jendri's territory. If they catch us on their turf there will be blood." Veela stated.

"Did you really expect to find the Mask without having to fight for it?" Canderous asked.

Veela shook her head before making her decision. "Pack up the camp!" She thrust her fist into the air. "We're marching on the Twin Spears!"

Darth Maul observed the projected image of the Mandalorian capital city that had been scanned for vital targets.

"We have gone over several scenarios and believe the best option is simply attack key centers in the city. The Duchess's forces will be overwhelmed and the people will believe her too weak to maintain order." Gul Manak started. "The next phase will for the Daeth Watch to arrive, capture and arrest the attackers, bringing order to the chaos."

"We will be seen as heroes, saviors." Vizla stated with a grin.

"Exactly. Our alliance has the army and resources without the scrutiny of the Republic or the Separatist and since Mandalore influences over two thousand neutral systems it will give us the much needed opportunity to expand." Manak continued.

"A large number of system with all the necessary resources to form a new galactic power underneath the nose of the Republic and the Jedi." Maul said thoughtfully.

"And we have the perfect weapon to bring them all in line." Manak gestured to a Cardassian who held up a container with a Bluegill parasite inside. "This is what we call the Bluegill parasite. It's a bio-weapon designed by the Solanae by order of the Iconians. They enter a person's body and control them from the inside, genetically designed to carry out whatever orders are imprinted in its mind. Use this on any political or military targets and we will have everything we need to successfully infiltrate either side."

Maul and Savage stared closely at the parasite.

"There is also another matter of a scientist infiltrating the Republic." Manak projected the image of a human. "Dr. Singh. A former scientists who once tried to create a genetically enhanced race of warriors, combining the DNA of Humans, Klingons, and Gorn. As we speak he is in a secret cloning facility close to the Republic capital and he has been charged with creating a new clonetrooper, a General. One with enhanced intelligence and aggression but he claims he can control this clone and use him to carry out objectives from inside the government."

"Such as?" Maul asked.

"The assassinations of key senators, ambassadors, generals, and diplomats when called upon." Manak answered as the image of the Clone General vanished. "And if necessary, Jedi."

Vizla smirked. "About time one of Jango's clones was useful."

Maul frowned thoughtfully. "We will need to forge connections throughout these systems. We cannot do it with spies and agents you already have in place. We will need an army who knows the inner workings of the galaxy. And we will start with Black Sun."

Vizla glanced at Maul. "They're a crime syndicate. Hardly a force to rally with."

"They can provide us with the resources we need to sustain a war without the scrutiny of the Republic." Maul softly retorted.

"And from there you can make connections with other crime syndicates like the Pyks. The Hutts are in the middle of a war with the Republic and the Separatists on account of crimes committed by the Hutt family being revealed and thus there are battles between the Hutts, the Republic, and the Separatists taking place in Hutt territory." Manak commented. "Fortunately the last remaining leader of the Hutt crime family, Jabba the Hutt agreed to work with us."

Maul closed his eyes as he put a hand to his chin. "Their resources will be useful the Black Sun and the Pyks will do. Either one of them have the resources to start a civil war from the underworld of the Republic."

"Then we have a plan." Manak stated, considering the meeting over. "I will report to the M'Tara on our progress and seek her approval for more Bluegills to be ready."

Maul watched as the leaders left the room, leaving him and Savage alone.

"I believe they will betray us." Savage stated.

"We have no choice. We cannot rule openly without attracting the attention of the Jedi. But Vizla's plan to take over Mandalore gives us an opportunity to find someone willing to work with us." Maul said thoughtfully.

"The promise of wealth and power will tempt them." Savage stated with a grin.

Maul smiled. "You have learned well, apprentice."

()

"Our plan is proceeding as expected, M'Tara. The Sith and the Mandalorians are working with us for now." Manak bowed before the image of his master.

" _Good. There is another task you must now accomplish, Manak. The Outsiders, the Yuuzhan Vong are bringing their fleet through the portal created by the Borg. Eventually the mine field created to contain them will not be enough. They must be eliminated immediately._ " M'Tara said.

"What do you ask of me, Master?" Manak asked.

" _Yuuzhan Vong are powerful but have a fatal weakness. Their ships are organic and like all organics they can be weakened by the same elements._ "

Manak nodded. "Yes, I understand. It will be done."

" _Once they are eliminated the Sith will make their move to gain power through the neutral systems. The sentients of this galaxy will move to stop them, thus ensuring the conflict spreading further. See to it that you are ready._ "

"Yes, Lady M'Tara. I will not fail."

 **Outer Rim  
Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Former Borg Unimatrix**

They were finally ready.

Their fleets were coming through the portal and already one of their largest ships had arrived. With this mighty fleet they would breach the invisible mine field and began their invasion. The infidels would burn and their worlds would be cleansed of all filth and impure technology. Just as the commander was about to give the order a dark portal appeared and from it emerged a large ship, not as big as their mighty Worldship but it was big and it was shaped like a dark bird that had a despised predatory look. The commander ordered it to be destroyed and the crusaders rushed to attack, even as the ship began charging its weapons.

The weapon had actually been charging as the ship came through the portal and as soon the ships came in firing range it fired. Beams of bright green light shot through the entire fleet, touching even the Worldship before it was over.

For a second nothing happened.

Then suddenly all of the organic ships, the fleet of beings from outside the galaxy began to slowly rot and break apart into dust.

Even the Worldship slowly rotted and broke with the crew and people on board dying the exact same way as the radiation from the weapon ate them from the inside. The mighty fleet broke apart and died in a manner of seconds while the warbird moved towards the portal and fired a beam of greenish-blue light at it, causing the portal to slowly shrink until it was gone.

The ship then vanished back into the portal, it's mission now complete.

The Harbingers of the Demons have arrived and defeated the Far Outsiders by killing the very thing that they had used.

Their own organic technology.


	39. Chapter 39

**Old Republic Era  
Chorlian Sector  
Rekkiad System  
Rekkiad**

It had been a day since Clan Ordo set off for the Twin Spears and covered over thirty kilometers. That alone impressed Revan along with how efficient Clan Ordo had been in moving the camp.

Revan perked up as Canderous slipped into the tent. "Where have you been?"

"Sorry. Tried not wake you up." Canderous said, dodging the question.

"You didn't answer my question."

Canderous was grinning. "Veela and I had some catching up to do."

Revan didn't ask any more questions after that. The next morning they broke camp and continued on, coming within sight of the Twin Spears.

"We're well inside Clan Jendri's territory." Veela said as they made camp again. "Gotta stay sharp."

"Do you think they know we're here?" Revan asked.

"Hard to say. If they're anywhere near the Twin Spears, the scouts would have seen us by now. But it's a big territory. They couldbe a hundred kilometers away in any direction." Veela answered.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll never know we're here."

"We Mandalorians have a saying. A warrior who doesn't hope for battle has no hope during battle." Canderous replied.

"That's a good one but here's one I like: You can't lose a battel you never fight." Revan said.

"You can't win it, either." Veela replied and saw it was getting dark. "Sleep well. Tomorrow Clan Ordo will claim its destiny!"

()

Revan awoke just before dawn, sensing danger just as the sentries sounded the alarm. Hel rushed out of his tent to see the campsite under attack from all sides. Clan Jendri must have arrived and attacked and they had Basilisks droids.

Revan counted four as they rained blaster fire down on the camp.

Revan pulled out his blasters, shooting one soldier coming to attack him followed by a snper twenty meters away. He rushed through the camp, dodging enemy fire as he looked and saw Canderous and Veela pinned down near Clan Ordo's Basilisk droids.

"Have you tried shooting the pilots?" Revan asked.

"Easier said than done." Veela retorted. "All we need is to buy a few seconds. Just enough time for us to get to the Baslisks and fire them up."

Revan understood. "I'll be the distraction."

Canderous nodded and Veela seemingly agreed. "Whatever you're thinking off, do it."

Revan rushed out, coming into the path of an incoming Basilisk and activated his lightsaber. Deflecting several incoming shots Revan ducked as it flew over. He stood up and watched as it came around for another pass, grinning as he got an idea. Just as it fired at him again Revan jumped up, using the Force to propel himself up and slashed at the pilot, causing the Basilisk to spin through the air, crashing into the snowy ground. Canderous and Veela took advantage of the diversion and jumped out, gunning down any enemies in their path as Revan continued to be main focus of the enemy. Veela glanced back at Revan as he took down three opponents in a matter of seconds before continuing on with Canderous.

Revan spotted an incoming Basilisk droid and leapt up, knocking the pilot over and took control. The Basilisk was easy to operate as he used to drive off the rest of Clan Jendri as Clan Ordo joined the battle in the sky. Canderous just punched out the last opponent before watching as Revan landed the Basilisk, flashing a salute to the machine and walked up to him and Veela, looking ready to face the music.

Veela looked at him for mere second. "Go help the wounded. You Jedi are good at that, right?"

She left without saying another word while Revan and Canderous shared a glance.

()

The shuttle Nyriss was using had no armor and was obviously built for speed.

"Nothing I tell you can prepare you for what you see on Nathema. But I will tell you the history of the Emperor and his homeworld." Nyriss said after punching the coordinates.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Scourge asked.

Nyriss shrugged. "Believe it or not as you see fit. If nothing else, it will help pass the time."

Scourge said nothing, allowing her to speak.

"The Emperor's name was Tenebrae. They say he was born with eyes as black as the void of empty space and that he never cried, even as an infant. No animal would come near him and when he began to talk his voice carried a weight and power that should not come from a child. At the age of six he began to manifest signs of the Force, marking him as one of the ruling elite.

But his parents were simple farmers and the Force was not strong in them. Suspicious about the boy's power his father confronted his mother, who admitted to having an affair with the Sith Lord who ruled over them. The father flew into a rage, attacking the boy's mother. Tenebrae stopped him, feeding on his father's anger and hate to call upon the dark side.

He snapped his father's neck with a mere thought, killing him instantly. His mother died more slowly. Tenebraw made her suffer for months as punishment for betraying the family, torturing her with the Force as he honed his power. Now orphaned by his own hand he made others in his village bow down to him. Those who refused he tortured and killed through the Force. Over the next few years his reputation and influence spread to nearby villages and he amassed legions of both fanatical and terrified followers.

He killed thousands during his rise to power. Many died just to feed his insatiable appetite for suffering, tortured for days in public executions so he could savor their agonizing ends."

"This sounds more like a legend than a history." Scourge interrupted.

"I cannot guarantee the truth of this story. Those who witnesses the events are no longer alive to verify them." Nyriss said while her ship continued to its programmed destination. "But if you had met the Emperor for yourself you would not be so hesitant to accept them as fact."

"What about Natheema's ruler? The boy's father? You claimed he was a Sith Lord. Surely he didn't sit back doing nothing while a child conquered his people village by village?

"Tenebrae's father was named Lord Dramath. He heard rumors but they came from a remote and insignificant territory. He had long forgotten the simply commoner who had borne him a son and he considered the plight of a few small villages beneath his notice. Had Dramath acted more swiftly the Emperor might have been stopped.

But it took almost four years before he decided to go see Tenebrae for himself. Lord Dramath intended to judge the child's power to determine if he was wothy of serving the Sith Lord or if he should simply be executed. But Tenebraw had no intention of serving or dying. When they met face to face Tenebrae proved the stronger. Only ten years old he stripped his father of his power and his mind.

Lord Dramath spend his last moment weeping in terror, gazing up into the black eyes of his son. It took Tenebrae three more years to gain control of the rest of Natheema. Dramath's firstborn son fled rather than face his formidable half brother but other Sith sought to sieze the empty throne. All fell before the dark prodigy and with each victory he grew more powerful and more ruthless.

At thirteen he presented himself to Marka Ragnos, the Lord of al Sith and ruler of the Sith Council. Impressed by the teenager's ambition and power Marak Ragnos granted him the title of Lord Vitiate. His position as ruler of Natheema officially recognized, Lord Vitiate returned to his home to conduct his research into the depths of the Dark Side's power. He stayed there for a hundred years.

When Marka Ragnos fell, Lord Vitiate did not join in the mad rush to claim his position. He was not part of the Great Hyperspace War against the Republic. When Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh fought for leadership of the Sith he took no side.

But in the aftermath of the war, after our defeat at the hands of the Republic and our flight to escape the massacre of our people by the Jedi he emerged from his solitude to call a great council of all the Sith Lords who remained. He invited them to his palace on Natheema, built on the site of his childhood home, place where he had killed his adopted father and tortured his mother to death. He invited them to participate in a ritual to unlock the full potential of the Dark Side, he promised they would unleash power beyond anything they had ever witnessed."

"Didn't they suspect a trap?"

Nyriss shrugged. "Perhaps. Some refused to answer his call but many more came. After all, what could one man against a hundred Sith Lords? Remember, he was not the Emperor back then.

He was merely Lord Vitiate, ruler of a single planet of no particular importance. He hadn't fought in any battles of notes or achieved any great victories or conquests beyond his home world. He had the reputation of a scholar, not a warrior. And the Sith Lords were driven by fear.

Many thought the Jedi would soon wipe them all out. They were desperate for anything they could use as a weapon against the servants of the Light Side. Lord Vitiate played upon those fears, convincing those who answered his call to set aside their suspicions of him and of one another to join in a glorious call. Once they arrived on Natheema they quickly fell under Lord Vitiate's control.

He dominated their minds, crushed their resistance. He turned them into slaves to his will, forcing them to participate in the most complex ritual of Sith sorcery ever attempted. Calling on the Dark Side, Lord Vitiate devoured them. He fed on their power, absorbing it into himself, utterly obliterating all traces of his victims.

But the ritual was not confined to the doomed Sith Lords. They were but the eye of the storm, the center of a vortex that spread across the entire planet. Every man, woman, and child on Natheema died that day. Every beast, bird, and fish, all insects and planets, every living being touched by the Force was consumed. When the ritual ended Natheema was no longer a world.

It was a husk sucked dry. Lord Vitiate sacrificed millions, stealing their life force to make himself immortal. Their deaths also made him stronger than any Sith who had come before and he ceased to be known as Lord Vitiate. On that day, the Emperor was truly born."

Scourge still had his doubts and he didn't blink an eye at the tale. "The Emperor seized what was his by right. That is our way. The strong take from the weak. Doing it in a scale of millions changes nothing. It only proves he is worthy to be our Emperor."

Nyriss shook her head and smiled. "So I used to think but then I saw Natheema for myself."

She looked out the window as the surface of the planet came into sight while the ship began to land.

 **Rekkiad  
Twin Spears**

"Stay here and wait for Veela. Avner and I will head in and check it out."

Revan and Canderous were the first to enter the Twin Spears ahead of the others, deciding that it would be best for them to go on ahead. As they entered the tunnel more of Revan's memories slowly started to return.

" _It wasn't supposed to end like this. They promised me victory. Only now do I see I was betrayed._ "

" _What are you talking about?_ "

" _They tricked us. We were never meant to win this war. They used me and my people to test the Republic's strength."_

 _"Who used you?"_

 _"The Sith."_

 _"So Mandalore was telling the truth."_

 _"Did you really think his last words would be a lie?"_

 _"Now what?"_

 _"We have our proof. The Sith are not extinct. They have to be stopped."_

 _"Without the Mask they are nothing."_

"You all right?" Canderous asked, seeing Revan stop.

Revan shook his head. "I think my past is catching up with me."

Canderous looked uneasy as they approached the tomb that waited for them at the end of the tunnel and Revan used the Force to slowly open it. Revan reached down and pulled out what they were looking for.

The Mask of Mandalore.

Canderous stared in awe at the mask, the mask of his people that was the center of Mandalorian culture.

"How dare you defile Mandalore's Mask with your filthy Jedi hands?" An angry voice spat from behind.

The two turned around, seeing Veela behind them with her vibro-sword out and several Mandalore sentries with her.

"Veela! What are you doing?" Canderous asked.

"Step away from the Mask." Veela glared at Revan, ignoring her husband.

"Avner fought beside us and helped us find Mandalore's Mask. And you repay him with betrayal?" Canderous was now glaring at his wife.

"Who are you to talk of betrayal?" Veela retorted. "You abandoned us after the war. And for what? To fall in with Revan the Butcher?"

Revan closed his eyes at the title while Canderous stood his ground. "When did you figure it out?"

Veela scoffed. "Did you really think changing Revan into Avner would fool us?"

Revan exchanged a smug glance with Canderous who looked back at Veela. "This isn't about him. It's about me, isn't it? Veela, you're the rightful leader of Clan Ordo. I won't claim the Mask for myself or challenge you."

"You still don't get it. You should be the leader, not me." Veela said, becoming frustrated and saddened. "When Mandalore fell you should have been the one to take his place. Instead you abandoned us. You abandoned me."

Canderous could see the hurt and anger in Veela's eyes. "I was lost. I didn't know what to do. When the clan fell apart I needed time away."

"You could have stayed and help piece it back together." Veela insisted.

"Cin vhetin. I can't undo the past but I'm here now, Veela."

"That's why I didn't tell the others back at the camp. I couldn't destroy your reputation by telling them you fell in Revan." Veela threw another glare at Revan.

Canderous was not convinced. "No. You didn't tell them because you were afraid they would agree with me. Revan is no longer our enemy. Not now. Without him Clan Jendri woud have slaughtered us and we would have never have found Mandalore's Mask.

What you are doing here now brings dishonor to the whole clan. Revan proved himself to be our brother and what you are doing brings dishonor to our clan."

"No, you're wrong. Clan Ordo might accept a Jedi. But they would never accept him" Veela said, looking at Revan with hate.

Revan knew this would happen.

He knew that a great deal of Mandalorians would hold a grudge against him for defeating them in the war and stripping them of their honor and culture.

He took no pleasure in it but it had to be done.

The Mandalorians were warriors but they lost their honor in the war when they butchered innocent people.

And Canderous knew that. "There's only one way to be sure. We let the whole clan decide."

But Veela would not allow that. "That's not going to happen. Revan cannot leave this chamber alive."

"You know Revan's reputation. And mine. There may be six of you but do you really think you have a chance against us both?" Canderous asked, remaining calm.

"I'm not here to kill you. Just him." Veela gestured to Revan.

"And you expect me to stand aside?"

"I expect you to join us!" Veela shouted. "You are Mandalorian. Clan Ordo is your family, not Revan. You have to choose, Canderous."

"It doesn't have to be this way. End this madness." Canderous implored his wife. "We can take the mask back down together."

But Veela refused to listen. "Choose."

"Veela." Revan finally spoke up. "There is no honor in this. Only inevitable defeat."

Veela glared, now looking insulted that he spoke. "I killed dozens of Jedi during the war."

"I'm no ordinary Jedi." Revan said and they all knew it.

"Veela." Canderous spoke, trying one last time. "Please don't do this."

Veela closed her eyes. "Kill them both."

Just as said those words Revan was already moving, his lightsaber in hand as he deflected the incoming blaster bolts back, striking down a Mandalorion woman while the others fired. Revan and Canderous ducked behind the sarcophagus, using it as cover as Canderous opened fire, taking out two more. Veela and the remaining two quickly retreated to other end of the chamber and threw grenades that landed at the base of the tomb. Revan quickly used the Force to lift the lid of the tomb up and threw it at the grenades, absorbing the worst of the blast.

However Revan and Canderous were knocked down by the concussive force of the blast that left them disorientated. Veela and the others saw their chance and charged back into their room, aiming their weapons at Revan. Just as Veela was about to bull the trigger a blaster bolt hit her in the chest, straight to the heart. The last two sentries watched as their leader went down, giving Revan the chance to throw his lightsaber that spun through the air and killed them both before they could move.

Revan summoned back his lightsaber and looked at Canderous who stared at Veela's body.

"I'm sorry." Revan whispered. "I'm sorry."

Canderous looked at him. "Me too. Me too."

 **Present Era  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Mid-Rim  
Western Reaches  
Tashtor Sector  
USS _Seraphinite_**

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 87873:_

 _The Seraphinite has tracked down the last few bandits associated with the Zygerians who have sought sanctuary in the Takodana system. There is rumors of a port for various travelers and traders alike who hide out here. Given that there's no law out here we're not particularly eager to start a fight. Rather I've decided to indulge the crew in a simple exploration of the system and allow for some quiet down time in response to the recent conflicts in this galaxy._

 _End Log_

Captain Nathan Creed sighed as he ended his log and then looked over the report from the surface of Takodana. It was confirmed that a large port existed on the planet and he was looking at data on the history of the place. There wasn't many Republic reports, but it was rumored that a few Jedi had been in this system over the centuries.

" _Bridge to Captain._ "

Nathan put the PADD down. "Go ahead."

" _A ship has just emerged from hyperspace and is on an intercept course. Our scans confirm it to be a CIS fighter class with one life form aboard._ "

"A single fighter?" Creed raised an eyebrow.

" _There's more to it, Captain. The pilot claims to be General Grievous._ "

Nathan stood up from his desk. "I'm on my way."

He stepped out of his quarters and was on the bridge a moment later.

"Status." He said as he stepped onto the bridge.

"It's approaching slowly and our scans show the lifeform to match the same cybernetic lifesign as General Grievous." The console beeped. "We are being hailed."

"Open a channel." Creed looked at the screen.

"Channel opened."

"This is Captain Nathan Creed of the USS _Seraphinite_."

The response was immediate. " _This is General Grievous. I request to come aboard your ship for an urgent matter._ "

Creed raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware of any CIS activity being conducted in this sector, General."

" _This is not a military matter, Captain. It's…Personal._ " Grievous trailed off for a second.

Creed frowned as he thought it over. "I'll order our hangar to be ready for you, General. But I should inform you that I request you leave any weapons you have in your ship."

" _Very well, Captain._ " Grievous cut the channel.

Creed shared an uneasy look with his crew before heading to the hangar. When he arrived the fighter had already landed and the General himself had stepped out.

Creed took a step forward. "General Grievous, welcome aboard the _Seraphinite._ "

"Thank you, Captain. There is a matter I need to discuss with you and I would appreciate it if it was kept confidential." Grievous stated.

Creed tilted his head. "Very well. We can continue this in the briefing room."

"I prefer your medical bay unless you bring your doctor to the briefing room." Grievous replied.

Now Creed was really confused. "General, what exactly are you here for?"

Grievous narrowed his eyes. "…I need a brain scan."

()

The _Seraphinite'_ s medical doctor was a Trill named Canda Shraan who resembled a young humanoid woman with black hair pulled back with a blue lab coat exactly like the ones worn by the doctors during the time of the _Enterprise_ -D. She was understandably surprised when General Grievous, whom she had learned about entered her sickbay with a request for a brain scan.

"General Grievous." Shraan held up a tricorder. "Before I run a scan can you tell me what exactly I am looking for? I don't have any knowledge of the anatomy of your people."

"I…Am not entirely sure." Grievous grudgingly admitted. "I received intelligence from a source that might be unreliable that my brain had been tampered with but I need confirmation."

Shraan raised an eyebrow but raised her tricorder to Grievous's head and performed a neural scan that lasted five minutes.

She looked at her readings when she was done. "There are cybernetic modifications to your eyes and brain. They seem to be what's connecting them to your prosthetics…" Shraan then frowned. "But I'm seeing something…There's something along what I believe to be the centers for emotion and memory."

"What?" Grievous questioned as Shraan activated a wall monitor and showed the general the scans.

She pointed at the highlighted past of general's brain. "Now, assuming the anatomy of your brain is similar to humanoids these are small scars, made from some form of surgery that judging by their appearance was done deliberately but I cannot understand why. They don't affect any of your vitals or how your body operates. If I am right they were done for the purpose of emotional repressing and memory block."

Grievous stared at the screen."…How can they be blocking my emotions? I know what I feel."

"There is a chance it was done repress the majority of your emotions. You know what you feel?" Shraan asked.

"I feel…." Grievous clenched a fist. "Angry. Angry that this was done to me and that I was not informed of this."

"Then that must be for what other the cluster is for. Your other emotions are repressed but the part of the brain that allows for feelings such as anger have been modified for…Increased anger." Shraan said, looking carefully at the screen and the data which was appalling considering how it went against the ethics of a doctor. "Were you not aware of this?"

Grievous turned away. "No…I didn't."

Shraan watched as Grievous slowly paced around the room, sensing a great deal of anger from the general even if she wasn't a telepath. "General, can you think of any reason this was done to you?"

"I told them not to do it!" Grievous shouted, banging a bio-bed.

Shraan stepped back, watching as Grievous pounded at the bed. The security guards at the door readied their phasers but she quickly raised her hand, telling them to hold their fire. She just waited for a moment as Grievous unloaded what he now realized was artificially enhanced rage onto the bio-bed, wrecking it but it was repairable.

When he was done Grievous was panting as he struggled to calm himself down and looked back at Shraan who stood her ground and waited paitently. "…Can it be repaired? Can these blocks be removed?"

Shraan thought it over. "Yes, but it would have to be done carefully. I'm up to date on all of Starfleet's experience regarding surgery on cybernetic life forms but that was almost always centered on the Borg. You are unique even to them, General so it would take time to properly understand your anatomy, or what's left of it and exactly how it works with your cyborg frame and I would need access to your medical files."

Grievous nodded. "You will have it. Can this be done at a remote location?"

Shraan blinked. "May I ask why?"

"I don't want either the Republic or the CIS finding out about this. I have a physician at a remote sanctuary who will have all the information you need." Grievous answered.

"…I will have to clear it with the Captain." Shraan admitted and tabbed her comm badge. "Sick bay to Captain Creed. Could you please come down here? We have something urgent to discuss."

()

Nathan frowned as he listened to Shraan's report before speaking. "And you wish to preform this operation?"

"As a doctor, my oath is clear on this matter, Captain. The tampering done to General Grievous's mind in inexcusable." Shraan stated.

Creed looked at Grievous. "Before I make my decision I want to know exactly what is going on, General. You came to see us about a neural scan and now you wish for my doctor or someone to reverse these implants while at the same time asking us to keep it a secret. What made you seek us and not your own political government?"

"My affiliation with the Separatists is based solely on an agreement between myself and Count Dooku for reasons I'm sure you know." Grievous answered honestly.

"I remember. The trial the Jedi were placed on by Q and you revealed that the Jedi aided your enemies and caused your planet to fall into poverty." Creed nodded. "The Jedi claimed they had no way of knowing that your enemies lied to them or that their actions caused such a catastrophe for your people."

"I'm sure they made it a point to try and weasel out of any blame." Grievous growled. "But in any case I believe the Geonosians, the people designed my new body after the explosion that almost killed me were responsible. Only they could be the ones who tampered with my brain since any other doctor I had after that was my personal medical droid. And the only reason they would have done that is if Count Dooku ordered them."

"Why would Count Dooku order such an unnecessary surgery? I don't see how this aided you in any way." Nathan stated. "And how did you find out?"

"That's because it didn't. I don't know why he would do it when I already agreed to the procedure and to fight on his behalf. But I know it was him and I want these implants gone." Grievous explained, glaring briefly at Nathan. "As for how I found out…I was approached by the creature known as Q."

Nathan and Shraan both stiffened but Nathan narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "Q told you?"

"No. He…Implied my mind had been tampered with after he approached me with an offer." Grievous reluctantly admitted. "He offered to restore my body."

It's not like he wanted to tell them everything but they had more experience with Q and his kind than Grievous did and he needed their help how to best handle this situation.

"Did he make a condition to this offer?" Creed asked, glancing around in case Q was about to suddenly appear.

"The condition was that I stop hunting Jedi if I accepted." Grievous growled, clenching a fist. "I refused his terms than he stated that he and I were alike in some ways."

"Alike?"

"He told me he had once been left as a mortal human by his people for reasons he did not say but he claimed that the circumstances were similar to my experience with the Jedi." Grievous paced around the sickbay shortly.

"I recall that the Continuum banished Q for a short time because of his actions against other life forms. He was welcomed back when he briefly demonstrated compassion for other beings, by which I mean mortals and inferior life forms. And a few years later Q played a role in starting a civil war in the Continuum because he allowed one of their oldest beings to commit suicide." Nathan said, remembering the logs from the _Enterprise_ and _Voyager_.

"These Q can actually die?" Grievous looked at Creed, seemingly surprised.

"The Q in question saw life in the Continuum becoming meaningless and stagnant and that there was nothing left for them to know or learn. It was…quiet according to Admiral Janeway. Nothing happening, nothing shaking up their existence. It was all pointless to the point that the Q calling himself Quin decided the only thing left to do…Was see what waits for us in death." Nathan explained. "Q was supposed to convince him to live or the Continuum would have imprisoned Quinn to keep him alive. Instead Q helped Quinn die and that paved the way to a brief civil war."

Grievous seemingly frowned. "Hmm…And what does he think makes him similar to me?"

"Perhaps because of the way his people acted towards him and Quinn. They advocated change and the Continuum rejected it, forcing them to obey the rules. Similar to what happened with you and the Jedi from what I remember."

"By which you refer to the Jedi's actions at the end of the Huk War." Grievous surmised and scowled. "If he was so understanding he wouldn't try to convince me to stop hunting the Jedi."

"Maybe there's more to it than that, General. It's hard to predict exactly what Q is looking for if he's testing you like he's done with Picard." Shraan suggested. "There's likely more to this offer than you know, General."

"If there is for the moment it is irrelevant." Grievous waved off the subject. "Will you help me or not?"

Creed glanced at Shraan who nodded. "Very well. My doctor will help you in any way you need."

Grievous nodded. "Thank you, Captain."


	40. Chapter 40

**Old Republic Era  
Outer Rim Territories  
Chorlian Sector  
Nathema System  
Nathema  
Surface**

"Prepare yourself. We're going down to the surface." Nyriss said just before the ship landed.

When Scourge first stepped onto the surface of Nathema he tried to reach out with his senses and found…Nothing.

The planet was completely devoid of the Force in every way. No Light Side.

No Dark Side.

"You feel the chill of the Void." Nyriss stated as they walked through the deserted city that long since decayed through the passage of time. "The Force is energy; it gives heat to our emotions and our minds. But here it has been stripped away."

Scourge looked on in fascinated horror as he surveyed the devastation. Destruction and devastation was a way of life in the Empire. It was how the Sith thrived and grew stronger, their anger, fear, and hate fueled by the Dark Side.

But it was different on Nathema.

Nothing lived.

Life, sound, color, the Force itself had been stripped from the planet. Anything and everything on Nathema had been stripped, leaving a vacuum in the Force. Now he understood why Nyriss wished to bring the Emperor down. The Sith lived to conquer and destroy anyone who stood in their way.

But what happened here was nothing like that.

This was a crime against nature, against the Force.

Pure obliteration of all form of life in any way.

The Emperor had turned Nathema into an abomination.

And Scourge now believed that if the Emperor was capable of this he was capable of doing more than just starting another war with the Republic.

If he was willing to commit such a crime he could possibly be mad enough to cause the destruction of the Sith species as well.

"I've seen enough." Scourge stated.

Nyriss nodded and the two made their way back to the ship. She knew what he felt and how he was feeling towards all of this.

She herself had felt the same when she discovered Natheema.

Just as she began tapping the controls the scanners beeped.

"There." Nyriss pointed at a reading. "A ship just dropped out of hyperspace in this system."

"Could the Emperor have sent someone to follow us?" Scourge asked.

"I don't think so." Nyriss looked at the readouts. "Its signature doesn't match any design I've ever seen before. Looks like a small freighter of some kind. I don't think they've seen us."

Nyriss activated the shuttle's ion cannon and targeted the freighter.

Just as the ship came in range Nyriss fired and the ion bolt hit the ship head on, short circuiting the engines and systems and leaving it fall to the planet. The two Sith returned to Nathema and tracked down the crashed ship. They entered the crashed ship and found an unconscious human in the cockpit.

"I know this man." Nyriss said grimly. "His name is Revan. He is a Jedi and a Republic spy."

"A Republic spy?" Scourge questioned, his mind now racing. "If the Jedi know we exist they will come for us. They will try to finish the extermination of our species that they began in the Great Hyperspace War!"

"Our existence is still hidden." Nyriss assured him. "Revan and another Jedi, a man named Malak, discovered Dromund Kass by accident. They were captured before they could return and report their findings to the Republic."

"When did this all happen?"

"Five years ago. The Emperor sentenced Revan to death."

"Then what's he doing here?"

"I don't know. He couldn't have escaped the citadel's dungeons unless the Emperor allowed it. It stands to reason that he wouldn't still be alive unless he was working for the Emperor." Nyriss stated.

"How is that possible? The Jedi are our sworn enemies."

"Watch him closely. He is powerful and extremely dangerous."

"Why don't we just kill him?"

"Not yet. Not until we know why is here. We'll take him back to my stronghold for questioning."

"I've never interrogated a Jedi." Scourge smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

 **Present Era  
Outer Rim Territories  
Wazta Sector  
Vassek System  
Third Moon  
USS _Seraphinite_**

 _Captain's Log Supplemental: We have arrived in the Vassek System at the request of our guest, General Grievous who has revealed a disturbing secret about himself and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It seems that against his wishes Count Dooku ordered his memories to be repressed and his rage artificially enhanced for reasons we do not understand. Grievous believes it was to enhance his motivations to hunt down the Jedi who Grievous blames for the poverty of his home planet. Still, as a few Vulcan friends I know would point out that would not be logical given that Grievous already had, logically understandable reasons to hate the Jedi and the Republic for the sanctions they imposed on his people._

 _Unless there is something in Grievous's memory that suggests something that the Separatists, specifically Count Dooku would rather keep hidden. Which is why we have arrived in the Vassek system were General Grievous has built a hidden sanctuary for him to reside when not leading the war effort. I am becoming uneasy about this as I feel this may affect the ceasefire between the Republic and the Confederacy while at the same time affecting the recent alliance with our galaxy. We came here to try and keep the war from spreading into the Milky Way and yet we may unintentionally do just that if we are not careful._

 _End Log._

The _Seraphinite_ hovered in orbit of the third moon of the Vassek system as General Grievous piloted his ship down to the planet. He didn't trust the transporter technology and he didn't want his ship left were it could be accessed. Given how advanced these Starfleeters were there was a chance they could break whatever security programs he had left for the possibility of his ship being captured. Captain Creed and Dr. Shraan were already on the surface of the planet and he allowed them into his sanctuary.

Even if the Jedi knew where his sanctuary was there was no point in capturing it since Grievous would no doubt have other hideouts and fortresses hidden throughout the Outer Rim. Grievous waited for them in the main operating room with his medical droid EV-A4-D who was quite the little machine.

"Really, General. You go through the trouble of dragging these strangers here when I can just get the job done myself." The droid complained.

"And I told you I want to make sure you have not been purposely ignoring anything that was done to me without my permission." Grievous retorted, standing next to the operating table.

"Oh please. After everything I do to keep you together you would think I would ignore any kind of tampering." A4 said dramatically.

"If you were programmed by the Muuns, yes I believe you would. Now shut up." Grievous watched as the Starfleeters entered. "Captain Creed. Doctor Shraan, welcome to my home. As you might expect you are among the few living people to enter this fortress."

"And possibly be one of the very few to leave alive, General?" Creed commented thoughtfully.

Grievous chuckled. "Of course. Now, about the operation…"

Shraan stepped forward. "I have a sedatives that will work and keep you unconscious during the operation. It will be necessary as leaving you awake would cause you to feel great pain that you wouldn't be able to handle if you want this operation to be a success."

"Oh he's used to pain. He goes through it every time I fix him." A4 drawled.

Grievous growled at the droid, issuing a silent warning before looking back at the Starfleeters. "Very well, but I want my bodyguards present. I do not want to left in a vulnerable position without assurances."

Shraan was reluctant but nodded. A few minutes later the Magna-Guards were summoned to the operating room and maintained a vigilant watch as Grievous sat and lied down on the operating table. The sedative Shraan gave him was inhaled through the tube used to connect Grievous's lungs with his brain and a moment later he was unconscious.

"Now let's begin." A4 said as he began removing Grievous's mask.

Very few people had seen what was under that mask…

And lived to tell about it.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Mandalore  
Sundari**

Mandalore was a planet with a great and long history.

The home world of the multi-species cultural group known as the Mandalorians, the planet was known as Manda'yaim in the Mandalorian language, and was named after the legendary conqueror of the vibrant world, Mandalore the First. Mandalore the First's Taung warriors slew the indigenous mythosaurs and tamed the savage landscape, solidifying Mandalore's place as a powerbase and the center of Mandalorian space for millennia to come. Mandalore was covered in a rich natural landscape, largely unspoiled due to its sparse sentient population. The world was blanketed in lush veshok tree forests, dense jungle, sprawling hills and grassland well suited to farming, inhospitable deserts of white sand, and numerous rivers, lakes, and seas.

It was also the only known world in the galaxy, with the exception of its moon Concordia, to possess the unique, nearly indestructible iron ore known as beskar, an element capable of withstanding blows from even a lightsaber. An independent world ruled by the Mand'alor, the leader of all the Mandalorian clans, following the tradition established by Mandalore the First, the planet Mandalore found itself the ally and enemy of numerous galactic governments and groups throughout the years. Though largely abandoned by the early Mandalorian Crusaders, who continuously sought fresh conquests, Mandalore became the fallback point for many defeated Mandalorian Neo-Crusader warriors after the end of the Mandalorian Wars. With the rise of the pacifist New Mandalorian faction and their efforts to reform Mandalore's warrior ways, distancing themselves from the violent past after the disastrous events that lead to their formation, Mandalore was accepted by the Galactic Republic and was known as New Mandalore throughout the isolationist society that the New Mandalorians created.

In the years following the Galactic Republic's defeat of the New Sith Empire's Brotherhood of Darkness at Ruusan, and the subsequent Republic reformation that marked the end of the New Sith Wars, the Mandalorians on Mandalore began to remake themselves into a more technologically adept and more rigid, militant society. The rise in Mandalore's militancy so soon after the devastating war with the Sith alarmed both the Republic and its Jedi protectors, and while several clan leaders urged Mandalore to make peace and join with the Republic, they were shouted down. Unwilling to suffer through a second war with the Mandalorians the Jedi led a Republic strike force in a brief and overwhelming conflict known as the Mandalorian Excision that brought devastation to the Mandalore sector and transformed parts of Mandalore into inhospitable deserts of white sand. Out of this disaster arose a pacifist sect calling themselves the New Mandalorians; the reformist political faction formed from the remnant of the pre-Excision peace movement renounced violence and the warrior codes of Mandalore's past, in what they believed to be an effort to save Mandalore and survive in a hostile galaxy.

Instead, the New Mandalorians preached peace, neutrality, and tolerance. They used their talents as builders and inventors to create grand cube cities in Mandalore's desert, forging a new society isolated from Mandalore's warrior clans, on the planet they deemed New Mandalore. However not everyone agreed with the new path the Mandalorians were taking these days. The splinter group known as the Death Watch repeatedly opposed the pacifistic ways of the New Mandalorions and once allied with the Separatists to take back Mandalore and resurrect their glorious warrior past.

Only they failed and Count Dooku betrayed them when he decided Death Watch was no longer worth his time or effort. Due to their peaceful nature the people of Mandalore elected to remain neutral in the Clone Wars and when the Milky Way Galaxy appeared Mandalore was among the first planets to welcome the people of the new galaxy. While neutral Mandalore fell on tough times as they no longer had access to the shipping lines of the Republic which caused the economy to suffer. The recent Prime Minister was arrested for making deals with the Black Market for the purpose of keeping Mandalore alive but children paid a price for that.

Duchess Satine maintained her belief in non-violence but she had been betrayed by nearly everyone she trusted with the only exception of the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi whom she had known since her childhood.

She knew she made enemies but she maintained her position and refused to bow down to anyone who sought to bring back the barbaric warrior past of her planet.

It was a pity she would soon learn the consequences of her choice.

It all started with the attack on the loading docks with the security forces being captured, followed by attacks in the plaza and the main bank. The security forces and the police were outmatched against the thugs and overwhelmed. It was enough that Duchess Satine had arrived outside her palace to see the people outside, demanding for her to stop the attacks.

"Please, I need you all to remain calm. These attackers are just thugs brought on by the lowest element." She said, trying to calm the people down.

The people just continued booing at her, unhappy with her words.

They didn't want sweet words.

They wanted results.

They wanted action.

Satine was used to critiscism as she had endured ever since she had worked to change Mandalore from its barbaric past. But now the people looked ready to revolt.

"The Duchess Satine has led us to ruins!" A voice called out.

Satine looked up and watched as Pre Vizla and members of Death Watch fly in on their jetpacks. "Death Watch."

Satine watched as her guards looked ready to attack. "Guards stand back."

Once they stood down she looked back up at Pre Vizla. "Vizla, you must be responsible for these attacks."

"No, I'm not responsible but I can offer a solution." Pre Vizla landed on the ground and took off his helmet as he addressed the people. "People of Mandalore, I am Pre Vizla of Clan Vizla. Death Watch is here to save you from these intergalactic gangsters that threaten our great city. This is a war and we will win."

The people started cheering at Pre Vizla for coming to them in their time of need.

"Join me and let us defend Mandalore against the criminals. We need action, not pacifism." Pre Vizla continued, smiling as the people applauled him.

"Do not listen to him!" Satine called out. "His war will cause the end of Mandalore as we know it."

"We are under attack, there is no time for discussion." Pre Vizla retorted as he put his helmet back on. "The name Mandalore will strike fear in the hearts of these gangsters."

()

From that point on Death Watch had affectively stopped all the gangsters in the city. They were hailed as saviors which had been Satine's greatest fear. No matter what Satine said or tried the people believed in the Death Watch and thus began losing the support of the people so fast it was almost as if she never had their support to begin with.

It was at the point that Satine knew what was coming next.

"Duchess, Vizla and his men have entered the palace. Should we stop them?" Satine's Head of Security asked.

"How can we? The people are on their side now." Satine said sadly before the doors opened and in walked Vizla and his men.

Outside the people were chanting Vizla's name which made him smile even bigger. "Listen Duchess, do you hear the people? They cry out for change. Your weak minded rule over Mandalore has come to an end. The resurrection of our warrior past is about to begin."

With that said the Death Watch guards came up and cuffed the now former Duchess of Mandalore.

 **Concorde Dawn  
Surface  
A Day Later**

In a small bar a woman with red hair watched the broadcast as Pre Vizla was murdered by former Duchess Satine and former Prime Minister Almec was placed in charge, taking Vizla's place. Bo Katan scowled as she knew that her sister would never have killed Vizla no matter what.

But who murdered Vizla?

She paid her tab and grabbed her helmet as she left the bar. She had people she needed to get in touch with.

 **Present Era  
Outer Rim Territories  
Wazta Sector  
Vassek System  
Third Moon  
Sanctuary of General Grievous**

The operation had gone as smoothly as possible. Grievous was still unconscious but Shraan had managed to remove the implants that had been placed in his brain without his consent.

"Well, I admit I would have been different I suppose he'll be happy when he wakes up." A4 commented to Shraan. "You were efficient…For an organic."

"Thank you." Shraan said sarcastically as she turned away. "With company like this I can understand why the General has a bit of a temper."

Nathan was about to reply when his comm badge beeped. " _Seraphinite to Captain Creed._ "

Creed tapped the badge. "Creed here."

" _We're receiving a signal coming in from the Holo-Net._ "

"Can you identify it?"

" _It's coming from the moon of Mandalore by Bo-Katan._ "

Creed raised an eyebrow. "I'll see it immediately. Stand-by."

He looked at Shraan. "Is there anything you need to finish here?"

Shraan shook her head. "No but I would like to remain and monitor the General's condition."

"You can't trust me to do it?" A4 asked sarcastically.

Shraan threw a dark look at the droid, not liking its attitude one bit. "The General asked me here and I'll finish my work."

That seemed to satisfy the droid for now as Creed tapped his comm badge. "Creed to _Seraphinite_. One to beam up."

 **USS _Seraphinite  
_ Captain's Ready Room**

" _And that's why I need your help, Captain._ "

Creed slowly digested the information. Bo-Katan had informed him that Death Watch had engineered a take over of Mandalore by working with gangsters to throw Satine's order into chaos and Vizla took advantage of the chaos and used it to garner support from the people. Then Vizla was murdered and Bo-Katan learned from the few people who knew she was alive that someone named Darth Maul and his brother Savage Oppress had been working with Vizla and a group of Cardassians and Romulans who were working for the Iconians to help overthrow Satine.

The True Way, the Tal Shiar, Death Watch, a Sith Lord, and the Iconians working together were a cause for great alarm.

"You know it will be difficult. We'll need proof of this before I call on an entire fleet to deal with a neutral planet." Creed stated. "Officially Mandalore is still neutral in all conflicts and I can't just come in gun's blazing. Do you know anything about the condition of the Duchess?"

" _She's locked up in prison under palace. She's alive for some reason but I don't know what._ "

Creed nodded. "All right. Can you get any proof of Maul's allies?"

" _I still have some allies who can help but Captain Mandalore will become the center of a group of pawns that will start a whole new war. This is not what I want for my home._ "

"I understand…I'll work with what I can do. Stay in touch." Creed said before ending the transmission.

The sigh of Katan's face becoming desperate was enough to make Creed consider a rescue mission but he also needed a plan.

If the True Way, the Tal Shiar, Death Watch, the Sith, and the Iconians were all working together now a whole new threat to both galaxies.

"Set course for Mandalore."


	41. Chapter 41

Anakin did not know how long he had been unconscious but when he finally woke up he found himself in a green tinted technological room. And in the center of the room was a woman attached to many wires attached to her body dressed in the same skin tight outfit that Padme wore as a Borg Queen.

She looked at him with red emotionless eyes. "You are awake."

Anakin looked down and found himself strapped to a table. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"I am the voice of perfection." The woman said as the wires detached themselves and she stepped onto the floor, striding towards her. "I am the Collective. I am the beginning, the end. The one who is many. I am the Borg."

"The new Borg Queen. Guess they chose you after I rescued Padme from your vile grasp." Anakin spat, glaring at the Queen as he tried to call on the Force.

But he could not feel it.

"You attempts at resistance is futile. The Collective has learned that your abilities, your connection with the energy matrix known as the Force can be blocked with a subspace dampening field tuned to the quantum signature of your reality. While this so-called Force does not exist in the primary galaxy we have learned its existence is greatly attuned to yours through the use of the collective made by the micro-organisms in your blood stream. We have never encountered such organisms before but they are fascinating." The Queen said as she softly strolled around the table. "They allow for a secondary lobe in the human brain, possibly allowing for psionic and telepathic abilities. Impressive, but the Borg will always adapt."

"You can't control the Force." Anakin said, keeping his eye on the Queen. "It existed long before the Borg and it will continue to exist long after the Borg are destroyed."

"We cannot be destroyed. We adapt, we grow, and we survive. Your Force is merely a source of energy for you to call on. A form of raw un-sentient energy, perhaps a left over form of energy created from the creation of the universe that species of the Federation refer to as the Big Bang. Spreading out across the known galaxies and only accessed by organic life forms through a proper evolution." The Queen mused with a smile as she down, her face hovering above Anakin's. "Energy can be manipulated. It can be controlled. Your belief that this energy is some sort of deity is like any other primitive belief practiced in all religions."

"Easier said than done." Anakin looked around. "Where are we? You couldn't have escaped the Maw. Our fleets surrounded you."

"The Collective came prepared for such an event." The Queen stepped away and brought up a holo-image of a blue glowing tunnel. "We altered one of the singularities to serve as a space-time tunnel. We have retreated from the current time line."

"What?" Anakin struggled to move but the restraints held him down.

"We have decided the Republic is too formidable and numerous to assimilate with the aid of Starfleet. We have decided to retreat to a timeline when the Republic would be less formidable to assimilate." The Queen explained, stepping around the table. "The historic databanks show that the Republic was greatly weakened following the conflict with the marauder species known as the Mandalorians."

Anakin's eyes widened as he recognized what the Queen was talking about. "You took me back…A thousand years?"

"Would you like an exact date?" The Queen asked smoothly.

"Why did you take me?" Anakin growled, realizing if he was stuck in the past then he would never seen anyone he cared for again.

The Chancellor Palpatine.

His master Obi-Wan.

His Padawan, Ahsoka.

And his…

'Padme.' Anakin thought, his eyes widening.

He would never see them again.

"Research. The more I study you the more I can learn of this Force." The Queen touched Anakin's mechanical hand.

Only Anakin felt the cold sensation of the Queen's hand.

"Impressed? I saw fit to modify the effeciant but primitive prosthetic in my spare time." The Queen said as Anakin looked at the hand.

It now resembled a human's hand but it was jet black and skin was being patched onto it.

"Titanium skeleton with synethic skin graffing. The skin is grown from the DNA and once properly attached blood will flow through it. We have made much effort to create new drones, including ones with minimal needs for outer modifications. This was necessary when it became clear the Collective was too small in your galaxy." The Queen explained, sounding pleased. "The scanners in the new prosthetic will scan the blood stream through the synethic outer skin, transmitting its findings to the Collective. We will learn with each passing micro-second. It is our first step in studying the abilities of the collectives known as the Jedi and the Sith."

He glared at the Borg Queen, his eyes blazing with anger and hate for the monster that took him away. She ignored him as she watched the ship emerge from the tunnel and back into the Maw.

Only now it was in the past.

"Scan the timeline." The Queen stated as the ship moved out of the Maw.

 _Scanning Star Formations_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Timeline Confirmed: Year 2,950 before Ruusan Reformation_

"Astrometric data." The Queen requested.

 _Scanning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Confirmed: Multiple Planets Showing Damage Resulting From Planet Bombadment_

 _Source: Conflict Known as Mandarlorian Wars_

.

.

.

.

.

"Status of Republic fleet."

 _Republic Fleet Status: Ten Percent Effeciancy_

"Too easy." The Queen mused. "Scan for alternate fleet movements."

 _Confirmed_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Location: Sectors part of Unknown Regions_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Historic Records Confirming Origin_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Origin: Sith Empire_

In the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War, the remnants of the original Sith Empire established a new Sith Empire in the galaxy's Unknown Regions. This Empire, also known as the True Sith sect, was created after Sith survivors of Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow's disastrous campaign against the Galactic Republic fled known space to escape persecution by the Republic and its Jedi Order. Led by the Sith Lord Vitiate, the refugees wandered aimlessly through space in search of a new home. Twenty years after their departure from the original Empire's territory, the Sith discovered the forgotten world of Dromund Kaas and settled it to begin the process of rebuilding.

During the rebuilding process, Vitiate proclaimed himself to be the Dark Lord of his order and Emperor of his people. Under the care of the Emperor and his Dark Council of Sith Lords, the Empire established its capital of Kaas City and began building a mighty war machine, with the intent of eventually returning to combat with the Galactic Republic once more. The Empire worked towards that goal for over one thousand years, gradually expanding and gaining more power and influence. During that time, the Sith were discovered by Jedi Knights Revan and Malak, who were forcibly turned to the dark side of the Force by the Emperor and became Sith.

Although they were sent back to serve as the vanguards of the Empire's eventual invasion, they broke free from his conditioning and formed concurrently their own Sith Empire, but the Republic defeated the two and their remnant, and knowledge of the Empire remained hidden. Around three hundred years later, the Sith Empire still under the command of Vitiate was ready to return to the greater galaxy. After covertly installing puppet governments on Republic worlds across the Outer Rim Territories, the Sith invaded Republic space in an onslaught of unrivaled proportions. After capturing and securing much of the Outer Rim in the early stages of what would become known as the Great Galactic War, the Sith Emperor began preparing for the push towards the Republic's bastion in the Galactic Core.

Despite several setbacks in its campaign towards the core, the Empire surged forward once more, crippling the Republic economy through an alliance with the Mandalorian warrior clans. However the blockade was eventually broken by Hylo Visz, and reinforcements from the Republic which brought the war into another stalemate. After nearly three decades of fighting, the Empire surprised the galaxy when the Dark Council extended an offer of peace to the Republic. Desperate, the Republic senate accepted, but during peace talks on Alderaan, the Empire launched a sneak attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant.

The attack was a rousing success for the Empire, allowing the Sith to force the Republic to sign their draft of the document that would end the war, the Treaty of Coruscant. As a result of the Empire's co-existence with the Republic, an interstellar Cold War emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Great War, during which time the Empire engaged in proxy battles and small conflicts with the Republic and its allies. When war did start up again, the Empire started to suffer catastrophic defeats that ranged from losing members of its leadership, to infighting and internal struggles between power-crazed Sith Lords. It soon became just as vulnerable and desperate as the Republic it was fighting.

The infighting was the turning point for the Empire when Darth Marr assumed leadership and with the help of the Empire's most powerful allies, he was able to stabilize the Empire and securing its future and even organizing an alliance with the Republic in dealing with threats like Revan and Vitiate. Eventually the Empire was destroyed by their own former Emperor and the last of the original Sith disappeared from the galaxy, presumingly extinct and the Galactic Republic remerged as the dominant power in the Skyriver Galaxy. Anakin knew all of this history from his studies at the Jedi Temple and a part of him could not believe he had traveled this far back and was a little honored to be the first Jedi to travel this far back in recorded history. But he was still angry at the Borg for taking him back in time in the first place.

"Set course for Dromund Kaas." The Borg Queen stated, surprising Anakin. "We will add the Sith's biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Their culture will adapt to service us."

 _Warning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Temporal Anomaly Detected_

The Queen's eyes narrowed. "Where?"

 _Bearing 1-0-0 Mark 2_

There was a flash of light as a vortex glowing blue and white appeared and from it appeared a ship that resembled a Federation ship but was different in style. Anakin however recognized it along with the ships that followed, causing hope to flow through him.

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Federation Starship Identified as USS Pastak Possibly Equiped With Time Displacement Unit_

The Queen scowled. "They will not stop us. I will not allow. Engage the transwarp drive."

 _Acknowledged_

The Queen's ship fired on the incoming Milky Way ships, demonstrating its awesome fire power as it forced them back. The _Pastak_ however was more advanced and able to withstand the plasma beams from the Borg Diamond as it fired its anti-proton beam arrays, scorching the hull of the Diamond. The Queen realized that she and the Collective could not adapt in time to stop them so began processing a solution.

"Utilize all available power to self replication."

 _Acknowledged_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Replication Systems Activated_

Anakin watched closely as the ship shook again while glowing bright green. The Borg Diamond split into two versions of itself with one firing on the task force and the other moving away. It activated its transwarp engines and quickly vanished into a tunnel of light it had formed while its counterpart, while just as advanced lacked the processing power of the Collective and was destroyed rather easily.

Only it had served its purpose in allowing the Borg to escape.

 **Unknown Regions  
Esstran Sector  
Dromund System  
Dromund Kaas  
Kaas City  
The Citadel**

Deep within the dark depths of the Citadel, the center of the capital city of the Sith Empire a pair of eyes opened. The being known as the Sith Emperor sensed a powerful disturbance in the Force and something else.

Something was approaching the Empire.

Something dangerous.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
Apartment Building**

Bastila smiled down at her son after he had finally gone to sleep. The smile did not last long as she remembered that her son's father was not here to see him grow. The last few years had been difficult in the wake of the recent war caused the woman named Kreia, better known as Darth Traya along with her two fellow Sith Lords Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion. This would be the third galaxy spanning war that saw to the near extinction of the Jedi, if not for the aid of a former Jedi, Meetra Surik, better known as the Exile.

Bastila knew all about the Exile, especially the fact that she was in Bastila's living room right now. "I wasn't sure if we should come. I understand this might be difficult for you but T3 insisted."

Bastila watched as Meetra patted the little astromech droid. As much a friend as she was Bastila could not help but feel a little jealous to Meetra for knowing her husband much longer than her, having stood by him in the war against the Mandalorians and having been an important part of Revan's past. She had returned when the Republic needed her the most and defeated the Sith Triumvirate and helped train the future Jedi who would rebuild the Jedi Order for the future. However she was still unpopular with the older and more conservative members of the Jedi Order and the Republic military.

To come here to see her Meetra must have something important to speak with her. "As much as I tried, I couldn't get him to tell my anything."

Bastila smiled. "I gave him special instructions the night before he left with Revan. I told T3 if they ever became separated, he had to come find me. I programmed him so he wouldn't tell anyone else what happened until I heard it first."

"A wise move." Meetra nodded in agreement. "We've both experienced enough betrayal to understand you never know whom to trust."

"I never imagined I'd be in hiding when he returned. I'm sorry about that T3. If I'd known you were back, I would have tried to contact you." Bastila said to the droid.

The droid beeped, accepting her apology.

"Fortunately he found me. I guess he thought I was the next best thing, given my history with Revan." Meetra commented, seeing Bastila bit her lip. "Or maybe he just knew I'd need his help."

"This little guy does have a knack for joining up with galactic saviors." Bastaile remarked, smirking as the droid beeped at her. "I'm sorry. You're right. You've been very patient so far. I'm just not sure I'm ready to hear what you have to tell me."

"Take your time." Meetra said understandingly. "I know this is difficult. T3's waited three years for this. He want wait for a little while longer."

"Maybe this would be easier if T3 and I spoke in private." Bastila said, trying not to sound rude.

"I understand you want to be cautious." Meetra said, not sounding offended. "But Canderous told me all about Revan and his search for the storm-covered world."

Bastila grimaced. "Is it true? Is Canderous the new Mandalore?"

Meetra nodded. "Revan helped him find Mandalore's Mask before continuing on alone."

"What else do you know that I don't?" Bastila asked, now bitter and jealous.

"I would never intentionally keep any knowledge of Revan from you. You are his wife. You have more right to the truth than anyone."

Bastila had the decency to look ashamed. "You have the same right. You stood by Revan's side at the beginning, he had no truer friend. Whatever T3 has to say, we should hear it together."

Meetra nodded as Bastila sat down next to him. "I'm ready."

T3 then showed them the holo-recording of what happened when he last saw Revan before he was taken by a red skinned man.

"I duess the Sith aren't as extinct as the Jedi thought." Meetra said, recognizing the man instantly for what he was.

"The Order is wrong again." Bastila muttered bitterly. "Big surprise."

T3 beeped, apologizing for his cowardice.

"That wasn't cowardice." Bastila shook her head. "If you hadn't hit, they'd have captured you too. Or turned you into scrap."

"The only way you could help Revan was by making it back in one piece." Meetra said in agreement.

T3 nodded his head and continued the story.

"And you never saw anyone during that time? No refugees? No looters?" Meetra asked.

T3 beeped.

"No animals? No insects? Not even any plants? How could the entire population of an entire world be wiped out?" Bastila asked and was silent as T3 beeped his answer. "Maybe this was the threat Revan spoke of. Did you see a ship? A ship shaped like a diamond and crewed by cybernetic humans?"

T3 beeped and shook his head.

"I find it strange a group of cybernetic humans could be related to the Sith, even if some needed prosthetics." Meetra remarked.

"Revan would have recognized them as Sith but I'm not sure they were even connected to the Sith." Bastila replied and looked at T3 who found the disassembled pieces of Revan's assassin droid HK-47. "Do you have any idea how he got there? I always wondered what happened to him after he got there."

Meetra shook her head. "His memory core was damaged. Even after I repaired him, he was unable to recall anything. Actually, I had hoped you might be able to tell me what happened to him."

Sadly Bastila had no answer. "When he found out Revan left, HK decided to go after him. But I refused to tell him where my husband had gone."

"A wise move. The last thing Revan needed while helping Canderous and the Mandalorians was a homicidal droid following him around." Meetra nodded.

"HK stormed off, swearing he would track Revan down on his own. That was the last I heard of him untul he showed up with you." Bastila finished.

"There must be some part of his programming that compels him to seek Revan out." Meetra stated. "If I had known that I would have been more careful."

"What do you mean?"

"I left HK under the supervision of the new Jedi Council. I didn't think it was safe to have him roaming the galaxy, and I assumed he would be content to stay with the Jedi, awaiting further orders. But he disappeared soon after I left. Now I realized he's probably gone in search of Revan again."

"Is there ant chance he'll find him?" Bastile looked at T3. "Did you tell him anything about what happened to Revan?"

T3 beeped negative.

"The Jedi are already searching for HK. Don't worry about him." Meetra said reassuringly.

Bastila nodded. "T3. Tell us the rest of your story. What happened next?"

T3 then explained how he fell in with Meetra and how he helped her but felt guilty for taking so long to come to Bastila with what he knew about Revan.

"Revan would be proud of you. I'm proud of you too." Bastila smiled at the droid.

"I think our path is clear. I will go to Nathema and see if I can learn Revan's fate." Meetra decided.

"You? What about me? You expect me to just sit here and wait, not even knowing if he's alive or dead?" Bastila asked, becoming angry again.

"What has changed since Revan left? You stayed behind to care for your son. Are you prepared to leave him behind now?" Meetra asked.

"Of course not!" Bastila spat but thought it over and realized Meetra was right. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I just…I miss him. I feel so helpless. So useless. All I do is wait. You don't understand how hard it's been."

"I can only imagine how you've suffered. I wish I could say it will get easer. But I fear that may no be the case. We all have our burdens to bear, and this is yours." Meetra said gently. "I will do everything in my power to find Revan. If he is still alive I will do whatever it takes to bring him back to you."

Before Meetra left Bastila gave her a few things she wanted her to give to Revan.

A holorecording of their son's birthday.

And a mask.

The Mask of Revan.

 **Unknown Regions  
Sith Space**

The Borg Diamond emerged from transwarp space into normal space, the coordinates stating the ship was on the far edge of the Sith Empire. This would allow the Borg to build up their forces as they assimilate the Empire into their Collective. It didn't take long before their appearance was detected and a Sith dreadnaught intercepted it.

" _You are trespassing into the territory of the Empire. You will surrender and prepare to be boarded or be destroyed._ "

The response was immediate.

" _We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender you ship. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. You culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile._ "

The _Harrower_ -class dreadnaught fired its forward turbo-lasers at the ship but the Borg adapted its shields and fired back, piercing the shields and began carving out the ship's hull while the crew was slowly beamed onto the Borg ship and assimilated.

This was only the beginning.

Anakin watched as the Borg took over the Sith Dreadnaught and thus gained access to all their records of every known stronghold in the Sith Empire. From then on the Borg struck at outer patrols, capturing, destroying, and assimilating while slowly amassing a large fleet. The Sith resisted and fought back but the Borg kept on deploying the same subspace dampening field they used to cut off Anakin's connection to the Force. It left the Sith caught off guard and unsure how to fight without the power that served them well for a thousand years and the Borg quickly overwhelmed them.

The Sith, the ancient enemy of the Jedi were slowly losing against the cybernetic menace from another galaxy that worked differently than themselves and the Jedi.

The Borg were here.

And they were growing.

 **Dromund Kaas  
Kaas City  
The Citadel**

It had been an event like nothing ever before for the people of the Sith Empire.

The Emperor himself addressed the people of Dromund Kaas from his Citadel, warning them of an impending threat to them and their civilization and it was shown to them in holo-recordings of a strange ship and its cybernetic crew attacking ships and worlds on the far side of the Empire.

And then there was the message sent on all channels.

" _We are the Borg. Existence as you've known it is over. From this point on, you will service us._ "

This message was sent by people of the Empire, themselves. But they had been converted into cybernetic abominations that now fought against their Empire and their Emperor. As a response to this message the Emperor ordered that the Empire's vast war fleet be mobilized and destroy this threat. The people had answered by preparing for the first full scale war since the Great Hyperspace War.

The Sith had vowed no one would ever threaten them again and they would defeat this new threat, these so-called Borg.

The Sith were going to war.

 **USS _Pastak  
_ Walker's Ready Room**

"It's wore than we feared. The Borg are mounting an attack on the faction known in this timeline as the Sith Empire." Walker said, sharing his report with the senior officers of the other ships that had come back in time with him. "If we don't hurry they'll alter the timeline for the Skyriver Galaxy beyond repair."

" _What do you suggest?_ " Captain Shon asked.

"We follow the Borg and destroy any trace of them. With any luck we stop any permanent changes to the timeline." Walker stated.

" _That will be risky._ " Malcolm stated.

"Risk is part of our business." Walker said with a grim smile. "I'm sending you the coordinates to the territory of the Sith Empire in this timeline. We'll know where the Borg are and just how much damage they have done."

 **Nyriss's Stronghold**

Scourge felt nervous and he actually had good reason to feel that way. He and Nyriss had joined to free the Empire from the Emperor and yet Nyriss refused to make any move. And now the Empire was facing another threat, not from the Jedi or the Republic but a more mysterious threat of advanced cyborgs. They could not dare make a move on the Emperor in the middle of a war.

Without the Emperor leading them the Empire's political structure would suffer and the Dark Council would take over. Only they might end up fighting each other over who the successor would be and cause the Empire to fracture. That was the last thing they needed, especially in the wake of a threat the Sith had not encountered since the Great Hyperspace War.

It led Scourge to seek advice from someone who had been kept in Nyriss's dungeon since he had been brought here.

The Jedi known as Revan who he had captured on Nathema. Scourge interrogated the Jedi and he had answered many questioned. He had learned that Revan and Malak had been turned to the Dark Side by the Emperor and sent back to weaken the Republic. Only Revan and Malak had broke free of his control and attempted to take over the Republic and prepare it for when the Empire would attack.

But Malak betrayed Revan and almost killed him before he was captured by the Jedi and they erased his memories. He defeated Malak but had visions of a storm-covered world, Dromund Kaas. Nyriss had no more use for him, believing she knew all she needed to know but Scourge wanted to know more. Revan confided in him that he had dreams of a diamond shaped ship crewed by human looking cyborgs.

It became even more imperative that Scourge seek the only person he knew could help save the Empire.

He opened the door and stepped inside the cell, seeing the prisoner where he was almost was since his capture. "Revan. I wish to speak with you."


	42. Chapter 42

The war was not going well.

The Sith Empire was fighting back and fighting back hard against the slowly growing Borg threat. In some battles the Empire was victorius in pushing the Borg back but in other fights the Borg were victorious. After finding refuge on Dromund Kaas, the Sith began a massive build up of military forces under Grand Moff Odile Vaiken. He started construction on a massive armada that took centuries to complete, knowing he would not be alive when it was done.

All non-Force-sensitive people living on Dromund Kaas were conscripted either into the Navy or the Imperial Army. With the support of the Dark Council, Vaiken dedicated the entire Imperial Army to the task, assigning his forces to mine for resources, engineer the vessels, and manufacture the ships. Vaiken lived long enough to see the production of the first of his newly-designed Star Destroyers, and Vaiken's achievements earned him the title of Grand Moff from the Emperor himself. And now the war machine that was started centuries ago was fighting a true enemy for the first time.

And the enemy was winning.

The Borg Diamond was on a direct course to Dromund Kaas with its fleet now assembled. The minor skirmishes were all for the purpose of assimilating enough of the Empire to take the capital planet and begin adding the Empire into the Collective.

"The Collective will emerge greater than before." The Queen smiled as Dromund Kaas came into view.

The small fleet consisted of the Borg Diamond and twelve assimilated Star Destroyers out of the fifty that were destroyed in the following battles.

"We shall prevail."

()

Meeta Surik had followed T3's directions to Nathema where she slowly pieced together what happened. Arriving on the planet, Surik immediately became disturbed by The Void to the point of feeling physically ill. In contrast to the feelings of horror in death that she could feel at Malachor V, Nathema was just dead. The once-populated, once-agricultural world had no living things of any kind anywhere on the planet, and the whole world was a dead spot in the Force.

Surik and T3 located a government building and sliced into its network to retrieve files on the nature of the planet. After returning to the Ebon Hawk, Surik fled the system as fast as the Ebon Hawk would fly before pouring over the information that T3 had retrieved. Looking at the records she discovered that during the last few days of the Great Hyperspace the ruler of the planet, a Darth Vitiate who was an immensely powerful Sith Lord had been been its ruler for many years did not fight in the war. Instead he seemingly remained but had sent out news to its people that the Jedi and the Republic were coming to finish them after the fall of Korriban.

He had described in detail what the Jedi would do to them once they were found, driving them into a state of terror. It seemed this Vitiate had intentionally done it until the people turned to him, blindly following him as he offered them hope for their survival. In the meantime the scouts he sent out had found Dromund Kaas, a long-lost colony world of the Sith but kept it a secret from all except for Vitiate. They had scouted the planet and theorized a hyperspace route that safely take them to Dromund Kaas without fear of being followed by the Jedi.

She read that after the war Vitiate had called many of the surviving Sith leaders to his world to discuss the future of their kind. The Sith Lords had arrived on Nathema after Vitiate announced commencement of a ritual that would make the Sith more powerful than ever before, but shortly afterward all records of every kind ceased to be recorded so it was hard to tell if the Sith Empire still actually existed but Meetra was willing to bet it had indeed survived somehow. Surik surmised that Vitiate had invited the other Sith Lords to his planet as a trap, and once they arrived, had enacted the Sith sorcery that had destroyed the world. Through fortunate happenstance, Surik also learned that Vitiate had had his people searching for Dromund Kaas.

It was likely that Vitiate had survived, given what he had done up to the point of the ritual. The people of Nathema looked to him for hope and he instead had given them a fate worse than death and possibly emerged more powerful from the ritual that destroyed Nathema, including the very few who knew about Dromund Kaas. With the destruction of Nathema Vitiate could use it to convince the other remaining Sith worlds to follow him as he leads them to somewhere safe. It wouldn't surprise Meetra if Vitiate intentionally made sure the journey to Dromund Kaas took a long time, making sure that during the exodus the people would come to rely on him for strength and guidance.

By the time they reached Dromund Kaas they might even have worshiped him as a god.

It was brilliant and terrifying at the same time that someone, even a Sith would be capable of such planning.

And given the thousands of years that had passed after the Great Hyperspace War and how aggressive the original Sith species had been it was likely that they had not only rebuilt their empire but expanded in the Unknown Regions. Centuries of building their fleets and armies for the day they would return and exact their revenge on the Republic and the Jedi. There's no telling how much the new Sith Empire had expanded since the colonization of Dromund Kaas. In the state the Republic was currently in it would be destroyed by the resurgent Sith that would not rest until the last of the Republic and the Jedi were exterminated much how the Sith had almost been.

Revan had left to find a dangerous threat in the Unknown Regions and the possible return of the Sith Empire from the Great Hyperspace War would certainly qualify as a threat. Canderous stated that Revan told him to prepare the Mandalorians, make them strong against for the emergence of this possible threat. She looked for any records on where Dromunnd Kaas might be located, seeing that it was not a planet known to the Republic.

With T3's expert slicing skills, they were able to determine both the location of the world as well as a safe hyperspace route. With this knowledge, the pair set course for the unknown world and left Nathema silent once more. She knew it would be dangerous to go to Dromund Kaas by herself but she believed she had a chance, especially since the Sith didn't realize that someone outside of their Empire knew they were still alive. The Republic was in no shape for an invasion from the Sith and to be honest Meetra didn't expect to even believe her or T3.

The Jedi refused to intervene in the Mandalorian Wars and did almost nothing against the Sith Triumvirate and the Republic was still in tatters from the last two wars. The Order needed to be refomed and she hoped the apprentices she had trained would help create a new generation of Jedi that would be ready to defend the Republic when the Sith truly returned. When Meetra's ship emerged from hyperspace she instantly sensed some sort of danger and gasped when she saw the massive fleet orbiting the world she assumed to be Dromund Kaas.

In addition the fleet she sensed something…

It did not feel like the Dark Side.

It felt empty, a feeling void of light and darkness but held a great intelligence.

And it was growing stronger.

Meetra's senses screamed danger as a green appeared over her ship.

"Tractor beam!" Meetra cursed as she struggled to break the ship free.

In a flash of light she was not in her ship anymore. She looked around, seeing herself and T3 in a large green and black tinted room with advanced technology and she spotted a young man dressed like a Jedi strapped to a table.

"Run!" He shouted at her.

"Well, well."Meetra spun around, activating her lightsaber as a woman stepped out of the shadows. "I did not expect to encounter a Jedi this far."

"Who are you?" Meetra sensed a powerful mind that seemed to expand throughout the ship.

"Your attempts to probe my thoughts are futile. The Collective is too great for a single life form to be stopped." The Queen stated as she slowly strolled forward.

"Who are you?" Meetra asked trying to sense this woman's intentions.

"I am the voice of perfection." The woman answered, echoing what she said to Anakin. "I am the Collective. I am the beginning, the end. The one who is many. I am the Borg."

"Borg?" Meetra questioned.

"They're a hive mind! Cyborgs mentally linked together and they force it on others!" Anakin shouted. "They want to do the same to the Republic!"

Meetra narrowed her eyes as she pointed her lightsaber at the Borg Queen. "Stand down."

The Queen looked up and above them the energy field projected around Anakin expanded and engulfed the room, causing Meetra to lose her touch with the Force.

"What?!" Meetra gasped, feeling the loss of the Force.

"We have had ample time to study your so-called Force. The microschopic organisms in your bodies enhance the mental capabilities of the organic bodies they infest. A symbiotic relationship is formed and thus the organisms provide you with the abilities you refer to as this Force." The Queen explained. "And now we are in the position to use it to assimilate the Sith Empire and then your Republic. Your biological capabilities will be added to our own. You will adapt to service us."

"I will not. I will die before that happens." Meetra stated readying herself despite the fact that she could not use the Force.

"Death is irrelevant. Resistane is futile." The Queen stated as two tactical drones stepped out of the shadows behind her and approached Meetra.

Meetra stayed her ground as the two drones approached, keeping an eye on both of them as the Queen looked at the screen. "Status."

 _Subspace Field System Ready_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Projected Simulation: 100% Success_

"Begin." The Queen stated.

At last all in the galaxy would become one with the Borg.

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Unknown Energy Surge Detected_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Detecting Chronoton and Graviton Particles_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Matching Energy used by Starfleet Time Vessel_

The Queen narrowed her eyes as the scanners detected something. One of the assimilated Star Destroyers was destroyed by an advanced beam weapon that ignored Borg shielding. Whatever the weapon was it insured there was no wreckage left behind from the ship's destruction.

"Locate."

 _Scanning_

.

.

.

.

.

 _Unable to Detect_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Conclusion: Possibility of Cloaking Device in use_

"The ships that pursued us." The Queen narrowed her eyes as three more Star Destroyers. "Scan weaponry."

 _Scanning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Scan Complete_

 _Results: Hybrid Anti-Proton/Chronoton Particle Beam_

 _Description: Beam weapon works on same principal as Anti-Proton beam weaponry. The Chronoton particles remove target remains out of current quantum reality._

"Time to adapt."

 _Unknown_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Frequency too erratic_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Shielding Unable to Adapt_

"Clever." The Queen admitted as Dromund Kaas came into range.

A beam hit the Borg Diamond, damaging it and caused the subspace dampening field to short circuit. Anakin and Meetra felt the Force return and took advantage of it. Meetra quickly Force-pushed the two tactical drones back, shoving them into the wall while Anakin broke free of his restraints.

Anakin summoned his lightsaber from a nearly table and activated, cornering the Borg Queen with Meetra. "It's over."

"The Collective will not fall. I will not allow it." The Queen stated calmly.

"You have fallen. The Borg will never have this galaxy." Anakin retorted, pointing his lightsaber at the Queen's neck. "Now or ever."

"Stand down." Meetra stated.

The Queen glanced at the remaining drones and they began vanishing in flashes of light. "The Collective will endure."

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Foreign Data Accessing Collective Network_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Data-Network Compromised_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Virus Interfacing with the Collective_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Subspace Connection Infected_

The Queen narrowed her eyes as the Borgified ships outside became more erratic and began firing on each other, slowly destroying each other.

"They've infected your ships. The Borg will fall here!" Anakin slashed at the Queen but a green shield blocked his lightsaber.

"The Borg always survive." The Queen said as she vanished in a flash of green light.

"No!" Anakin shouted in frustration.

"Where did she go?" Meetra asked, looking around the chamber as the ship began to shake.

The Sith fleet was taking advantage of the Borg's weakness and attacked their remaining ships.

"She must have transported down to the planet." Anakin answered, turning to the Queen's alcove. "We got to get off this ship before it's destroyed."

"How? Do you know where the escape pods are?" Meetra asked.

"Borg ships don't have escape pods." Anakin said, remembering from his studies on the Borg.

He had spent days studying up on the Borg, their ships, their tactics, and trying to understand their technology from the Starfleet databanks. He knew that the ships were fully automated, relying on the Collective to control the ship rather than the use of ship controls and consoles.

Luckily the Force decided to save the both of them as both Jedi vanished in beams of blue light as the Borg Diamond was destroyed by the barrage of turbo-laser fire from the Sith fleet. The Borg fleet was entirely wiped out in a manner of moments with almost nothing left of them to salvage.

()

Anakin and Meetra appeared in what appeared to the bridge of a ship. Meetra did not recognize any of the people or instruments but Anakin did.

This was a Starfleet vessel.

"Anakin Skywalker. It's been a while." Captain Benjamin Walker said, standing before them.

"Captain Walker." Anakin stated, remembering the man from their brief meeting in the Milky Way Galaxy when he ended up in the past and in the middle of a war between a race of humans and a race of genocidal machines. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"When the Borg make temporal incursions into the past of any galaxy that might affect us you will find us there working to keep the timeline from deteriorating." Walker answered with a small smile. "I brought handful of ships from the present and…While making sure they sign an agreement to hand back whatever they are given I allowed their ships to be upgraded with thirty first century technology, making them more than a match for the Borg in this timeline."

"We have a problem. Some of the Borg escaped and I think they beamed down to the planet." Anakin stated. "We have to destroy them."

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Meetra spoke up, looking between them. "Just who are you? You don't look Republic at all."

"That's because I am not and neither is this ship." Walker answered and he gave a slight bow. "I am Captain Benjamin Walker of the United Federation of Planets, from the Milky Way Galaxy and this is the Federation Timeship USS _Patask_."

Needless to say they had a lot to talk about.

 **Dromund Kaas  
Darth Nyriss's Stronghold**

"Revan."

The Jedi opened his eyes, seeing the Sith that had come to visit him often. "I'm sorry, my lord. I'm having trouble…focusing. It's good to see you again. I always enjoy your visits."

The result of the drugs in Revan's system left him slightly disorientated but he could still communicate and think.

"We were attacked today. An unknown force invaded our empire and was just now destroyed in orbit. These creatures, these Borg were unlike anything we encountered before." Scourge slowly explained.

"I sensed something…Above this planet…An emptiness, driven and knowledgable but neither light or dark. I could feel it…It still exists." Revan replied.

"Their ship was destroyed. There were no escape pods." Scourge pointed out.

"These beings…They are one with their technology as we are with the Force. You cannot underestimate them, even in death." Revan slowly said.

Scourge narrowed his eyes. "No would be the perfect time…But Nyriss still refuses to take any real action against the Emperor. She tells me we must be patient, but her energies and resources are focued on besting her rivals on the Dark Council."

"Nyriss is driven by fear, especially in wake of the invasion. Openly striking against the Emperor puts her life at risk. Her own immediate survival is more important to her than the fate of your Empire, especially with the arrival of the new threat." Revan spoke slowly.

"There are powerful allies who could be persuaded to help her. All they need is someone to step up and take charge. All they need is a leader to spur them into action." Scourge replied.

"I was betrayed by Malak. Nyriss is afraid the same thing could happen to her. If she steps forward as a leader, she can no longer hide in the shadows with the others. She will be exposed and it would only take one ambitious rival to betray her to the Emperor and being everything crashing fown. The Borg…They terrify her now because it means the Emperor will be more guarded in the wake of this attack."

Scourge nodded in agreement, remembering how Nyriss did the same to Darth Xedrix. "If all the conspirators are too afraid to step forward the Emperor will never be stopped. Eventually he will lead us into a war we cannot win and the Jedi will wipe us out in retaliation. Ultimately doing nothing is the most dangerous choice of all."

"Nyriss blinds herself to the truth. That is the way of the dark side. Those who follow it are driven by fear and ambition. They are too selfish to see that great victories often require sacrifice."

Scourge grimaced at that but couldn't refute Revan's argument.

"You need to find another ally to your cause. Someone powerful, but who is not caught up in the politics of the Dark Council."

This time Scourge laughed. "You must be growing desperate if you think you can talk me into helping you escape."

"We share a common goal." Revan said. "We both want to stop the Emperor from invading the Republic. But I am not proposing an alliance. I do not need your help to escape. The Force has shown me that my freedom is drawing near."

"The Force has shown you? What do you mean? Have you had a vision?"

"The Force has shown me that my future lies beyond these walls." Revan told him.

"I don't put much faith in visions and prophecies." Scourge said.

"Have you ever felt a premonition of danger through the Force? Sensed a threat before it was revealed?" Revan asked.

"Of course."

"The visions are merely an extrapolation of this. The Force flows across both space and time, it links the past, present, and future."

"It is said that Naga Sadow had visions of the Sith crushing the Republic during the Great Hyperspace War. We both know that never came to pass." Scourge countered,

"The future is always in motion. The Force grants us visions that show us only one of many possible outcomes."

"Then what use are they?"

"They can guide our actions, give us direction. They can show us a path we wish to follow or one we can try to avoid."

"Like the vision that brought you here. The dream of Dromund Kaas and its storm covered skies?" Scourge stated. "And the vision of the diamond shaped ship, the Borg ship?"

"The image of Dromund Kaas was a memory, not a vision. The vision of these Borg was a warning of something dangerous."

"And what does your vision show you? How do you make your great escape from this dungeon?"

"You will understand in time."

"I have no wish to play your games." Scourge snapped and left the room.

Once he was gone Revan whispered a single world. "Meetra."


	43. Chapter 43

**USS _Patask  
_ Guest Quarters**

Meetra Surik had seen many things in her life as a Jedi and commander during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. She had faced thugs, gangs, assassin droids, bounty hunters, Mandalorians, Dark Jedi, and even Sith Lords. She had defeated the Sith Triumvirate and single handedly ended the war but as this Jedi before her, Anakin Skywalker explained this mysterious ship, this time-ship and the origins of the Borg and he was from the future she was tempted to say he was crazy. Only she could sense what he was telling her was not any form of deception.

The Jedi Order would find it hard to believe and claim they would have sensed this other universe but Meetra's faith in the Jedi was not as strong as it used to be, especially after her falling out with the Council.

"And now the Borg are here and they want to assimilate the entire galaxy." Anakin finished his explanation.

"So, the Republic endures. Do the Sith return?" Meetra asked, almost sounding excited.

Anakin hesitated but nodded. "The Sith do return and they are eventually defeated but they survive. Only in the future only two exist."

"Two?" Meetra questioned.

"Well, it is said that eventually a single Sith Lord survived and trained only one apprentice and continued from there. The Sith went into hiding for thousands of years as they waited, studied, and plotted their return while following their rule, the Rule of Two that states only two Sith will exist. A Master and an Apprentice. I've faced two Sith Apprentices but the Master…We still have no idea who he really is." Anakin explained. "But I know the Sith are responsible for the war that is coming in the future."

Meetra considered his tale. "You know more than you are telling me, Skywalker."

"Well, it's because…I have experience with time travel. It happened when I was in the other galaxy and these people, this Temporal Department supposedly monitors the past for changes to the timeline and they try to prevent it from altering the future. It's a bit hard to understand but they are strict in how they want to protect the future." Anakin rubbed the back of his head.

"But the future is always in motion. Time is always shifting and changing as we have seen through the Force." Meetra pointed out.

"But in this galaxy they don't use the Force, at least not in the way we do. It's different there." Anakin said slowly.

"I see…Will they help us?" Meetra asked.

Anakin looked thoughtful. "Well, they came back to stop the Borg so I believe they can help us. But I'm not sure they will do anything about the Sith."

"They are aware of the threat the Sith represent, do they not?" Meetra asked.

"They might be but they have their own problems in their galaxy. I've read up about them and the more they explore space the more dangers and oddities they encounter. I mean aside from the Borg Starfleet makes a living out of seeing strange things in space." Anakin remarked with a small grin. "One of them looking like a gigantic amoeba."

Meetra raised both eyebrows. "…Excuse me?"

"Trust me, you're the only one to react that way." Anakin chuckled as he remembered reading about the many things that happened in the Milky Way Galaxy.

A race of evil cyborgs.

Alternate universes where evil versions of people who are good in the prime universe exist.

Time travel.

A race of liquid like aliens that could morph into any form they wished and grew warriors to fight their battles.

A race of sentient rock-like creatures.

Massive machines that could destroy entire planets.

And that was not even half of it.

And the less said about Q the better.

"The Milky Way Galaxy has its share of problem and though they could be of great help we can't force them to help us." Anakin shrugged.

Meetra considered what he said and nodded. "I suppose it is only natural for another galaxy to want to stay out of the troubles of our own. So what happens now?"

"I believe we need to speak with Captain Walker."

 **Dromund Kaas  
Kaas City  
Sith Citadel  
Emperor's Throne Room**

He could sense something.

A presence above his world, lingering there after the destruction of the Borg fleet. And he sensed two beings powerful in the Force. They somehow appeared out of nowhere and he wanted answers.

And he would get them.

Reaching out with his powers the stormy sky above the Citadel turned darker as a vortex slowly began to appear.

 **Kass City**

The citizens of the Sith Empire rejoiced their victory over the invaders that dared to challenge them. The Borg brought the battle to Domund Kass and they were destroyed by the might of the Empire. A Sith was enjoying a drink in a bar, celebrating with his people but sensed something was wrong.

A feeling of emptiness.

That was when a scream was heard before his connection to the Force was lost.

And then he lost control of his body when he felt something like a needle being injected into his neck.

"Resistance is futile."

 **USS _Pastak_  
Captain's Ready Room**

"I can't help you in this matter." Walker said to Meetra. "This timeline is perhaps too far damaged to be repaired by a simple rescue."

"Then let me go down to the planet. I came here looking for a friend." Meetra replied.

"I know and I am reviewing the best way for that to be done. Master Jedi, I'm not sure how much you understand the danger we are in. The timeline being altered by the events of today can seriously alter the future of not just your galaxy but my own as well. The Borg have damaged this timeline and before I send anyone on a rescue mission I have to correct it." Walker explained.

"How do you plan to do that?" Anakin asked.

"By stopping the Borg from ever back in time." Walker answered as he stood up. "If the Borg do not go back in time then this entire disaster is adverted."

"And what about us? Do you plan to take us with you?" Meetra asked. "I must rescue my friend."

"And you will…" Walker said but stopped as his computer beeped. "Yes?"

" _Captain, we are picking up some kind of hyperspace event being formed just above the planet._ "

"Is our cloak still operating?" Walker asked.

" _Yes but the vortex is expanding. There's a partial drain on the cloak._ "

Meetra looked over her shoulder, as if seeing something there. "They know."

"Meetra?" Anakin looked at her.

"The Sith, they know we're here and they want this ship." Meetra explained as she looked back at Anakin and Walker. "They're conjuring some sort of hyperspace vortex…It'll swallow this ship no matter what you try. We have to stop them."

"How?" Anakin asked.

"I need to get down to the surface, draw their attention on to me." Meetra answered, looking at Walker. "Can you transport me down to the surface like before when you transported us off the Borg ship?"

"I can." Walker nodded and quickly tapped his comm badge. "Walker to bridge. Lock onto Meetra Surik and her droid and beam them down to the planet. Somewhere outside of any populated areas."

"She's not going alone." Anakin spoke up, walking up to Meetra. "I can't leave a fellow Jedi down on a planet populated by Sith."

"If you follow me you might never return." Meetra replied.

"She's right, Skywalker." Walker agreed. "We can't alter events in the past any further than we already have."

"And you can't stay near Dromund Kaas as long as the Sith sense you." Anakin said sternly. "Come back for me after we stop the Sith from getting their hands on future technology."

Walker looked reluctant but nodded. "Beam down Skywalker and the other two down to the planet and then pull out. We'll return at a different time."

" _Aye sir._ "

Walker shared one last nod to Anakin and Surik as they disappeared in pillars of blue light. "Engage the time drive."

 **Dromund Kaas  
Outskirts of Kaas City**

Anakin, Meetra, and T3 looked around, seeing there was in a forest with dark clouds overhead.

"This transporter…It's very effective." Meetra admitted.

"It sure is. I'd love to get my hands on one and take it apart." Anakin nodded. "Okay, this is your mission, Meetra. So I'll follow."

Meetra nodded. "I believe I know where to start."

 **Kaas City**

The celebration ended rather suddenly as many Sith sensed the same feeling of emptiness from before and then came the reports of the Borg appearing in the underworld of Kaas City, assimilating Sith, humans, slaves, and even droids. No one was spared as the Borg began spreading from the depths of Kaas City. The Dark Council ordered the Borg be destroyed and thus their armies marched down the streets of the city, coming upon the smaller Borg army that had already begun modifying several buildings with their technology.

"Annihilate them all!" The lead Sith shouted, igniting his lightsaber.

The army roared as they charged forward, shooting at the growing Borg army only easily adapted to their blaster technology and deployed their Psionic-Dampening field that affected the Force around them. They technology even cancelled out Sith Lightning as they fought back, firing high-powered plasma beams that killed over a dozen Sith troopers. The Sith fought back just as hard but the Borg were an unknown enemy that frightened them.

That fear turned to anger and that anger led to hate that allowed the Dark Side to fuel their power.

Only the Borg continued to use their dampening fields to cancel out the power of the Sith, killing some, assimilating a few, and forcing even fewer to try fight without relying on the Force. A few levitated large objects and used as projectiles, killing a dozen Borg drones but the Borg fought back, destroying any objects flying at them with their plasma disruptors.

"Call for air support!" A General shouted as the front lines started to fall.

They could not let the Borg reached the Citadel.

The Empire would _not_ fall.

 **Sith Citadel**

The Emperor clenched a fist as he received reports of the Borg pushing forward. Even he had never encountered an enemy as persistent as these cybernetic creatures but he would not let it end here.

"My lord, the front lines call for air support." A messenger reported.

"Kill them all. Bomb the entire area and leave nothing alive." The Emperor whispered.

"Yes, My Lord." The messenger bowed.

Things were unraveling too fast that the Emperor realized if something was not done the Empire would be destroyed here and now.

He would not fall.

He would live forever.

 **Darth Nyriss's Strongold**

Scourge entered Nyriss's quarters, seeing her at her desk. "You summoned me, my lord?"

"The time is right, Scourge. These enemies calling themselves the Borg have infiltrated Kaas City and they are slowly pushing forward. Now is the chance we have been waiting for. The chance to kill the Emperor." Nyriss stated with a small grin.

"Would it not be easier to wait until after the Borg have been defeated?" Scourge questioned.

Nyriss shook her head. "If the Borg are defeated before the Emperor is killed he can it use to further tighten his hold as the people will flock to him. If we eliminate the Emperor before that happens the Dark Council can take over and claim he was killed in a surprise Borg attack."

Scourge thought it over and though he would rather be out on the front lines fighting the Borg he did believe it was the right time to kill the Emperor. Only he was worried that when the Dark Council took over it would cause the Empire to fracture if the Dark Council members began fighting for who would be the successor. Revan said Nyriss was motivated by fear that kept her from openly defying the Emperor before.

Was it fear of someone else taking over before her that was influencing her now?

"I will speak with the other members of the Dark Council. They have already agreed and are moving their own followers into position. I have another assignment for you." Nyriss continued. "Two Jedi have been spotted in the outskirts of Kaas City. You are to find them and bring them to me. They are both strong with the Force and they suddenly appeared, in the same manner as the Borg."

"You suspect they are connected with the Borg? Allies?" Scourge questioned.

Nyriss nodded. "It is very likely. If we are truly defeat the Borg and free the Empire we must understand how these creatures have suddenly appeared. Murtog has already assembled a security force to aid you in capturing these Jedi."

Scourge nodded and bowed. "I will not fail, my lord."

Nyriss nodded in her dismissal and he quickly left. As he left her stronghold with Murtog and his men Scourge contemplated what he had learned and remembered his conversation with Revan.

If two Jedi were here does this mean they would be the ones to rescue him?

Were they strong enough to face him?

Scourge had never fought a Jedi before and he was honestly excited about the idea of facing not one but two Jedi in combat. But then he thought back to the situation with the Borg and wondered if Nyriss was truly thinking of helping the Empire or was this her way of ensuring she would be the one to take over as Empress once their coup was successful?

Too many questions.

()

Anakin followed Meetra and T3 through the forests, trusting her to lead them to some place where they can be safe or a place to hold off the Sith.

"The city's not too far from here." Meetra stopped and looked at the city, seeing explosions in the distance. "It seems the Borg have begun their invasion."

"Then we better hurry." Anakin said but stopped. "Do you-"

Meetra ignited her lightsaber, deflecting a blaster bolt that had been aimed at the back of her head. Anakin quickly ignited his own lightsaber and helped deflect several more blaster bolts, spotting men in armor, similar to the armor used by the clone troopers and he counted four of them. Anakin and Meetra deflected more blaster bolts before Meetra leapt forward and thrust her lightsaber through a vulnerable joint between the chest plate and the right shoulder guard.

"They are wearing cortosis laced armor!" Meetra called out as she lashed out with the Force, knocking another across the woods.

Anakin rushed forward and took down the last two troopers quickly. Even though the troopers were taken down both Jedi kept their ligthsabers active as they sensed something.

"We know you're there. Come out." Anakin called out.

Just as he said those words a red skinned man, a Sith wearing black armor and a cloak stepped out intwo view. He held out his hand and ignited a red lightsaber as he stared them down.

"You are Jedi." He said, looking at both of them. "What he said was true. He saw you. He knew."

"What are you talking about?" Meetra asked.

"You're here because of Revan. You've come to rescue him." The Sith said, his voice full of seemingly wonder.

"I'm impressed you figured it out so quickly." Meeta admitted.

"I didn't figure it out. Revan told me." The Sith answered, confusing them both.

"What do you mean Revan told you?"

"When I last spoke with him said something I didn't believe. I thought he was lying to manipulate me. I didn't understand what he was trying to tell me."

"If you spoke with Revan, then you know where he is." Meetra said.

Anakin remained silent, looking in between the two of them.

"Revan is a prisoner." The Sith said.

"Then I order you to set him free!"

"It's not that simple."

"Tell me where Revan is. Tell me where he is being held and I will let you walk away." Meetra stated.

"Come with me and I will take you all to see Revan." The Sith deactivated his blade. "He will tell you the truth."

Meetra kept her guard up as T3 beeped. "T3's right. We've already had a few fights today. How do we know we're not walking into a trap?"

"Revan told me you were coming. I think the Force gave him a vision of us working together." The Sith answered.

"Then why attack us?" Anakin finally asked.

"I was ordered to capture you."

"And you won't?" Meetra questioned.

"No because I finally understand what Revan meant. He wants us to unite against a common foe." The Sith answered.

"What common foe?"

"Our Emperor is planning an invasion of the Republic. Revan wants to stop him. So do I."

Now Meetra was confused. "Why would you want to stop an invasion of the Republic?"

"The Emperor is mad. He wants to repeat the mistakes of the Great Hyperspace War; he wants to plunge us into a conflict that will end with our extinction."

Meetra lowered her lightsaber but didn't deactivate it while Anakin remembered it wasn't an invasion of the Republic that ended in the extinction of the Sith.

"Then why did you take Revan prisoner on Nathema?" Meetra asked.

"That was before I knew his purpose here." The Sith answered. "You spoke of Nathema. Have you been to that world? Have you walked upon its surface?"

"I have." Meetra said with a haunted expression on her face.

"That was the Emperor's world. To give himself greater power, he unleashed a ritual that devoured everything. When I saw what happened there, I realized the true depths of his insanity. I realized his mind was so twisted and disturbed that he was not fit to rule and I swore to find a way to stop him." The Sith paused. "You both walk the path of the light; I have chosen to follow the dark side. But we both know the horrors of Nathema are a blight upon the galaxy. Revan knows this as well. That is why he wants us to work together."

Meetra glanced at Anakin before deactivating her blade. "Before we go anywhere with you we're going to need more than just your word. Why were you sent here to capture us?"

"Nyriss sent me. She believes she can kill the Emperor with the mysterious creatures, the Borg attacking. She believes you know how to stop them." The Sith answered.

"The Borg are a threat to the entire galaxy. They want to assimilate everyone in their reach and they won't stop. They will adapt to everything used against them and they assimilate, transforming people into them." Anakin spoke, earning their attention. "We do need to unite, not just against the Sith Emperor but also against the Borg." He turned to Meetra. "We cannot wait and see if he is telling the truth. If the Borg are victorious we all lose."

Meetra glanced at Anakin and then back at the Sith who seemed interested in what Anakin had said. "If the threat is as great as my friend says I cannot wait for proof so…I'll put my faith in you. Lead us to Revan."

The Sith nodded. "I am Lord Scourge."

"I am Jedi Knight Meetra Surik and with me is Knight Anakin Skywalker."

 **Battlefield  
Kaas City**

Airships and bombers flew over the city and released their continents, blasting apart streets and buildings populated by Borg drones and infected with their technology. They flew over in groups of three and made quick strafing runs over the enemy lines before dropping their bombs and firing their weapons. That was not the end as bombardment from _Harrower_ Class Dreadnaughts in orbit lended their aid to the destruction of the invading cyborgs, creating massive explosions that incinerated anything they touched. The Borg fell back, seemingly defeated but then a large dome shaped green shields appeared over the devastated area of the city, acting as a shield against the bombs and even as a weapon as airborne ships slammed right into it.

The shield then expanded outwards, passing through buildings and people but allowed the surviving Borg drones to move forward without dealing with enemy fire. The battle weary Sith army continued to fight on, no matter how hopeless the situation was becoming. The Borg continued their mission, attacking and assimilating the army of the Sith Empire, becoming stronger and more powerful with each passing second.

The Empire was loosing.

 **Darth Nyriss's Stronghold  
Revan's Cell**

Revan opened his eyes as he heard the door being opened and looked up to see the grinning face of Darth Nyriss staring down at him. "You wish to speak with me, my lord?"

"I have nothing to say to you, Jedi. Your usefulness is at an end as has been for a long time now. I only tolerated your existence until now because Lord Scourge was convinced you still had information but I know you were trying to turn him. Fortunately due to certain events you are not needed any longer. I only come to say farewell, Revan." Nyriss ignited her lightsaber. "The Empire will prevail and I will be there to lead it."

Just as she raised her lightsaber to finish Revan a voice called out. "Lord Nyriss!"

Nyriss seemed annoyed as Setchel rushed into the cell. "What is it, Setchel?"

"Lord Scourge has returned with the Jedi. They're attacking the guards outside and trying to get in!" Setchel quickly explained.

Nyriss turned around, looking angry which made Setchel step back, afraid he was going to be hurt but sigh as she walked past him. "Call all my forces to the front gate!"

()

Anakin had to admit there were a lot of things he never imagined doing, one of which was standing with a Sith as they fought through a number of troopers. They were well trained, even more skilled than opponents Anakin had faced in the past but he was still stronger and he proved it by taking them alongside Meetra and Scourge. Just as they reached the gate it opened and out stepped a woman in a black cloak with a pale pink face with a red lightsaber ready.

"Scourge, how dare you betray me?" Nyriss stepped out into the courtyard. "And you bring Jedi to help you? The Imperial Guard are too occupied with the Borg and by the time they realize my plan, if they ever do, they will be too late to stop me. It will be my pleasure to destroy you."

She leapt forward, demonstrating a speed and ferocity not thought possible for someone with a withered appearance like hers. Anakin quickly moved forward, demonstrating a surprising aggressiveness he clashed with Nyriss. He utilized Form V as he tried to break through her defences but Nyriss held on, blocking his attack even though he pushed her back a few feet.

"Meetra, go! Find Revan!" Anakin shouted as he continued to fight Nyriss. "Scourge and I will hold her off!"

Meetra nodded reluctantly and rushed to the entrance.

"A foolish mistake." Nyriss sneered as she and Anakin clashed their lightsabers again. "She would have bought you an extra moment."

"Let's find out." Anakin retorted.

Anakin was fairly confident he could best her, given his number of encounters with Dark Jedi like Asajj Ventress and even fought Count Dooku several times during the Clone Wars. However as they clashed he quickly found Nyriss to be a challenging opponent. She was skilled and fast, keeping him on the defense as he struggled to push back. She utilized a skilled balance of all known lightsaber forms and was able to move so fast that Anakin had move even faster just to defend himself.

'Is this what it's like to fight a Sith thousands of years ago?' Anakin thought as he blocked another slash. 'She's so powerful.'

He almost couldn't believe how strong she was. She could give even Dooku a run for his money.

Nyriss seemed to be reading his thoughts as she smirked. "You cannot win."

She kicked him in the chest, knocking him back and desperately defended himself as Nyriss slashed at him. Realizing he could not win in direct to direct combat he did something else. His robotic hand let go of his lightsaber and punched Nyriss in the face, counting on his mechanical doing more harm to her face than a regular one. Nryiss grunted as she staggered back and Anakin quickly tried to regain the advantage, throwing a few slashes that Nyriss hastily blocked.

Anakin kicked his foot out, causing Nyriss to slip and fall onto her knees but when Anakin tried to finish her Nyriss lashed out with the Force, knocking Anakin back. The pain from Anakin's punch enhanced her anger and in turn fed her power of the Dark Side as she stood up. Scourge leapt in, taking her by surprise by she still was able to hold him off.

Things were not getting better for them.

()

Meetra and T3 moved through the halls, coming into the open cell and saw him, Revan, down on the floor.

Meetra quickly rushed to his side and looked him over. "Revan, can you hear me?"

Revan opened a blurry eye. "Meetra…I knew you'd come."

Meetra smiled as she quickly hugged him. "I knew I'd find you."

"It's been a long time." Revan said as he slowly hugged her back. "A real long time."

"We have to hurry. We don't have a lot of time." Meetra said as she tried to help Revan stand.

"I'm not much help considering the drugs they keep giving me." Revan said, his head spinning.

Meetra quickly pulled out the cloth that Bastila had given her. "I might have something for that. Bastila told me to give this to you."

"You spoke with Bastila? You saw her?"

"And your son." Meetra nodded. "They're both well."

Revan smiled as he slowly unwrapped the cloth and gazed upon the mask. The same mask he wore during the Mandalorian Wars. As soon as he saw his mind was filled with images of memories that the Jedi Council had tried to repress years ago that flooded his mind and caused him to go limp.

()

Scourge crashed into a wall after being lifted up by Nyriss who launched him across the courtyard and then fired a blast of Force Lightning at Anakin who quickly blocked with his lightsaber but the lightning knocked his lightsaber out of his hands and knocked him over.

"Did you think I would be as easy to defeat as Xedrix?" Nyriss shouted as she held her lightsaber up, gathering energy around her. "I am Darth Nyriss, Lord of the Sith. I am the conqueror of Drezzi, the destroyer of Melldia, and a member of the Dark Council!"

Both Anakin and Scourge braced themselves but just as she was ready to strike Meetra emerged from the building with someone, wearing a Jedi cloak and a red and grey mask to hide his face. He rushed forward as Nyriss unleashed her lightning, holding both hands in front, catching the lightning in the palm of his hands and absorbing the dark power.

"I am Reven reborn!" The masked man declared. "And before me you are nothing."

Revan unleashed the full power of Nyriss's own attack as she hastily tried to block but the attack was too fast and a second later Nyriss was engulfed by the lightning of her own power and reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds. Anakin watched with shocked eyes, staring at the masked man who was recognized as a powerful figure in the history of the Jedi Order.

Darth Revan.

The hero of the Mandalorian Wars.

The man who became a Dark Lord and then a Jedi again who saved the Republic.

Anakin sensed his power and was overwhelemed just by how strong he felt Revan really was. Even powerful Jedi like Master Yoda and Mace Windu could not inspire the awe Anakin felt as Revan turned around to the group. Nyriss had been powerful, too powerful for both Anakin and Scourge to stop and Revan defeated so easily it made Anakin feel like a Padawan again.

He stiffened as Revan looked at him. "We have to leave. Now."


	44. Chapter 44

_Starfleet Operations TVL-977_

 _Temporal Briefing:_

 _"This is going to be risky. Extremely risky. Not even the Na'kuhl were ever this dangerous." Captain Walker said as he put down the PADD. "If this is not stopped quickly the Temporal Cold War will become a full out Temporal War that could cause history to fracture in ways that would be devastating for trillions of people."_

 _The person Walker was speaking to looked at the PADD. "Much of these I thought I saw…The Force is literally calling out, screaming as if it is in great pain. This is beyond even the conflict with the Dark Side."_

 _Walker was silent as he considered the man's words. Unlike the Skyriver Galaxy the people of the Milky Way Galaxy were skeptical of the Force despite the power that had been shown. But then again they had seen many great powers themselves and learned much since the discovery of the Skyriver Galaxy. Walker himself was skeptical of how the Force was an energy field balanced around the conflict between good and evil, the Light Side and the Dark Side as he had seen enough people to know that many people could become either of these by choice._

 _And he had seen his fair share of evil from both galaxies._

 _"We have to stop the Borg, they will create an apocalypse that no galaxy can hope to survive. The Temporal Department reported that the resulting war leads to the fracturing of the current timeline, possibly destroying it and creating alternate timelines that are constantly being altered, remade, and destroyed. We have to stop them at the source." Walker rubbed his head._

 _"The Sith Empire."_

 _It all started when the Borg went back in time at the end of the Invasion of the Maw Unicomplex, creating a shock wave through the timeline that was still being studied. While many considered the time they lived in the prime timeline and that any other was an alternate time line but a few scientists theorized that there was no 'prime' timeline. Alternate timelines, parallel universes such as the Mirror Universe, and even quantum realities were the creation of what created the so-called prime timeline. Every choice, every idea, every decision, and every possibility led to the creation of a new entirely different universe causing new events to play out._

 _The power of free will and sentience that allowed life to flourish not just in one universe but an affinity of them._

 _'The future was always in motion.'_

 _That was a popular saying amongst the Jedi, past, present, and future as they could see into the future, seeing the many possibilities that it offered._

 _But this was no mere vision. "If we intercept the Borg and rescue Anakin Skywalker we can stop them from becoming the threat they will become in the Skyriver Galaxy and eventually to the Milky Way."_

 _"And perhaps we'll just only delay the threat. I've studied under the Jedi and I know what the Sith were capable of. They will not stop and they will not change even if we save them in the process. We could just only destroy one threat and create another." The man said as he placed the PADD back on the desk._

 _"That is why I've asked you to come with us. We need a Jedi, a very skilled one. That's why I asked you here."_

 _The man sighed. "You know, I've just about given up on correcting people when they call me that."_

 _"My apologies…Grey Jedi would be the more appropriate term, correct?"_

 _"It's about as close as anyone gets nowadays to getting it right." The man responded, "I'll come along and offer what assistance I can, but don't expect me to work any miracles and don't expect me to heroically sacrifice myself for the greater good like you and your colleagues seem all too willing to do."_

 _"Is it a bad thing to be willing to give one's life for the benefit of an entire timeline?"_

 _"Is it a bad thing to want to find a way to not die while benefiting said timeline?" The man countered. "We can go in circles with this or you can get this show on the road. As long as you drop me back where and when you snatched me from I won't mind lending a hand, but I can't afford to be absent for too long."_

 _"I promise that your disappearance will not even be noticed, Master Helion." Captain Walker assured the armor clad man before him. "It will be like you were never absent to begin with."_

 _The man's helmet split apart, revealing the face of a dark haired human male with brown eyes rimmed along the bottom by black bags to indicate a state of exhaustion._

 _"Just make sure to follow through on that promise and we won't have any problems," Darion Helion extended one hand, which Walker grasped. "Well, besides the Borg and the Sith Empire, but after all the osik you time travelers put me through that stuff will be a breeze."_

 **Unknown Regions  
Esstran Sector  
Dromund System  
Orbit  
USS _Pastak  
_ Bridge**

"We've pulled back from the orbit and the hyperspace vortex seems to have vanished. But the Borg are increasing in numbers. It's only a matter of time before the planet is overrun."

Captain Walker looked on in concern at the number of increasing on the planet's surface. "Can we destroyed the city from orbit?"

"Negative. A Borg shield is protecting the citadel from attack. We'd have to send a team down to disable the shield before we bomb it."

"Then we'll have to work out another way."

Walker looked behind him, seeing Darion Hellion looking ready to be sent down. "You are ready for this."

"I am completely ready, Captain." Darion answered. "Let's hurry. I am not eager to see the beginning of the Eternal Borg Empire."

"Agreed."

 **Dromund Kaas  
Kaas City  
Sith Citadel**

The last line of defense was failing.

The Borg had effectively overrun the city and they had even beamed to the ships in orbit, slowly taking over the Sith fleet from the inside. The Emperor watched as the Borg marched towards the Citadel, their shield protecting them from the heavy artillery defenses and allowing them to march straight up to the Citadel itself. The Emperor watched as a woman appeared in his chamber in a flash of green light, staring at him with cold intelligent eyes.

"You are the leader of this planet." She said directly.

"I am the Emperor, the Eternal Emperor." The hooded ruler answered as he tried to probe her and force her to submit.

Only he could not probe her mind.

"Your reliance on your so-called Force cannot affect me. The Borg have adapted to your power." The Borg Queen answered.

"My power is unbeatable." The Emperor stated, glaring darkly at the Queen.

The two of them, great rulers of mighty races that have conquered over a thousand worlds and beings of great power stared into each other, watching the other for any perceived weaknesses.

"You are a mere being who will submit for assimilation or be destroyed. Resistance is futile." The Queen answered.

"I submit to no one." The Emperor, Vitiate answered as he finally stood up. "My life spans millennia. Legions have risen to test me. My ascendance is inevitable. A day, a year, a millennium—it matters not. I hold the patience of stone and the will of stars. Your striving is insignificant. Let your death be the same."

"Death is irrelevant." The Queen replied. "The Borg existed to add the distinctiveness of all technologies and species to their own, achieving complete perfection. We are the beginning, the end, the one who is many. We will continue to exist and our knowledge will span all universes."

"Your knowledge is insignificant to my power."

"And yet you cannot affect me with your Force." The Queen smiled. "You will comply and become one with the Borg. Your knowledge and power will be added to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile."

"You are right. Resistance is futile…Against me." Vitiate activated his lightsaber. "I am an immortal. I will never die. And I will never be subjugated."

 **Outside of Kaas City**

Revan along with Anakin, Scourge, and Meetra looked over the capital city of the Sith Empire that had become devastated by the war between the Sith and the Borg and spotted the green energy shield over the Citadel.

"The city is almost overrun. By now thousands have fled their homes." Scourge stated grimly.

"These Borg are formidable. I never imagined such a threat could possibly exist." Revan said.

"Believe it." Anakin replied. "The Borg, there's no way to overestimate them. They are relentless and they never stop. Anything that comes in their reach they absorb to further their own idea of perfection. The only thing that kept them from assimilating their own galaxy was a lot of luck."

"Perhaps that luck can help us here as well." Meetra stated. "How can we stop them?"

"One weakness would be the Queen. She acts as the representation of the Collective. Kill her and it would weaken the Collective." Anakin answered. "Other than that the Borg are vulnerable to toxins that are hazardous to organic material. They'll want to use the Citadel as their main base of operations before converting the rest of the planet."

"The Emperor will not be taken lightly." Scourge replied.

"And the Queen will not be stopped so easily." Anakin retorted. "She's found a way to block the Force. I don't know how she found out but because of that the Borg can cancel out anything connected to the Force."

"If they can cancel out the Force we are at a disadvantage." Meetra surmised. "Our skills revolve around the Force and our ability to feel it."

"Maybe but they can still be defeated." Anakin said. "I've faced them before and I know they can be defeated."

"Well, it would seem that I chose the absolute perfect time to make my entrance then."

All four turned and ignited their lightsabers, coming face to face with a man clad in a suit of armour that did not match the bulkier designs of the current era. It was more form fitting, a series of thing plates over a body glove similar to what the clone troopers of Anakin's era would wear. Over this the newcomer wore a long coat with a hood covering all but their face, which was hidden by a metallic mask with two green lines which had a noticeable glow to them.

The man raised one hand in a placating gesture. "Easy, I'm not here to fight any of you." He looked at Anakin, "Captain Walker called me in to lend my assistance."

This claim made both Anakin and Meetra lower their blades slightly, but Revan and Scourge were not so easily convinced.

"Who are you?" Scourge demanded. "I don't recognize those robes or that armor," He pointed the tip of his lightsaber at the stranger's belt, which had a lightsaber clasped on it. "But I don't even need to see that to know that you too are a Force wielder."

"Right on the money, Lord…" The stranger struggled for a second. "Scourge, was it? I apologize, with so many historical figures it sometimes becomes difficult to keep track of all of them at once."

Scourge huffed but lowered his lightsaber to his side. "You didn't answer my question."

"True," The man drew his hood back away from his head while the helmet he wore beneath the cloth seemed to fold up and retract into the neck and shoulder sections of his armor, revealing the face of a dark haired human male. "But then again I don't think any of you would recognize me by my name. Walker recruited me from an age a little…closer to home for him."

"You're from the future?" Anakin asked. "Are you some kind of temporal Jedi?"

The man shook his head. "No such thing. I'm just a convenient helper who Walker sometimes recruits for tackling temporal incursions in the Skyriver Galaxy." He bowed his head. "Darion Helion of the Knights of Corso, at your services."

Meetra tilted her head. "Knights of…Corso?"

"Sort of like the Jedi, but…not like the Jedi." Darion shrugged, now comfortable enough to approach the group with their lightsabers inactive. "We're a tad more militarized than the Jedi Order you would all be familiar with. I'd tell you more but I think we're straining the timeline enough as it is with the whole Borg invasion."

"If you claim to be capable of helping us to put an end to this, then we are in no position to refuse your assistance." Revan decided, crossing his arms. "What expertise can you offer?"

"Well for one," Darion held up one hand…and a weapon similar in shape to a Phaser pistol appeared in his grasp. "I'm not limited to just the Force and a lightsaber in a fight. I have quite a few things from what the Milky Way Alliance refers to as the thirty first century that will be a big help in dealing with this infestation."

He held up his other hand, and a number of circular objects appeared in his palm. "For my first trick I have a countermeasure against Borg adaptation built specifically for Lightsaber blades. Add these to the emmitters of your weapons and you'll be able to cut through the Borg like you usally would. And for my second trick…"

Now he summoned a number of wristbands. "The Borg having Force nullification capabilities may be brand new to you, but to those of us in the far future it's ancient history. These won't completely nullify it, but it will allow you to use the Force in battle against them. You'll have to really strain to use it, but it'll be enough for you to call on the usual basic techniques. In my experience it's better to be half blind than fully blind when you're a Jedi up against these things."

Scourge caught one of the wristbands as they were tossed to him. "If these turn out to work as you promise I will be…impressed."

"This is just one of the advantages of being part of an order on Starfleet's good side." Darion replied, "And they'll work, trust me…actually, maybe I should demonstrate it myself as a show of good faith."

Meetra raised one brow in fascination. "And just how would you-" She was cut off as a feeling of being deafened and blinded washed over her… "Borg!"

They all became aware of the approach of a platoon of Borg drones, thanks in part to the field the drones emitted that nullified their connection to the Force. As the Jedi and Sith began to back away and pull on the wrist bands provided by Darion the Knight of Corso stepped forward and held one hand out to his side, summoning his lightsaber from his belt to his waiting palm.

"As I said," Darion said, igniting a sapphire blue blade which emitted a strangely…cool feeling, like a breeze of wind on a mountain. "Allow me to demonstrate."

His helmet reformed over his head before Darion launched himself forward, propelling himself forward with the Force. Several of the Borg drones paused as they ran a self diagnostic, unable to process how the oncoming hostile was still displaying feats of Force enhanced physicality in spite of their active field emitters. Before they even finished Darion had closed the distance and stopped in front of the leading drone.

"Resistance is-"

Darion sliced upwards, cleaving the drone in half up the middle and cutting it off mid sentence, leaving both halves to fall over.

"Yeah, yeah." He spun the weapon in his grasp once and held it with both hands, assuming a stance which the quartet watching from close by recognized as a Djem So pose. "Heard that before."

The drones began to employ more aggressive tactics, firing at Darion rather than attempting to get in close enough to add him to their collective. The armoured knight strafed to either side while advancing on his next target, cutting through a pair of arms before decapitating his second victim.

"You can all join in at any time you know!" He called out while angling his lightsaber to deflect a beam aimed at his back. "As much as I like being the center of attention I would _really_ prefer it if you guys didn't make me fight these things all by myself!"

Revan, who had spent the past several moments quickly disassembling his lightsaber, finished rebuilding the weapon with the modification provided by Darion and ignited the blade. "It would be our pleasure."

Now no longer inhibited by the Borg's Force suppression fields, Revan seemed to practically fly down into the battle and immediately sliced down through the exposed drones with a single swing. Anakin, Meetra and Scourge were quick to join the pair and begin slaughtering the platoon despite the superior numbers of Borg drones.

"Wow, when these guys can't adapt to lightsabers they're even easier to fight than battle droids!" Anakin called while ducking under the grasp of one drone which he swiftly bisected and then used the Force to fling both halves into two other drones…a feat which he noticed put more strain on his reserves of energy than normal. "Wow, seems you weren't lying Darion. That actually took some effort."

Impaling the final drone through its back, Darion shoved its limp body off of his lightsaber. "Yeah, I had a feeling that for the almighty Chosen One some extra effort would be a minor issue."

"Without the devices you gave us we would not have been able to defeat these drones so easily," Meetra extinguished her lightsaber as she faced Darion. "We owe you for that, Darion."

Darion stared back at her, his mask hiding his expression. "…I'm sorry, I had what some Milky Way humans refer to as a 'squealing fan moment' at the fact that the legendary Meetra Surik just thanked me." He bowed his head. "I'm going to turn off my helmet's speakers for a few seconds if you all don't mind."

As several moments passed in silence Anakin looked at the other three members of their group as they sent him inquisitive looks. "…what? He's not from my era, I don't know if all Knights of…whatever are like this."

Darion suddenly turned his head and stared at Anakin. "For the record, just because my speakers are off and I'm squealing like a school girl doesn't mean I can't hear you. And again, for the record: it's the Knights of Corso. Now if I do recall Walker dragged me a few thousand years in the past so I could help stop this Borg infestation from spreading, so we'd better get to that before something irreversible happens and wipes out my timeline entirely."

He looked towards the distant capital city. "And I think one way of fulfilling that task is making sure his Royal Highness over there isn't assimilated. The last thing that anybody wants is his mind within a light year of being attached to the Borg Collective."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.

"Think about it. The Emperor becomes one with the Collective, sharing his knowledge with the Borg but it doesn't stop there. The Emperor's mind battles for control of the Collective to the point that the Borg are not just the Borg anymore. They are an even greater abomination, poisoned by the sick mind of the Emperor that uses them to wreak untold havoc across the universe." Darion turned sharply to the group. "It's not just the Skyriver or Milky Way Galaxies that are in danger. It's both universes."

Anakin looked alarmed. "You mean the Borg and the Sith…Merge?"

"The Emperor is not a Sith, not anymore. He is a ghost that refuses to die and a parasite that feeds off of life. His mind and power will overpower the Collective, creating an Infinite Collective that becomes one of the greatest threats to the cosmos. The Republic will not last long against this threat which is why I am here what's left of the Empire gets swept away in the coming storm. That is why I am here." Darion explained.

Revan, having sensed no deception from Darion, nodded. "Then we will confront the Emperor and end this."

"What about you?" Meetra asked, looking at Darion. "Our chances would improve if you are here with us."

"I am here for one thing only." Darion looked at Anakin. "You."

Anakin looked surprised. "Me?"

"This all began when the Borg escaped back in time to this time line. If you avoid being captured and stop the Borg at the right time then all of history is saved and all of this is prevented." Darion explained. "This is why Captain Walker came here and why I came with him. Stop the Borg from going to the past and altering history in such a way that it causes a catastrophe."

"But I can help by destroying the Borg here and the Emperor." Anakin argued.

"The Emperor will fall, I promise you." Darion said. "But you have to be returned to your time. You do not belong here, Anakin Skywalker. You belong in your timeline, defending the Republic just as these three," He gestured to the other three. "Belong here to stop the evil from spreading. We have to leave, it's only chance the galaxy and even the Force has."

Anakin wanted to argue but before he could he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked at Meetra.

"He is right, Skywalker. You have other responsibilities. Leave this to us." Meetra said with a small smile. "Return to your time and save the Republic."

Revan nodded. "Go forth, young Jedi."

Anakin looked conflicted but nodded. "All right."

"Helion to _Patask._ Two to beam up."

Anakin spared one last glance with the three before vanishing in the transporter beam.

 **Orbit  
USS _Pastak  
_ Bridge**

Anakin blinked and saw himself back on the bridge of the timeship _Pastak_ with Captain Walker turning to greet him. "Welcome back, Anakin Skywalker."

"Captain Walker." Anakin spared a glance at Darion. "I didn't know you employed Jedi."

Darion was silent but shook his head.

"Technically the Jedi aren't related to the Knights of Corso. It's a long story and I cannot give away much. But right now we have to stop this threat." Walker answered.

"How?" Anakin asked.

"I believe you should read up on history of the USS _Enterprise_ under the command of Captain Kirk during her five year mission."

()

Anakin did not know how long he had been unconscious but when he finally woke up he found himself in a green tinted technological room. And in the center of the room was a woman attached to many wires attached to her body dressed in the same skin tight outfit that Padme wore as a Borg Queen.

She looked at him with red emotionless eyes. "You are awake."

Anakin looked down and found himself strapped to a table. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"I am the voice of perfection." The woman said as the wires detached themselves and she stepped onto the floor, striding towards her. "I am the Collective. I am the beginning, the end. The one who is many. I am the Borg."

"The new Borg Queen. Guess they chose you after I rescued Padme from your vile grasp." Anakin spat, glaring at the Queen as he tried to call on the Force.

But he could not feel it.

"You attempts at resistance are futile. The Collective has learned that your abilities, your connection with the energy matrix known as the Force can be blocked with a subspace dampening field tuned to the quantum signature of your reality. While this so-called Force does not exist in the primary galaxy we have learned its existence is greatly attuned to yours through the use of the collective made by the micro-organisms in your blood stream. We have never encountered such organisms before but they are fascinating." The Queen said as she softly strolled around the table. "They allow for a secondary lobe in the human brain, possibly allowing for psionic and telepathic abilities. Impressive, but the Borg will always adapt."

"You can't control the Force." Anakin said, keeping his eye on the Queen. "It existed long before the Borg and it will continue to exist long after the Borg are destroyed."

"We cannot be destroyed. We adapt, we grow, and we survive. Your Force is merely a source of energy for you to call on. A form of raw energy, perhaps a left over form of energy created from the Big Bang." The Queen mused with a smile as she down, her face hovering above Anakin's. "Energy can be manipulated. It can be controlled. Your belief that this energy is some sort of deity is like any other primitive belief practiced in all religions."

"Easier said than done." Anakin looked around. "Where are we? You couldn't have escaped the Maw. Our fleets surrounded you."

"The Collective came prepared for such an event." The Queen stepped away and brought up a holo-image of a blue glowing tunnel. "We altered one of the singularities to serve as a space-time tunnel. We have retreated from the current time line."

"What?" Anakin struggled to move but the restraints held him down.

"We have decided the Republic is too formidable and numerous to assimilate with the aid of Starfleet. We have decided to retreat to a timeline when the Republic would be less formidable to assimilate." The Queen explained, stepping around the table. "The historic databanks show that the Republic was greatly weakened following the conflict with the marauder species known as the Mandalorians."

Anakin's eyes widened as he recognized what the Queen was talking about. "You took me back…A thousand years?"

"Would you like an exact date?" The Queen asked smoothly.

"Why did you take me?" Anakin growled, realizing if he was stuck in the past then he would never seen anyone he cared for again.

The Chancellor Palpatine.

His master Obi-Wan.

His Padawan, Ahsoka.

And his…

'Padme.' Anakin thought, his eyes widening.

He would never see them again.

"Research. The more I study you the more I can learn of this Force." The Queen touched Anakin's mechanical hand.

Only Anakin felt the cold sensation of the Queen's hand.

"Impressed? I saw fit to modify the efficient but primitive prosthetic in my spare time." The Queen said as Anakin looked at the hand.

It now resembled a human's hand but it was jet black and skin was being patched onto it.

"Titanium skeleton with synthetic skin grafting. The skin is grown from the DNA and once properly attached blood will flow through it. We have made much effort to create new drones, including ones with minimal needs for outer modifications. This was necessary when it became clear the Collective was too small in your galaxy." The Queen explained, sounding pleased. "The scanners in the new prosthetic will scan the blood stream through the synthetic outer skin, transmitting its findings to the Collective. We will learn with each passing micro-second. It is our first step in studying the abilities of the collectives known as the Jedi and the Sith."

He glared at the Borg Queen, his eyes blazing with anger and hate for the monster that took him away. She ignored him as she watched the ship emerge from the tunnel and back into the Maw.

Only now it was in the past.

"Scan the timeline." The Queen stated as the ship moved out of the Maw.

 _Scanning Star Formations_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Timeline Confirmed: Year 2,950 before Ruusan Reformation_

"Astrometric data." The Queen requested.

 _Scanning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Confirmed: Multiple Planets Showing Damage Resulting From Planet_ _Bombardment_

 _Source: Conflict Known as Mandalorian Wars_

.

.

.

.

.

"Status of Republic fleet."

 _Republic Fleet Status: Ten Percent Efficiency_

"Too easy." The Queen mused. "Scan for alternate fleet movements."

 _Confirmed_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Location: Sectors part of Unknown Regions_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Historic Records Confirming Origin_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Origin: Sith Empire_

"Set course for Dromund Kaas." The Borg Queen stated, surprising Anakin. "We will add the Sith's biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Their culture will adapt to service us."

 _Warning_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Temporal Anomaly Detected_

The Queen's eyes narrowed. "Where?"

 _Bearing 1-0-0 Mark 2_

There was a flash of light as a vortex glowing blue and white appeared and from it appeared a ship that resembled a Federation ship but was different in style. Anakin however recognized it along with the ships that followed, causing hope to flow through him.

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Alert_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Federation Starship Identified as USS Pastak Possibly Equipped With Time Displacement Unit_

The Queen scowled. "They will not stop us. I will not allow. Engage the transwarp drive."

 _Acknowledged_

The Queen expected the Timeship to fire but instead she detected a transporter beam and her eyes widened as she spun around, seeing a blue light engulf Anakin for a second. The scans confirmed that person being transported matched Anakin Skywalker's bio-signature but that was not the worst of it. Suddenly Anakin broke free, using his Force powers that should have been suppressed. He summoned his lightsaber and slashed through the drones, to the Borg Queen herself who attempted to shoot him but his lightsaber blocked her disruptor bolt.

The Queen was shocked and that gave Anakin enough time to run his lightsaber right through where her heart would be.

The Queen let out a small gasp and looked up into Anakin's eyes. "…How?"

"There are some things you cannot adapt to." Anakin said softly as he pulled his lightsaber out.

The Queen collapsed to the ground, feeling her body dying. "This…is….over…The Collective…Will…Survive."

Anakin watched as the Queen finally died and the lights and consoles around him seemed to power down, as if to show the ship had died with the Queen.

Anakin was then beamed away as the other ships fired, destroying the Borg Diamond in a matter of second.

The threat of the Borg in the Skyriver Galaxy had finally ended.

 **Present Era  
Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant**

It happened so fast that no one had not wondered if it was real.

That a Timeship from the thirty first century of the Milky Way Galaxy appeared above the capital of the Republic or who it came with.

When Anakin appeared before the gathered Senators and Jedi he showed a big smile when saw Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Palpatine, and he smiled the biggest when he saw his wife looking at him with a smile as big as his own.

He was finally home.

 **Chancellor's Office**

Chancellor Palpatine rubbed his fingers together, his mind racing as he remembered Anakin's story and what happened…

Going back in time.

Arriving in the era of the Old Republic.

Actually meeting three famous figures from history.

Lord Scourge, the Emperor's Wrath during the time of the former Sith Empire.

The Jedi Exile, Meetra Surik.

And Revan, Darth Revan who nearly destroyed the Republic at the height of his power before the Jedi made him weak.

Anakin confessed that being in Revan's presence made him feel like a Padawan and watching him defeat the Sith Lord Nyriss who defeated him and Lord Scourge made him realize that he had to get stronger to truly defeat the Sith.

That might be the only benefit from this as Palpatine could convince him of the power of the Dark Side.

But the other Jedi, the time traveling Jedi was a major concern.

Did other Jedi manage to survive into the thirty first century which was six hundred years from the present in the Milky Way?

These Knight of Corso, he needed to figure how they could be formed and the only way that could be done was researching more and ensuring that no Jedi did survive the order when it came down.

The Borg were gone and that left room for the Sith to truly rise.

It was time for the Clone Wars to continue.

 **Padme's Apartment**

Anakin was out on the balcony, looking at the city as his mind went back to what happened before. What happened nearly thousands of years ago even though it had only been day ago to him.

A presence in the Force made him turn around and his widened when he saw two blue glowing images of two people he had met in the past.

Revan and Meetra.

" _You are where you belong, Anakin. Do not regret what must be done._ " Revan said, his mask removed and smiling at him. " _It was good to know you, however briefly, my friend._ "

" _Move forward, Anakin and protect those you care for. The Force will be with you, always._ " Meetra said before they both vanished.

Anakin was speechless but smiled a moment later.

He would never forget them.


	45. Chapter 45

_Sentience is defined as the ability to feel or perceive, not necessarily including the faculty of self-awareness,_ _distinguished from perception and thought._

 _The price of sentience is free will and thus the choice to harm other beings._

 _However with that choice also comes the choice not to harm other beings._

 _The power of a single choice can affect over thousands of people._

 _For good or bad._

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE V**

 **THE GATHERING STORM**

 **THE BORG HAVE BEEN DEFEATED. IN RESPONSE TO THIS VICTORY THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PLANETS, THE KLINGON EMPIRE, AND THE ROMULAN REPUBLIC HAVE EACH COME FORWARD TO HELP END THE WAR BETWEEN THE GALACTICA REPUBLIC AND THE CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS.**

 **IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE BORG'S DEFEAT A PLOT HAS BEEN HATCHED TO RENEW THE WAR AND ON THE PLANET MANDALORE AN OLD ENEMY SEEKS REVENGE ON THE JEDI.**

 **AS THESE FORCES GATHER TOGETHER A SECRET GROUP HAS BEEN FORMED TO ELIMINATE ONE OF THE GREATEST THREATS TO THE GALAXY.**

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Deep Space  
 _Invisible Hand  
_ Bridge**

Within the far reaches of the galaxy they gathered. Hundreds of large capital ships with thousands of fighters and bombers preforming routine patrols. The Confederacy of Independent Systems had the largest droid army the galaxy had ever seen and they had the largest fleet to go with it. The Separatists had gone to great lengths to keep the exact number of their forces hidden and since the Clone Wars had been grought to a temporary halt it had only given them time to build up their fleet and forces for the renewed war.

It was extremely easy.

Build up droids and ships in factories that remain unknown to the enemy and then hide them in backwater systems, set to low power until they were called for. There was no need for supplies that living, breathing soldiers would require and they would be instantly ready once receiving the activation signal. The Separatists had waited through the ceasefire that had been made necessary due to the threat of the Borg but word had spread of the Borg's defeat and thus freed both sides to prepare for war again. Factories had created over a billion more battle droids ready and the fleets were in position as the main commander arrived.

And his ship just emerged from hyperspace.

The modified _Providence_ class destroyer, the _Invisible Hand_ was the symbol of the Confederacy's might and power. It had been heavily modified with additional weaponry, extra reactors for more power to the weapons and shields that made it all the more deadly. In addition to the _Invisible Hand_ , new ships such as the _Leviathan_ class battlecruisers that were modified from the designs of the _Lucrehulk_ battleship but designed as true warships instead of carriers and the _Onslaught_ Attack Ships graced the Separatist fleet with their presence.

On the bridge of the _Invisible Hand_ stood Count Dooku, looking every bit as dignified and regal as he would have been as a mere Count of the planet Serenno. Only he was much more than a Count and he was much greater now than he ever was as a Jedi. His master had contacted him a cycle ago, informing that the time had come to restart the Clone Wars and Dooku had been well prepared.

"The fleet is fully gathered and ready at your command, Count Dooku." The T3 tactical droid acting as his commander reported.

"Good. Has there been any word on the location of General Grievous?" Dooku asked calmly.

"Not since last contact, my lord."

Dooku scowled slightly but otherwise said nothing.

It was something he had come to expect from his Supreme Droid Commander as of late but he expected Grievous to be here, ready to supervise the first attack. Luckily Dooku did not have to wait long for a ship emerged from hyperspace and was immediately identified as Grievous's personal fighter. Dooku ordered for the ship to be cleared for landing and waited patiently for his droid general to arrive. Ten minutes later the doors opened and Grievous himself walked into the bridge.

"Count Dooku." Grievous greeted and Dooku noted a hint of disdain in his voice.

"General. Thank you for finally arriving." Dooku said smoothly. "I was beginning to wonder if you had been delayed."

"I was in need of immediate repairs and it too longer than expected." Grievous waved off the comment. "But I am here now and am ready to begin."

Dooku raised an eyebrow, thinking there was something different about Grievous but put it aside as they had more important business to take care of. "You are correct, General. For today the war starts anew. You have already received the latest intelligence?"

"Yes, Count. I have already chosen the first system's for maximum effect." Grievous nodded. "The Republic will be taken by complete surprise."

"Good." Dooku nodded in satisfaction. "Then let us begin."

Grievous narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Hopefully the count believed his story and that the anger e was feeling was pretty much the same he had always felt…

Ever since his brain had been tampered with without his permission.

"I have composed the list of planets of top priority that Lord Sidious wants to be conquered or at least held for as long as possible. You are satisfied with the new ships?" Dooku asked.

"The refits and upgrades are adequate." Grievous nodded.

"Good. I want to study with you on the defensive installments and fleet movements of our proposed targets for the maximum effect." Dooku stated.

Grievous did not argue as Dooku presented him all maps and intelligence again and he slowly analyzed them each before finding the best solution to attack. It surprised Grievous when he realized how easily he fell back into routine but at the very least he was not blinded anymore. He could tell how Dooku sensed his anger but believed it to be a normal occurance and even encouraged it, making Grievous just how cruel this man truly was.

It might have dawned on him on cruel Dooku was given how he quickly discarded Ventress during the Battle of Sullust. Granted, Grievous had no love for the Dathomirian witch but if Dooku had sent reinforcements that battle would have been won as Ventress was compitant enough to destroy the enemy flagship. Still though Grievous pushed those thoughts aside and continued pointing out tactical positions and which systems and planets to attack to conquer or simply divert Republic ships and recources to distract the Jedi. As he continued Grievous made a note watch Dooku's reactions closely and though the Sith Lord composed through the entire briefing Grievous noted that the leader of the Confederacy would look at him carefully, searching for what Grievous believed to be assurance that these plans would work.

Assurance.

Grievous filed that away, realizing that he may have found a potential weakness. Dooku was wise and powerful but not invincible. He needed reassurance, that his plans would work or that those working beneath him could give him the results he wanted.

Or he needed to be reassured that he was in charge as always.

And though he was social Grievous could still feel the condescension in Dooku's voice as he questioned and probed the general's proposal, letting him know that the only thing the Count valued him for was his fighting skills and strategic ability. The briefing ended with Dooku approving all of Grievous's plans and made a note to make sure competent commanders like Admiral Trench would be in charge of the most important operations while tactical droids would handle the less vital attacks. Once he was done Dooku gave Grievous full command as he excused, making plans to return to Raxus to meet for the peace conference that would be held through direct communication with the Senate on Coruscant. Once Dooku was gone Grievous made a note to ensure everything would be working perfectly before going to his quarters.

Once he was in his private quarters with orders not to be disturbed Grievous reached into his cloak and pulled out the card given to him with the letter Q labelled in Kaleesh.

 _Grievous awoke, feeling little different than he was before and sat up seeing Dr. Shraan and A4 standing back a bit to allow him room._

 _"General Grievous, good to see you are up and about." Shraan said with a small smile._

 _"Of course he is up and about. He always gets up as soon as I am done putting him back together." A4 drawled._

 _Grievous scowled in irritation. "Did it work?"_

 _"Yes." Shraan nodded. "The implants have been removed. Your memories should no longer be blocked or you feelings artificially enhanced."_

 _Grievous wasn't sure how exactly to feel as he began to wonder about what he had forgotten._

 _His homeworld Kalee…_

 _The war against the Huk…_

 _The explosion that almost killed him…_

 _His broken body in the bacta tank…_

 _His wives and children._

 _Ronderu Kummer!_

 _Grievous clutched his head as he stood up, groaning at the sudden return of his memories._

 _"General?" Shraan asked carefully._

 _"These memories…" Grievous clutched his eyes shot. "They are all coming back!"_

 _"The implants blocked the brain's ability to process your memories. With them gone now your brain is now reprocessing it all." Shraan quickly explained._

 _Grievous panted slightly. "How long will it take?"_

 _"I don't know. Everyone's brains work differently. You coud remember something new within a week or a month. It all depends on your age and how strong some memories are." Shraan explained. "The best advice I can offer is for you to visit places that have a large impact on you during your life. That way more memories will return faster rather than later."_

 _Grievous ran a calculation in his head. "I am due for leave for a week at most before I am called in again. What places do you suggest?"_

 _"Your home planet would be a start." Shraan suggested. "Returning there would help regain any memories from your time there."_

 _Grievous considered it. "…I'll see what I can do. Where is your captain?"_

 _"He had to leave because of an emergency. I stayed behind to monitor your condition." Shraan answered._

 _"You stayed behind while your captain and ship left?"_

 _Shraan frowned. "I am a doctor. I took an oath to heal and leaving you in the middle of an operation would have gone against that oath."_

 _Grievous was surprised by the fierce look in her eyes but waved it off. "Very well. Given that you helped me I will arrange for you to be shuttled back to the embassay on Raxus."_

 _"General, are you sure you don't want more help from me? There's no telling how your memories will return and it could cause you to be…distracted." Shraan pointed out._

 _"I will deal with it." Grievous nodded, grateful to Shraan for her work and dedication. "…Thank you, for your help, Doctor Shraan."_

True to his word Grievous saw to it that a shuttle arrived to his sanctuary and arranged for it to take Shraan to the embassy built in Raxus. He made it clear to the droid pilots that no one was to know and the navigation records would be immediately erased upon arriving at the embassy. In the meantime Grievous worked about regaining his memories as fast as possible, not wanting them to interfere with his duties as Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies. In the meantime now he had to deal with the fact that Dooku along with the Geonosians had tampered with his mind without his permission and he did not like being deceived about that one bit.

Given this new information Grievous would have to find out if anyone else knew about it and he considered one of them to be slimy Muun banker San Hill who was the one who recruited him to work for the Banking Clan in the first place. Not to mention he knew how devious and cowardly the banker was so he could not just interrogate Hill without any possible prove. Besides he still had a war to run and he still had Jedi to hunt. He was not ready to deal with the creature Q, not when it changed nothing about his determination to destroy the Jedi. The many targets for the renewed war included the Wookie homeworld Kashyyyk, the Duros homeworld Duro which was in the Inner Rim, Mahranee which was a planet full of resources that the inhabitants refused to share with the Confederacy, and several more planets.

Count Dooku had been assured by Lord Sidious that the Republic would be caught off guard completely and allow the Confederacy to being pushing into the Inner Rim, straight to Coruscant itself. That was enough to satisfy Grievous for now.

But he would see to it that Dooku pays for what he had done to his mind, one way or another.

 **Inner Rim  
Centax-2  
Hidden Republic Base**

Admiral Tarkin stood on the bridge of the _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer, looking at secret fleet that had been assembled in secret with over billions of newly grown clones that were ready to fight in the name of the Republic along with the secret fleets that had been built during the Borg crises and was now ready. Now that the Borg had been defeated this new army was ready to be put into action and already several plans had been made to launch quick attacks on Separatist aligned worlds that had been approved of by the Chancellor. This would ensure the peace conference fails and the war would continue. With the war renewed the Republic could concentrate on truly winning the war and crushing the Separatists.

"Admiral, we have the schedule for the peace conference timed perfectly." His captain reported.

"Good. Inform the fleet to be ready to get underway at my command." Tarkin replied.

"Yes sir." The officer saluted.

And now it truly begins.

"Now we will show them all who is in charge of this galaxy." Tarkin mused before turning away and held up a small holo-communicator, showing another clone trooper. "Did you deliver what I asked?"

" _Yes, Admiral. They have been delivered past security and will be ready for the peace conference._ " The trooper nodded.

"Good. And I assume my instructions for making sure no one of vital importance was made clear." Tarkin stated.

" _Yes Admiral._ "

"Excellent work then, commander. You will be well rewarded for your efforts." Tarkin nodded with a satisfied grin as he ended the transmission.

Everything was proceeding as planned and after this the Milky Way Alliance will learn not to stick its noce in business where it does not belong.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Master Yoda's Quarters**

Anakin could honestly say he was feeling better than he had in a long time and for good reason. He had gone to the past and destroyed the Borg before they could assimilate the Old Republic and the Sith Empire of that time and came back with a new and improved prosthetic hand, courtesy of the Borg but it appeared he would not become a drone anytime soon and he gained a few gadgets that would allow the Jedi to stand a better chance against the Borg if they ever returned. The first being a device that allowed a lightsaber to cut through Borg shielding no matter how much the Borg attempted to adapt and the second being a device that countered the Force-dampening field the Borg had created.

All supplied from a mysterious future Jedi, or as Darion Helion referred to as the Knights of Corso.

It was hard to say how these Knights would be formed as it could happen hundreds of years into the future but they were obviously skilled given what he had seen from Darion when he first appeared. But that wasn't the most surprising thing Anakin had found out in the last twenty four hours. Obi-Wan had explained how he was saved from Darth Maul and Savage Oppress by a being so powerful with the Force that its mere presence shook the entire galaxy. It caused the Force to react in ways no one, not even Master Yoda could have predicted and the effects were still feeling felt.

Anakin remembered feeling a powerful tremor in the Force just before the Battle in the Maw and when Obi-Wan explained who he thought saved him Anakin was even more surprised.

Because apparently his own Padawan, Ahsoka Tano had been the one to save his master and she even defeated Maul on her own.

And she even caused that massive wave of energy through the Force, seemingly altering it and causing the Light Side and the Dark Side to react in different ways before actually reacting, not in defiance but in agreement. It was hard to tell just exactly what Ahsoka had done so in light of the new peace accords taking place on Coruscant Ahsoka was called back to the Jedi Temple when she returned with Senators Organa and Chuchi. Only Masters Yoda and Kenobi aside from Anakin himself knew of her possible involvement in Obi-Wan's rescue but the moment she stepped foot in the temple almost everyone felt something was different about her.

It may have come in no small part to the small rod she carried that radiated waves of pure power that she later showed to three that extended into a staff, looking very ornimental but powerful all the same. Seeing the jig was up Ahsoka explained to the three about her meeting with former Starfleet Captain Benjamin Sisko who was the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor, beings who actually lived inside of a the wormhole near Bajor and their sudden awareness of the Skyriver Galaxy and the conflict happening. She told them about how Sisko approached her with the offer to show her how the Force worked in the other universe with the hopes of attempting to build a bridge between the two galaxies and prevent Bajor and many other worlds from suffering in the battle between the Light and Dark Sides and what Sisko had shown her thus far when she agreed after Q had placed the Jedi on trial. She explained carefully about her experience on Megas-Tu and how the Megans merged with her to make her powerful enough to cross between universes to save Kenobi from the Zabrak brothers when the Daughter herself appeared on Megas-Tu and gave her a vision.

She took the time to explain the origins of the staff the Megans had given her and then her own encounter with Q and his own test for her involving the evil creature known as Armus who was possibly the closest to being an actual incarnation of the Dark Side in the Milky Way Galaxy. Now she sat in Master Yoda's quarters, her staff placed on the floor in front of her as she waited to hear how her master, Obi-Wan, and Yoda had felt about everything that happened.

To the credit of the Masters, they remained perfectly composed throughout her tale and only showed the minimal amount of reaction to one impossible event after another. By the end Obi-Wan was stroking his beard while Yoda sat with his legs crossed and his cane set across his lap as he pondered Ahsoka's story.

"If I had not witnessed and experienced the part where you crossed over to our universe and rescued me I would have difficulty believing this," Obi-Wan admitted, "But after what I saw and felt first hand….I have no reason to doubt any of what you just told us, Ahsoka."

Yoda nodded. "In agreement, we are." He said, "Concerning, these events are. Different, the Force feels, in ways never before felt I have."

The ancient Jedi Master climbed to his feet and walked around Ahsoka.

"Reacts to you, it does." He continued. "Ripples outward from you, surges back in, obeys and commands you at once it does. A level of harmony, never before achieved this has been."

"But why did this Captain Sisko approach Ahsoka?" Anakin asked, not out of jealousy for his Padawan's extraordinary evolution but out of concern for what this might foreshadow. "Why show her specifically everything that he did?"

"Questions for another time, those are. But ponder them, we should." Yoda urged, "For now, remain secret your experiences and staff should. If the ears of the Sith this reached, tempted they would be to attempt to steal your newfound powers for themselves."

Ahsoka nodded. "That much was clear to me from the get-go. I won't be using this staff unless it becomes absolutely necessary." She picked the staff up in both hands and stared down at it. "But I should try to find what limits it has, in private and away from anybody who could leak it to the enemy. I know that I won't be able to do what I did before on a whim, but this could still help us in secret."

"A wise decision that is, Padawan Tano." Yoda smiled serenely. "But all is that, which Sisko plans to reveal to you?"

Ahsoka stopped and considered it. "I don't know. Honestly he might have halted anything else he wanted to show me until I at least got an idea how this staff works. I honestly think he wanted to show me a lot more, maybe worlds similar to Megas-Tu. It's hard to say but ever since my time on Megas-Tu I felt the Force in the Milky Way and it was…like chaos and harmony all at once.

It's like everything was so chaotic at first but then it all became a pattern that worked so perfectly together. There wasn't a Light Side or Dark Side but a literal rainbow of colors representing both and neither side at the same time."

"Chaotic evolution, referred to the ways of the Milky Way Galaxy Sisko did. Possibly how the Force in this other universe represents." Yoda closed his eyes in thought but opened them again. "Wish to learn more should he appear again, do you?"

Ahsoka glanced at Anakin and Obi-Wan but neither looked ready to protest. "I would like to but if any of you think I should stop I will."

"Well considering it was because of this Sisko's teachings and the help of these Megans that I am not one with the Force right now I owe you enough to say I trust you on this matter, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan said with a small smile.

Anakin was hesitant in his answer. "I'm not exactly sure how to possibly react to a man teaching my Padawan behind my back even if it was in another galaxy…" Anakin sighed. "But I won't stop you from asking more from him if he appears again. I would just like to meet him and try to understand exactly what his goal is."

Ahsoka nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Master."

"Shows us much about this galaxy this conversation has. More to the Federation and its allies if exists beings like these Prophets and this Armus do." Yoda mused, unable to conceal his new interest in the universe of the Milky Way Alliance. "A time of great revelation this has become…and with that, comes a time of change. Good or bad, for certain it cannot be said, but changed has our perception of the Force…and with it, adapt the Jedi should."

Obi-Wan raised his brow again as he glanced down at the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. "Change, Master Yoda?"

Yoda nodded. "Felt it, I have. Ever since its founding, believed in only the dark side and the light the Jedi have. Proven wrong, we have been, and thus called into question our mandate is. Suppress and ignore this we cannot, nor shall we. As for how to react..." He rubbed his chin and shook his head. "A great deal of time and discussion the Council will require. Shaken, their fortitude shall be, but prepared the Jedi may be in time to learn more of the Force…beyond what we thought it to be."

For one to hear Grand Master Yoda himself say this would be nothing short of shocking. For centuries the ancient Jedi had been seen by many as the very embodiment of the lightside of the Force, dedicated to the traditions and views of the Jedi Order. Now he had not only admitted to those views being wrong, but stated his intent to explore beyond the rigid Jedi code…an act which had not been sanctioned by the Order, much less conducted by its Grand Master ever since it's founding.

But that was in a universe and a time when there had only been the dark side and the light, the Sith and the Jedi locked in their eternal struggle. Time and time again both had annihilated one another only to rise from the ashes and resume their war for little more than their own perception of the Force and the intended state of the universe. For one of them to waver in that and change would completely change everything…

Or so Yoda hoped it would in the back of his mind as he left the younger Jedi, slowly shuffling out of his quarters to summon the Council.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Mandalore  
Concordia Moon  
USS _Seraphinite  
_ Bridge**

Mandalore had seen a great change in the last few days.

With the overthrow of Duchess Satine and the death of Pre Vizla Almec had been left in charge as Mandalore Prime Minister once again and he seemingly carried out his promises. Mandal Hypernautics, MandalMotors and MandalTech along with many industries that had originally been neglected during the reign of Satine were working with the Shadow Collective to produce weapons and ship yards to construct more ships. The Dyson Sphere had even been moved to the system and with it came endless resources that even helped Mandalore recover from the devastation inflicted by the bombardment from the Republic during the Excision centuries ago.

With Mandalore welcoming back its glorious warrior past the Shadow Collective begun building up a technologically advanced military for when it was ready to challenge the Republic and the Separatists. The Death Watch had even drawn up plans for newer and up to date versions of ships used during the Mandalorian Wars against the Republic such as the Mandalorian Warship, reclassified as the _Vizla_ class Star Destroyer in honor of Pre-Vizla. The class slightly resembled the _Venator_ class Star Destroyer used by the Republic but did not have the command tower and the bridge was built into the armored midsection of the ship while being slightly bigger. It boasted advanced technology from the True Way, the Tal Shiar, and the Dominion which made it just as advanced as the fleets of the Milky Way Alliance.

The armaments included plasma turrets built along the hull, phaser cannons in the starboard and port sides, and polaron arrays around the armored mid-section that made it extremely powerful. The deflector dish was located at the bow with the main deflector shield generator located not too far behind. In addition to that the warship was armed with photon and quantum torpedo launchers, making this new class extremely deadly. In addition to their own Star Destroyer the Death Watch had designed a modern version of the _Kandoshi_ class dreadnaught, the _Tor_ class battlecruiser.

The Death Watch along with the Shadow Collective, led by Darth Maul were building up their forces to strike at the galaxy at large and almost no one knew about it.

Key word being almost.

"Have they detected us yet?" Nathan Creed asked, his eyes watching the view screen for the slightest sign of being spotted.

"Negative Captain. It looks your plan worked. The moon is masking us."

Creed nodded. "Good. Get a shuttle ready. It's took risky to try beaming down. An away team led by me will down to the moon and locate our contact."

"Captain are you sure that's-"

"She'll only trust us if I am there." Creed answered the unfinished question. "Maintain communication silence until I contact you."

 **Concordia  
Surface  
Former Death Base**

On the night side of moon of Mandalore, Bo-Katan Kryze glanced from side to side as she crept through the shadows of newly constructed and manned factory that size of a small city. This was one of many that had been quickly established utilizing the advanced technology provided by the Shadow Collective's allies and now churned out weapons, munitions, personal armour and even star fighters and gunships to fuel the new Mandalorian war machine. Currently it was mostly abandoned, the workers enjoying the night off while a skeleton crew kept watch over the automated process.

As she neared the edge of the factory she pulled back the hood of the poncho she wore over her armour and stared up at the perimeter wall lining the complex. The top was tipped with a crackling energy fence that would deter anyone by way of lethal electrocution and fry any droids to a point beyond repair. Part of her wondered how her contact intended to get over the fence, as it would be the only way in now that the Shadow Collective employed anti-transport fields to protect military assets from any Milky Way infiltration missions.

What she forgot was that her contact could be considered insane on most worlds.

A section of the wall began to glow, forming a bright square of red against the durasteel plating. Bo stepped back and reached for her blasters before the square collapsed, liquefied metal flowing out and forcing her to dart back before it rapidly cooled. Standing in the gap in the wall was Captain Nathan Creed, wearing a suit of armour clearly made to look like Mandalorian Bes'kargam for the purpose of blending in. In his hands he cradled a rifle which emitted a blue beam of light into the wave of molten metal.

"Aaaand I told them they were being paranoid." He declared before kissing the side of the rifle. "Like it? It superheats specific sections of any metal surface and then it can rapidly cool it back into a solid. Had to twist a few arms before they'd let me borrow this from the labs but it was so worth it."

Bo-Katan rolled her eyes and removed her hands from her blasters. "Are you done?"

"For the most part, yeah." Creed slung the rifle across his back. "Now onto the main topic at hand: how in whatever version of Hell exists for Mandalorians did your planet get taken over by not just the Death Watch but the Tal'Shiar, the True Way and apparently the Sith?"

Bo crossed her arms. "A pair of Zabraks claiming to be Sith Lords approached Pre Vizla with a deal to assist in taking over Mandalore. All we had to do was help them intimidate criminal gangs into serving us and then stage an attack on the planet so that Death Watch could fly in and save the day. Satine…"

Her eyes softened as she looked down. "They threw her in prison, soiled her name, told bare faced lies to the people about her trying to flee."

"Well you have bigger problems than a pair of so called Sith helping Death Watch," Creed pointed up into the sky. "I'm sure you saw that massive construct they flew into the system right? That's a Dyson Sphere, and usually when those are in the hands of anybody besides the Milky Way Alliance it tends to be a forerunner of a LOT of nasty and generally painful things to come. If that's here then that means the Iconians are close by, and if they have their eyes on Mandalore then this could be their opening move in the Sky River Galaxy."

"Iconians?"

Creed nodded. "An ancient race who established a galaxy wide empire centuries ago using advanced gate ways that allowed them to cross any distance instantly before their planet was bombed to extinction. Some believed they were simple explorers while history says that they were more like…conquerors. They even have a fancy name to go with it: Demons of Air and Darkness."

"Cute name." Bo huffed.

Creed shrugged and leaned against a nearby wall. "Well they certainly have lived up to it as of late. I won't go into the full details but they caused a super nova that destroyed the original Romulan Homeworld…and that was just their first move in _my_ galaxy. If this is how they're opening up shop in yours then I don't even want to think about how they'll follow up."

"Then let's not wait to find out." Bo proposed, her hands clenching into fists. "We can take action, free Satine and depose the figurehead Almec. The Sith rule through him, and without him they are nothing."

"Is there any recordings or proof that can be used to prove that they caused the attacks?" Creed inquired, rubbing his chin.

Bo nodded. "Yes: the security monitors in Satine's throne room. They would have been active at the time, but I bet Vizla would have had the footage seized and erased. However, I know for a fact that Satine took precautions after Almec was thrown in prison. She had a secondary data storage set up to retain copies of security footage throughout the palace, one that she had the sense to hide off sight and keep off the books."

"How would you know this?"

"Because I helped her set it up." Bo answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "We may not have been close in recent years, but we always did keep a way to secretly contact each other if we ever really needed it."

Creed smirked and nodded. "Crafty, I like that." He stated in approval, "So we just need to get to that data storage and then hook ourselves into the public holonet. Where is it?"

"That…is where things get a little difficult." Bo admitted, "It's hidden in an abandoned city in a region of Mandalore that has remained abandoned for decades. It was once a prosperous region, but it attempted to violate the Republic's decree forbidding military build up. It was bombarded and invaded when it was discovered to have numerous underground foundries."

She shuddered visibly. "Its called Morgara, but nowadays people only know it as the Dead City. Bandits and even Death Watch would use it as a staging point to smuggle supplies and troops onto Mandalore. The region itself has numerous storms that make approach by air or from space impossible except for certain points, and even then it requires a link to the ground side landing system to safely guide ships in."

"Would this place have anti-transporter shields?" Creed asked.

"By now, perhaps. The Death Watch may still be using it, they may even be preparing to convert the city into another factory. The existing foundries make it a valuable and convenient choice." Bo answered. "If we want to get at that data we need to move fast."

"Good! Now, one question…why would you choose that place of all places in the system to hide this data storage?" Creed asked, agape. "I mean you just said Death Watch uses it!"

Bo sighed and rolled her eyes again. "That's exactly why we chose it," She replied tersely. "They would never suspect that Satine would choose a place she loathes and fears to hide something so valuable."

"Oh…well, in that case I suppose I can see the logic." Creed admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "In that case let's get this show on the road."

He walked over to the entrance he had made in the wall and gestured while bowing. "Right this way, m'lady."

Bo shook her head and strolled past him. "Don't call me that."

"Would you prefer sunshine?" Creed asked as he followed. "Buttercup? Love? Poppet?"

"I _will_ hit you."

"Partner it is!"

Thud.

"Ow."


	46. Chapter 46

**Mandalore  
Sundari  
Landing Docks**

The _Twilight_ emerged from hyperspace, approaching Mandalore and onboard Obi-Wan Kenobi sat at the controls, wearing a modified outfit to disguise himself as a bounty hunter. It was hard piloting this ship due to the state it was in. Obviously Anakin had not gotten around to actually repairing this piece of junk but it had no Republic ID and Obi-Wan had to be subtle this time around.

Obi Wan managed to land the ship safely even though one of the circuits got caught on fire. "Anakin, that's the last time I borrow a ship from you."

He put on his helmet and headed to the landing platform got stuck halfway open. He quickly banged on it to get it to set down as a guard approached him.

"You better get your ship looked at."

"Oh it's my friend's ship." Obi-Wan placed his hand on the landing platform as it finally came down. "He told me it was perfectly fine, terribly sorry about that."

"Do you have landing permit?"

"Um I think I left it in the ship Come with me and I'll get it."

He led guard up to the ship and quickly knocked him out. Once the guard was knocked out he took the guard's armor and helmet, leaving the guard locked up on the platform.

 **Underneath Satine's Palace  
Mandalore Prison**

Satine waited in her cell which was the only thing she could do. She was glad to hear that her nephew Korkie had escaped with the others who help her send a distress signal, but she hoped that they didn't attempt to break her out again. She also hoped her message got through to the Jedi Council even though she knew the Jedi and Republic wouldn't be able to send support due to the planet being neutral. However, she did hope Obi Wan got the transmission, and would come to help her.

"Here to do more bidding for your master?"

The guard removed his helmet revealing himself to be Obi-Wan with a grin."I do my own bidding."

"Obi-Wan!" Satine got up from the floor and hugged Obi-Wan glad that he came. Obi-Wan broke the hug and looked to see if they got spotted. "Are you alone?"

"Yes. The Jedi Council and the Republic can't help us." Obi-Wan answered as he led her out of the cell.

"I trust you have an escape plan?" Satine asked with a smile.

Obi-Wan placed his helmet on his head. "As always my dear."

The elevator door opened, revealing another guard and Obi Wan pushed Satine in trying to act like one of the guards.

The guard noticed the Duchess didn't have any cuffs on her. "There's no record of a prisoner transfer here."

"The orders came from upstairs." Obi-Wan quickly answered.

"What's the authorization code?" The guard asked, slowly reaching for his weapon.

Obi Wan knew he was caught and moved quickly. As soon as the elevator doors opened the guard was down and Obi Wan grabbed Satine as they made their escape. More guards appeared and opened fire just as Obi Wan and Satine hopped onto a bike and took off. They soon made it to the ship as the guards were closing in on them.

Obi Wan used a blaster from the guard he knocked out and opened fire on the Death Watch killing one of them. He continued firing as he shielded Satine who ran up the ship. Obi Wan entered the ship and closed the landing platform. Just as he managed to get the ship off the ground rockets shot up and hit the ship, causing it to spin out of control.

"Brace yourself!" Obi-Wan shouted, grabbing Satine as the ship crashed.

They were both sent flying out of the _Twilight_ as it exploded and fell onto the docks, hitting the ground rather harshly.

Obi-Wan's vision was clouded but as he got up he saw someone moving through the smoke and recognized them as his vision cleared. "No…It can't be."

He activated his lightsaber but the being reached out and Obi-Wan felt invisible hands grip his throat and lift him off the ground.

"We meet again Kenobi. Welcome to my world." Darth Maul said victoriously.

Savage Oppress lifted Satine onto his shoulder as Maul tossed Obi-Wan to his guards, ordering that the two be taken back to the palace. As this happened a pair of eyes from above watched the entire spectacle.

 **Other Side of Mandalore  
Dead City  
Underground Tunnel**

The place sure lived up to the name Dead City.

Creed looked up at the dark stormy clouds swirling above as Bo-Katan led him through the secret tunnel that only a handful knew of. As Bo predicted Death Watch had set up a small garrison in the city to send supplies through to Sundari as terraformers were set up to help Mandalore to its glory before the Excision.

"They sure are committed, I'll give them that. They're willing to sell their souls to anyone, Sith, Iconian, all so they could come back to their home planet and start a war with anyone they feel like fighting."

Bo threw a harsh look over her shoulder. "Don't presume to judge us, Creed. Our warrior culture defines us for who we are. It is as important to us as your Federation and peace is to you."

"My Federation believes that free will is the right of all sentients. A lot of people, even yours, mistake that as a weakness but we've proven time and again it's not. If you think the Excision was horrible then when this is over you should look up World Wars One through Three along with Eugenics Wars on my planet. It took that and thousands of years of paranoid attitude with mistrust that led to so much conflict that we finally decided to stop killing each other and try to change for the better." Creed retorted. "By the time the Third World War was over six hundred million people died and it wasn't a Galactic Republic or an order of warrior monks that did it, it was done by our own hands. Even the Klingons know the price of taking a fight too far, held together by their own personal honor. So tell me, Katan, how many lives did the Mandalorians destroy during the Mandalorion Wars before Revan finally stopped them?"

Bo stopped and stiffened at the mention of the infamous Revan and of the Mandalorion Wars but Creed wasn't done.

"And what about after that? How many times did your people wage war against the Republic and the Jedi only to be defeated at every turn until finally they all grew sick of it and bombed this planet? All of this and your people still did not stop." Creed continued. "I can appreciate a culture that puts emphasis on personal strength and capability, but when it basically follows the idea of 'fight everything within sight as soon as immediately possible' and 'work to gain the ability to fight everything in sight when not actually doing so' I know that culture is doomed to keep fighting until it drowns in its own blood."

He crossed his arms and gave Bo a hard stare.

"So tell me…if you are so interested in being a warrior why didn't you just follow Jaster Mereel and his True Mandalorians? They at least sounded like they had their heads on straight with that 'super commando codex' that keeps popping up-"

He was cut off by Bo immediately punching him across the jaw. She went for a second hit but he grasped her wrist and grappled with her.

"You only get one, and only because I get the idea that I just tread on some personal boundaries." Creed growled.

Bo exhaled heavily and withdrew as Creed released her wrists. "…I had a brother who thought the same as you, and it got him killed…by Jedi no less."

"I remember hearing about that, when someone I know of described how a bunch of Jedi supposedly put an end to a Mandalorian raiding party extorting a planet" Creed tensed as Bo raised one arm threateningly. "But I know that wasn't the story! I know that it was a set-up by the planet's governor who tricked the Jedi into fighting the Mandalorians and led to a massacre. And I know because Count Dooku himself was the Jedi who lead that mission."

"…you're right." Bo lowered her arm. "The previous leader of Death Watch before Pre-Vizla tricked the Jedi by having the planet's leader accuse the True Mandalorians of harassing his citizens. The Jedi showed up, the Mandalorians didn't stand down…they were all slaughtered except for one man you may know of. You see his face every time you look at a clone trooper."

Creed nodded. "The bounty hunter Jango Fett. I understand that he died a few years ago on Geonosis in the opening of the Clone Wars. Dooku turned him over to the planet's government and they sold him into slavery. I can only guess he escaped."

Bo nodded. "That man could have become Mandalore if he'd had more time and luck on his side…and he went out like a helpless child at the hands of some arrogant Jedi. It's no surprise really. It seems any Mandalorian that works for Dooku ends up dead or just as bad."

"…well, now I at least get why the punch was called for." Creed rubbed his jaw. "But that was Death Watch's doing, why join them?"

"I thought that Pre-Vizla was different from his predecessor…however you proved me wrong in that." Bo admitted, "Others have tried to resurrect Jaster Mereel's cause, and they have all met an anonymous end on some distant outer rim world with their ideals for company."

"Well you aren't the sort to have some anonymous death," Creed pointed out. "I bet if you took control of Death Watch you could turn things around, make real warriors out of Vizla's thugs and stop playing the role of a bandit. All that we have in our way are two very angry and extremely scary Sith…what could go wrong?"

Bo shook her head and continued leading Creed down the tunnel until they came upon a large pair of doors. "This is the bunker where we set up the secondary data storage."

She tapped her code into the wall computer and the doors opened, revealing a room that lit up as they walked in, revaling a large computer at the other end of the room. She walked up and brought up the image of Satine's throne room and replayed the image of Vizla fighting against Darth Maul which ended in Vizla's death.

"…This is it." Bo shook her head and downloaded the data. "This is what we need to oust Maul."

She fast forwarded the image and when it reached the present time her eyes widened when she saw Maul walk into the throne room and with him were Obi-Wan Kenobi who Vizla fought and lost on Concordia and Satine, dragged up next to the throne as Maul sat down.

"No…"

* * *

 _It is the 2410 and the state of both galaxies is still in turmoil. The Vaadwaur leader Gaul has been revealed as a pawn of the Iconians and overthrown, temporarily halting the Vaadwaur's attempts to reconquer the Delta Quandrant. In the aftermath of the defeat of the Borg in the Skyriver Galaxy the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic have come together to attempt to end the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It is with the hope of achieving peace between the two sides that both galaxies will be united against threats that are sure to appear in the near future._

* * *

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F  
Bridge**

 _Captain's Log, Stardate 86720.8:_

 _The peace conference on Coruscant that will supposedly help permanently end the Clone Wars between the Galactica Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems is scheduled to begin in a day. To our relief a great deal of people have supported our attempts to end the war but we have had our share of political opponents. It is also believed that the conference will help re-establish the Khitomer Accords between the Federation and the Klingon Empire which itself would be a great achievement in our galaxy. There are too many opponents for us to be fighting, especially with the believed war that will happen when the Iconians truly return._

 _New Romulus has been gaining more and more refuges from the Clone War, specifically people who had no choice but to move to another galaxy in light of choices by the Republic and the Confederacy deemed unacceptable in their eyes. It seems the Romulan Republic will be quickly gaining the most of the benefits from this Alliance given that the Republic and the Confederacy already loaned them ships, medical supplies, and in return we have begun advancing the hyperspace technology and selling it back to the two powers in the hopes of establishing a trade that will be the first step to ending the war. It is with great hope that this conference is a success._

 _End Log._

Captain Shon looked over the security reports for the conference and saw that an entire fleet of Federation, Klingon, and Galactic Republic ships would be in orbit of the planet to act as the man defense force. The Chancellor had remained adamant that senate security would be adequate enough to protect the conference. Personally Shon disagreed given that President Okeg, D'tan and Chancellor J'mpec were attending but at the very least they had their own personal guard. This was a chance to end the war in this galaxy and possibly begin the first step in re-establishing the Khitomer Accords.

With the Khitomer Accords re-established the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic can truly focus on preparing for the return of the Iconians and focus on ending the war in this galaxy. It was a well known fact that such an alliance between them and an entire galaxy would be unnerving to many rivals back in the Milky Way such as the Dominion, the True Way, the Tal Shiar, the Vaadwaur, the Voth and even the Breen just to name a few. The combined power of the main three powers would be powerful enough to make a stand against almost all of these powers and they would likely attempt to stop this peace conference if they were aware of it. Then there was the matter of the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent System who were both the main powers in this galaxy who seemed willing to end the war but a great many would seem to prefer death than actual peace.

"Captain, the conference is being broadcasted on the HoloNet. Shall I bring it up?" Samuel Winters asked.

Shon nodded. "Let's see it."

Another marvel of technology unique to the Skyriver Galaxy the HoloNet was a near-instantaneous communications network commissioned by the Galactic Senate to provide a free flow of hologram communication and information exchange among member worlds. It vastly sped up galactic communications, which had previously depended on more circuitous subspace transmissions or relays. A message was first broadcast from a planet, a vessel in hyperspace, or from another point of origin; from there, it was then routed from the point of origin's transmitter through potentially millions of hyperwave transceivers suspended in hyperspace to a HoloNet relay, where it was sorted, identified and logged by the relay's computer, and then routed further via appropriate transceivers to its destination. The transceivers themselves transferred information across the galaxy through s-threads.

This enabled data to be sent and received at faster-than-light speeds, ensuring near-instantaneous communication from one end of the galaxy to the other, by routing information from origin, to transceiver, to HoloNet relay, to transceiver network yet again, and finally to its destination. It should also be noted that information transmitted via the HoloNet was nearly impossible to infiltrate or corrupt, thanks to the s-thread's incredibly narrow hyperspace dimensions. The only way to do so was to attach a listening device to the sender's equipment, the relay station, or at the destination itself. Starfleet and the Klingons had been looking for ways to adapt the technology for the Holonet to be used in the Milky Way Galaxy despite the fact that hyperspace travel was considered impossible in the Milky Way. They theorized it was possible to develop transwarp communications that functioned the same way as the Holonet, only using transwarp conduits which led to it being labelled the Transwarp-Net.

It was still in its infant stage but the potential was great if it was a success.

" _We are here now in front of the Senate building where a peace conference is being held to discuss the end of the war between the Republic and the Separatists. The conference is to be hosted by Chancellor Palpatine who is to speak with Count Dooku, leader of the Separatist Alliance, via hologram. With him are representatives from the Milky Way Galaxy, the President of the United Federation of Planets and the Chancellor of the Klingon Empire who have volunteered to assist in the negotiations._ " An image of Chancellor Palpatine meeting with President Okeg, D'tan and J'mpec was shown. " _With their help a brief alliance was made with the Separatists in response to the cybernetic species known as the Borg shortly after the attack on Naboo which is as you all know is the home planet of our very own Chancellor Palpatine. Now we see if this alliance can become something more as negotiations are set to beginning and hopefully bring an to the Clone Wars that has waged for the last three years._ "

"A lot of people in both galaxies are hoping these negotiations succeed." Jirelle commented. "These images are being streamed over the entire network."

" _The United Federation of Planets is barely less than three hundred years old and yet is considered to be a galactic power rivaled by the Klingon Empire that is much older, nearly a thousand years old. Aided by the year old Romulan Republic that was formed from the ashes of the Romulan Star Empire the three powers form the Milky Way Alliance that has-_ "

The reporter was cut off as dark vortexes of swirling energy appeared up in the sky above them and in lower orbit of the planet.

" _By the Force! What are-_ " The reporter was cut off as ships that appeared to be Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Ferengi, Xindi, Deferi, Kobali and Cardassian. " _They appear to be Milky Way ships but are they-_ "

Once again the reporter was cut off in mid-sentence as the ships above fired concentrated beams of energy down on the city below. Buildings melted and exploded under the beams that dug down straight to the ground of Coruscant.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Shon shot up from his chair as the ships pulled back and vanished back into the portals. "I know those portals."

"Iconian gateways." Samuel said, looking in horror at the devastation inflicted on the city.

If that wasn't enough there was an explosion from inside the Senate Building, causing even more panic. That was before the HoloNet was cut off but the defense ships in orbit were already moving to try and catch the attacking ships but the portals vanished.

"The Iconians have just made another move and I believe what they were intending to do." Shon said grimly. "We need to get our delegates out of the Senate immediately."

 **Coruscant  
Surface  
Devastation Site **

Down on the surface of Coruscant, hundreds of billions of beings felt the effects of the brief surprise attack that had scorched a good portion of the planet. The beams fired by what many believed to be ships of the Milky Way Alliance had cut down through many levels beneath the upper streets of the Galactic capital, each one ending the lives of tens of thousands by instant incineration or damage to structures which resulted in collapses of streets and buildings in the sub levels.

The damage was visible from orbit, especially on the night side where huge patches of the planet had gone dark only to be illuminated by lines of light carved deep into the city-planet. Beneath that, millions were fleeing for their lives as the damage caused further structural failures, making many fear being buried alive miles beneath the surface by countless tons of metal. The sections not affected by the surprise attack were soon overflowing with refugees while Republic gunships carrying countless medical personnel and Clone Riot Troopers were flown down to help maintain order and begin evacuating the more grievously wounded.

Unfortunately, the criminal elements of Coruscant's underworld still never failed to sieze an opportunity. Riots and mass lootings broke out as organized criminal gangs and syndicates moved against one another and everybody else in an all out free for all, fighting against Clone troopers, mercenaries and anybody who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soon the disaster zones across Coruscant became war zones which the Republic Army struggled to quarantine to contain the fighting.

Even the Jedi were deployed and received without complaint by those who would have avoided or thrown food and trash at the robed Knights upon seeing them take one step into the deeper sublevels. Other Knights were in the process of being called back from off world to assist in suppressing the violence by any means necessary, be it with a lightsaber or words. Some districts suffered so badly that several Venator class cruisers and Arquitens light cruisers were posted overhead to provide air support and medical evacuation to those in danger. Soon other ships not part of the regular military joined in, being flown in from many Core Worlds who possessed sizable defence forces of their own.

It was as if the entire Galactic Republic was coming together to address this issue.

But unfortunately those of the Milky Way Alliance, who were best equipped for handling the outbreak of violence and rescuing those trapped below ground were not welcome at all.

The embassy afforded to the Alliance found itself immediately beset by a rabid mob that expanded to fill the entire district surrounding the building. Only the shield generators established at the perimeter kept them back, and the occupants of the embassy concluded once several members of the mob who appeared to be people of means produced heavy weaponry which they used to hammer away at the shields that their position would not be indefinitely defendable. The Republic was barely able to spare several companies of Clones and even the less commonly viewed regulars, men and women who had been recruited from across the galaxy to augment the clone army only to be overshadowed to the point of being entirely forgotten most of the time.

"When those shields fall, and they will, I don't know how long we'll be able to hold them back." A Twi'lek woman clad in armour matching that of the Clone Troopers addressed a Federation security officer. "I don't know what's going on but you need to get your people out of here, fast."

The officer nodded as they hurried up the stairs into the embassy lobby where other diplomats and workers were attempting to pack away vital equipment for the planned evacuation. "Our fleet is preparing to beam us out. Emergency tranporters can evacuate this whole building in a few seconds, but we need to make sure that nothing vital is left behind."

The Twi'lek pointed one thumb over her shoulder. "What about those shield generators?"

"I wouldn't trust the mob to leave those intact," The officer shrugged. "But even if they aren't destroyed they are not of great concern, not as much as the lives of those in this embassy and your men. We won't ask you to die for our protection, Captain."

"Nor do I intend to toss my men to the slaughter," The Twi'lek crossed her arms. "We'll stay just long enough to make sure nobody gets inside, supposing they somehow break through those shields before you're done. After that our gunships are on standby on the roof to evac us. Then they can have a nice, big empty building and do whatever they want with it for all I care."

"Our sentiments exactly."

The emergency transporters activated and one by one anyone from the Milky Way Galaxy were beamed away while the Republic troopers evacuated to the gunships on the roof.

 **Inner Rim  
Corellian Trade Spin  
Duro Sector  
Duro**

Duro, also known as Duros was the heavily polluted and depopulated homeworld of the Duros species. Located on the Corellian Trade Spine in the Core, the planet itself was mostly abandoned, mainly housing food processing plants. Most of the population lived in one of the twenty orbiting cities. Duro was also home to a large number of orbital shipyards. Duros were interested in exploration and ventured off their homeworld to explore the galaxy at an early age. Hyperspace cannons linked Duro with Coruscant, Corellia, and other Core Worlds.

Having reverse-engineered the hyperdrive independently of the Corellians, Duro entered a Golden Age as a Core Founder under Queen Rana Mas Trehalt at the formation of the Galactic Republic. The monarchy was eventually abolished in favor of a collection of ruling corporations. The Duros High House became the government/legislature, and the Chief Representative Officer became the planet's head of state. At the same time, the Herglic Trade Empire fell with the formation of the new galactic government.

The Duros colonized Neimoidia during their earliest wave of expansion, though the Neimoidians were considered a separate culture, especially since the Duros disliked their Neimoidian cousins to say the least. It was without saying that Duros remained firmly on the side of the Republic during the Clone Wars and it was believed to be protected with the ships in orbit as part of the Inner Core Defense Fleet. That believe would soon be proven wrong as a fleet of Confederate ships numbering in the hundreds composed of fighters and frigates to _Providence_ class carriers/destroyers, _Lucrehulk_ battleships, _Leviathan_ class warships, and at the front the _Invisible Hand_ led the assault. The attack came as a complete surprise as the Confederate fleet broke hrough the outer system defenses of Duro, destroying four Golan Arms battle platforms, and three _Acclamator_ -class ships _Anvil_ , _Coronet_ , and _Bolide_. Also destroyed were two _Dreadnaught_ -class heavy cruisers _Prominence_ , and _Atrisian Iron_. After the initial attack, only four more _Acclamators_ , a _Victory_ -class Star Destroyer, and another _Dreadnaught_ remained but not for long.

From that point on Grievous would supervise the surprise attack, showing all that the war was far from over.

 **Mid Rim  
Mytaranor Sector  
Kashyyyk System  
Kashyyyk**

Kashyyyk , also known as Wookiee Planet C, Edean, G5-623, and Wookiee World, was a Mid Rim planet. It was the lush, wroshyr tree-filled home world of the Wookiees. At the start of the Clone Wars, Kashyyyk remained non-aligned. During the Dark Reaper Project, the Force Harvester found by Count Dooku on Raxus Prime was tested on the neighboring world of Alaris Prime, but all of the Separatists were forced off the moon afterward, ending the immediate Separatist threat to the system. A small attack on Kashyyyk itself occurred some time later, but this too was repelled, and Kashyyyk retained its non-aligned posture eighteen months into the Clone Wars.

The decision on what role the planet would play in the conflict was left in the hands of a number of Wookiee Royal Families, acting through a council dominated by King Grakchawwaa. He initially advocated neutrality, engaging in limited negotiations with both the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which wished to control hyperspace route planning and to use the Wookiees' secret trade routes to disrupt Republic trade and communication, giving them the advantage in the war.

However General Grievous grew tired of waiting and ordered his local Neimoidian commanders to launch several probe droids to help 'persuade' Grakchawwaa to make the right decision. He was on the verge of agreeing to join the Confederacy out of self-preservation, when news came that his son, Prince Rikummee, had accidentally been killed by the droids. In anger he allied himself with the Republic, even if the Wookies had remained mostly uninvolved in the war aside from the minor skirmishes with the Trandoshians that liked to hunt Wookies for sport.

This is perhaps what prompted the Confederacy to launch a full scale invasion, composed of over two hundred warships, drop ships, and carriers to land a massive droid force. A Wookiee woodsmith, Tarkov, had been on a grantaloupe hunt with his son Jaccoba, when both Wookies spotted as massive army of droid forces moving in the direction of the Wookie villages. Both Wookies became fearful and for good reason considering what this meant.

The war had come to Kashyyyk again.

 **Outer Rim  
Mahranee System  
Mahranee**

The Confederacy of Independent Systems had already made attempts to convince the people of Mahranee to join them due to the planet's plentiful resources but the planet's government remained loyal to the Republic. Due to their refusal to agree to their demands Marhanee was made a target in the Confederacy's plan to restart the Clone Wars by launching a surprise attck force that as expected took the entire planet by surprise. The planet was blockaded in a matter of hours and the capital city was being bombed away while the Mahran scrambled to escape or call for help.

* * *

These were not isolated attacks.

This was all part of a coordinated plan by Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Tyrannus to throw the galaxy back in turmoil only mere days after the defeat of the Borg. Planets were attacked all over the Outer and Mid Rims, even planets like Ryloth and Toydaria. At the same time, Confederate allied planets such as Mygeeto, Boz Pity, Agamar, Cato Nemoidia, Onderon and dozens more planets suffered similar attacks from Republic ships that took them by complete surprise.

The Clone Wars had begun again.


	47. Chapter 47

**Mandarlore  
Sundari  
Satine's Throne Room**

Maul sat in his throne while Satine was on her knees next to him and Obi-Wan was in front of them being held down by two of Maul's guards.

"Your noble flaw is a weakness shared by you and your Dutchess," Maul held up a hand and used the Force to lift Satine by the neck as she began to choke, while Obi-Wan couldn't do anything as he was held back by the guards. "You should have chosen the dark side, Master Jedi. Your emotions betray you. Your fear and yes your anger. Let your anger deepen your hatred."

"Don't listen to him…Obi-" Satine gasped for air as she tried to keep Obi-Wan from turning.

"Quiet." Savage growled at her as Maul stopped him from harming Satine.

"You can kill me, but you will never destroy me," Obi-Wan stated boldly. "It takes strength to resist the dark side. Only the weak embrace it."

"It is more powerful than you know." Maul softly retorted.

"And those who oppose it are more stronger than you'll ever be." Maul growled in anger as Obi- Wan continued to speak. "I know where you're from. I've been to your village. I know the decision to join the dark side wasn't yours. The Nightsisters made it for you."

"Silence! You think you know me? It was I who languished thinking nothing but you. Nothing but this moment." Maul pointed to Satine he had taken when he killed Pre Vizla. "And now the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi."

Maul activated the dark saber as Kenobi struggled to stop him but a guard elbowed him in the back in the back, knocking him down onto the ground. Maul smirked as he prepared to impale Satine through the chest but just as he was about to the wall behind him exploded, knocking him and Savage forward and releasing Satine from his grasp who fell to the ground. Through the smoke green disruptor bolts fired, killing several of Maul's men while they were still dazed from the explosion. Maul growled as he deflected several bolts with his darksaber and a figure lunged out of smoke, brandishing two red colored twin lightsabers and clashed with Maul.

"You!" Maul growled, looking at the smirking face of Ventress.

"Hello there." Ventress smirked, glancing at Kenobi. "It seems you owe me now, Kenobi. I suggest you start moving now."

"V-Ventress?!" Obi-Wan stuttered in shock at seeing the former Sith Apprentice, now appearing to be wearing Klingon battle armor that seemed custom made for her.

"MOVE!" Ventress crossed her lightsabers and blocked a downwards strike from Savage, who snarled in her face only for Asajj to kick one foot upwards and hit him in the chest, knocking him back just enough to provide her room to maneuvre just before Maul joined in.

Kenobi recovered and held out one hand to each side, grasping one Death Watch member each in an invisible grip before pulling them both towards him. As they flew past him he snatched their blasters from their belts, briefly abandoning years of Jedi training discouraging the use of such weapons, and unleashed a quick volley on the guards closest to Satine, driving them away as the Duchess rubbed her throat and scrambled towards him.

"Kenobi! Catch!" Ventress called, telekinetically ripping his lightsaber off of Maul's belt and shooting it towards Obi-Wan, who dropped one blaster and grabbed the hilt in mid flight, igniting the sapphire blade even as he used his remaining blaster to shoot two Death Watch members who charged in through the throne room door.

As Satine reached him Kenobi handed her the remaining blaster. "Go Satine, we'll hold them!"

"But Obi-Wan-!" Satine began to protest only for him to pressed one finger to her lips.

"…please." He whispered, giving her a pleading look before rushing off to join Ventress against the twin Zabrak warriors.

Satine complied and ran for the door, hesitantly raising the blaster with both hands and firing it at another recently arrived Death Watch member just as he landed in front of the open doors. Just as she got to the door she vanished in a flash of red light. Back in the throne room, Ventress contended with Savage while Maul quickly focused on Kenobi. The former Sith apprentice found herself on the defensive despite Savage's obvious lack of finesse and discipline with a lightsaber, but each of his strikes had the power equivalent to several men behind them and his reach was far greater than her's.

It was all she could do to either block with both of her blades or dodge out of the way entirely, and Savage proved to possess vast reserves of stamina which allowed him to put up a continuous assault.

"You are still just an animal," Ventress hissed while leaning back out of reach of the tip of his lightsaber. "A beast playing at being a warrior!"

Savage snarled and charged again. "Shut your mouth witch!"

Ventress side stepped, spun and lowered her body as she swept one leg out. Any other person would have found their legs being swept out from under them, but the heel of her foot stopped cold against the back of his knee while barely unsettling the massive Zabrak, who turned and glared down at her venomously. Ventress quickly put some distance between them both by launching herself off of the floor just in time to avoid being impaled through the chest as Savage stabbed down into the floor of the throne room.

Obi-Wan in the meantime found himself going on the offence, which was a rare thing for him…but given what Maul had almost done the Jedi Master found his self control slipping as he settled back into the familiar form of the agile and aggressive Ataru lightsaber form. Rather than utilizing quick and controlled movements to make Maul expend his energies in an assault Obi-Wan flew right into the former assassin with an immediate kick to the face that succeeded in partially turning Maul away. Before the red skinned Zabrak could even recover he felt Obi-Wan's elbow slam into the same side of his face struck by the Jedi's boot.

"Master Kenobi, you seem so…aggravated." Maul chuckled, shrugging off both blows as they circled one another. "Have I done something to unsettle that Jedi discipline?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and assumed his more favored Soresu pose, holding one hand out while his lightsaber hand was held over his shoulder, blade pointed towards Maul. "I won't deny that it felt a little satisfying to punch out a few of those teeth, but I believe I've gotten it out of my system. Now…why don't we finish what we started on Naboo?"

"We left off with you hanging by a thread, Kenobi." Maul pointed his blade at the Jedi. "I let you catch me off guard…it shall not happen again."

As both duels moved closer to one another Savage delivered a devastating knee strike to Ventress' abdomen which knocked the breath out of her and made her fall onto all fours. Savage raised his lightsaber overhead for an executing slice, but Obi-Wan leapt to his savior's rescue by catching the blade after Force pushing Maul away. Ventress quickly leapt back up and slammed both feet into Savagae's chest, knocking him back and allowing Kenobi to refocus on blocking Maul's next lightning fast strike.

"Now we're even." Kenobi commented to Ventress as they ended up back to back.

"Not by a long shot," Ventress replied. "Push me."

"What?"

"PUSH ME!"

Obi-Wan quickly swung once to deflect a stab from Maul and used the momentum from the swing to turn his entire body on one heel. He held out one hand and used the Force to send Ventress flying towards the charging Savage. She flew right over him as the Zabrak swung clumsily at her, missing her by several feet while Ventress landed behind him and then sprang towards his exposed back.

Savage, despite being less elegant than his foe, was not entirely helpless against her speed and proved this by pivoting on one foot to move out of the way of one blade which had been aimed at the back of his neck. In the same movement he swung at Ventress' lower back, but she dropped down into a roll after realizing her attack had missed. The Zabrak pursued her, chopping diagonal lines into the floor while Ventress nimbly rolled and side stepped.

Nearby, Maul caught Obi-Wan in a saber lock and pinned him against one wall. Pressing in, Maul gripped one side of the Jedi's face and attempted to press a thumb to one of his eyes, but Obi-Wan pushed back and struck Maul in the temple with the base of his hilt. This time the Zabrak was knocked back further and took a moment too long to recover, allowing Kenobi to hit him again in the face. Maul hastily parried a strike to his chest, guided by instinct and the Force to position his own blade correctly, but Kenobi continued to slip physical blows between the crackling collissions of both weapons, utilizing a mix of Soresu and Ataru which the Sith found unsettling after his earlier confrontation when the Jedi had been at his mercy.

"You tried to strike me where it hurts most, Maul." Obi-Wan said as Maul quickly backed up. "I have to give you credit for trying, but you made the mistake of bringing others into this little grudge you have against me."

Maul hissed. "Is that what you think this is? A simple grudge?!"

"Considering who your previous Master was? Yes." Obi-Wan answered, "You might not be the Apprentice anymore, Maul, but you are still exactly like a Sith. Vain, self obsessed and completely at the mercy of your own emotions. I'm not surprised that the first thing you did when you came back was try to take your revenge on me…but I'm surprised that it took you so long to crawl out of hiding. Did you need to wait for your brother to piece you back together?"

Maul's frown dissolved. "Take a closer look, Kenobi."

He raised one leg and tapped his foot against the ground. "These are no prosthetics, my new allies have rebuilt me into what I once was…and made me far stronger."

Kenobi raised one brow, able to deduce that Maul spoke the truth. The former Sith's legs were flesh and blood, completely attached to his upper body as much as his own were.

"I assume that these are gifts from the same benefactors who have been helping you prepare Mandalore for war."

"You assume correctly," Maul twirled his darksaber casually as he and Kenobi circled one another again, and then quickly locked blades with his foe. "They have given me the power to exact revenge on all who have wronged me! And once my revenge is fulfilled the Galaxy itself shall tremble at the birth of a new, greater dynasty of Sith!"

Kenobi clenched his jaw as he fought to keep from being pushed back by the Zabrak. Off to the side, Ventress was knocked back by a backhanded blow from Savage strong enough to send her flying halfway across the throne room. She flipped in mid flight and managed to land on her feet, sliding along the smooth but damaged surface of the floor to stop close to Kenobi and Maul just as the former broke away and landed next to her.

"You are both outmatched," Maul declared while Savage fell in next to him. "We are the rulers of this world, even if you escape this room we have an entire planet ready to hunt you down and tear you apart at our command."

Ventress smirked. "Oh…really now? Last I heard you relied on some washed up bureaucrat to dictate commands for you."

"Almec knows his place." Maul replied, "Death Watch obeys me even without him as a figurehead."

"But the rest of Mandalore doesn't know about that now, does he?" Ventress chuckled. "In fact if they found out I imagine they might be rather…displeased with all the lies your figureheads have told them."

"And you think they would believe you two?" Maul chuckled. "A hated Jedi and a former pretender of the Sith?"

"Indeed they would not," Kenobi nodded, glancing at Ventress. "Which is why I seriously hope there is a point to this discussion."

"Wait for it, Kenobi." Ventress purred. "We aren't fighting them here to win, but to stall for time. The battle is about to be won elsewhere."

 **Other Side of Mandalore  
Dead City**

"This is will work. It has to work." Bo-Katan said as she downloaded all the recordings and began uploading it to the HoloNet. "When it is uploaded to the HoloNet all of Mandalore will see it."

"I hope you know this will mean the end of Death Watch. When the people learn that Vizla was working with Maul and helped set up the attacks they will will outraged at Death Watch as well." Creed pointed out, watching the battle in the palace. "And Death Watch went and made them drop the whole pacifist route, so I can't see this ending well for your old comrades."

Katan was silent for a few seconds. "It's perhaps best for Mandalore that Death Watch is disbanded or destroyed outright. We wanted to bring back our warrior culture but we went too far. There's only one way to repent."

Creed and Bo-Katan watched as the recordings were full uploaded onto the HoloNet.

 **Sundari  
Satine's Throne Room**

Ventress and Kenobi were losing ground and fast.

For all their skills in a lightsaber combat and with the Force they were both outmatched by the two Zabraks. They were back to back with two Sith approaching from either side, ready to finish them off.

"We're outmatched." Kenobi muttered to Ventress as the two stood ready.

"You want to run?" Ventess asked darkly at the idea.

"I learned from watching you." Kenobi retorted with a smirk.

"Funny." Ventress drawled.

Hwever just as they were about to a large image appearing above them from a nearby building and it showed the day Satine was overthrown by Vizla who then met and spoke with Maul, showing that they had been partners up until Vizla betrayed Maul and locked him up. Only Maul escaped with Savage and Almec and challenged Vizla to a duel for leadership of Mandalore and Death Watch and ended with Vizla being decapitated with his own darksaber and Maul placed Almec back in position of Prime Minister of Mandalore.

Maul looked with wide horrified eyes as the recordings continued and he could sense the people of Mandalore growing outraged as they realized that they had been tricked. "No…"

Ventress laughed. "And now you lose. The people of Mandalore now know their savior to be a fraud, a puppet for a monster."

Maul growled at Ventress, his rage seemingly taking over as he activated his red lightsaber and held it one hand and the darksaber in the other.

Ventress however knew it was time to leave and held up a wrist communicator. "Ventress to _Hegh_. Emergency transport now!"

Both Ventress and Obi-Wan vanished in red beams of light. Maul visibly trembled and let out a roar that echoed through all the yelling in the city.

 **Dead City  
Underground Bunker**

"That was a Klingon transporter…It looks like the Klingons neglected to share with Starfleet that they have a former Separatist Commander working with them if I'm right." Creed said, watching as Kenobi and Ventress. "I wondered what happened to her after the rescue from the Elachi base."

Katan turned away from the computer. "We have done what we came here to do. Now it's your turn."

"My turn?" Creed questioned as Katan faced him.

"Take the information to the Republic and your Starfleet. Tell them what is going on." Katan said as she led him out of the room.

"If I do that the Republic will be sure to invade." Creed quickly pointed out.

"Yes and Maul will be dead." Katan replied. "And we will survive. We always survive."

"Not if the Iconians have their way. In case you have forgotten you have a massive Dyson Sphere in the system that can hold billions of ships and troops. Mandalore is in no condition to fight off the Iconians if they try to hold this planet." Creed quickly said and stopped in front of her. "We need to get in contact with the Klingons and see what they know about what the Iconians are planning."

"So what do you suggest?" Katan asked.

"…Can this reach Coruscant?"

 **Orbit of Mandalore  
I.K.S. Batlh  
Transporter Room**

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and found himself in a Klingon transporter room with Satine in front of him and Ventress next to him. "Satine?"

"Obi!" Satine quickly hugged him and he hugged her back.

"Obi?" Ventress asked with a smirk.

Obi-Wan and Satine quickly broke their hug, looking at her as she stepped off the transporter. "Ventress, since when did you start working for the Klingons?"

"I'm not working for the Klingons, dear Obi-Wan. I am working with them." Ventress softly retorted as she stopped at the door. "Just be thankful that my client found need of me and found a good reason to come here. Otherwise I imagine you and your dear duchess would be dead."

Obi-Wan frowned as he stepped off the transporter. "And what do you get in return?"

"Who knows? A world where I can live without being bothered by you Jedi and Dooku…Or maybe Dooku's head on a platter." Ventress shrugged.

"I doubt even the Klingons would help you kill Dooku, no matter what he has done. They don't want to be dragged into the war…If the war hasn't already restarted." Obi-Wan replied.

Ventress smirked. "Smart as always my dear Obi-Wan."

Satine frowned at the way this woman was talking to Obi-Wan. "What do you know about the monsters that helped those thugs take over Mandalore?"

"A former Sith that until recently was half a man that your dear Obi cut in half and his animal of a brother." Ventress answered.

"That you unleashed on the galaxy after you lost control of him. Knowing how you are I could hardly blame him." Obi-Wan retorted.

Ventress scowled while Satine looked angry. "You unleashed those monsters?"

"One of them was a former Nightbrother that you recruited to kill Dooku. Only he didn't like being treated like a pet. He turned on you and then tracked down his brother. So in a way you're as responsible for what's happening on Mandalore as much as Maul and Death Watch." Obi-Wan explained with a glare.

Ventress didn't look repentant. "Are you expecting an apology, Obi-Wan?"

"I'd expect you to clean up your mess before it brings about a whole new war!" Obi-Wan responded with surprising aggression. "I know that you don't really appreciate this, Ventress, but your pet monster and his insane brother almost had control of an army that could have allowed them to take on the entire Galaxy!"

Asajj opened her mouth to retort only for the Jedi to raise his voice.

"And more than that, if you had been even one second slower Satine would be _dead!_ " He snapped, "And all of that caused by you're never ending desire for revenge on one person or another! On me, on the Jedi, on Dooku! All you have to show for it is constant failures, the death of your Nightsister cult and countless people suffering the fallout!"

He took a deep breath. "…as you can tell, I have had an extremely long day…and more than a few close calls, moments that have tread onto personal territory…" He gestured with one hand. "So you'll pardon me if I need to vent a bit for once in my life."

Ventress raised one brow. "Well…for you to actually be upset this little predicament really must have hit a nerve." She glanced at Satine as her lips curled into a smile. "I should have known the great Obi-Wan Kenobi would be taken, and by a Duchess no less."

Satine immediately blanched. "W-wait, what-"

Ventress shrugged and turned away from them both. "Well Kenobi if you're quite done venting I do believe that you have more important matters to attend to, so why don't we put this little mess behind us and you follow me to the bridge so you can meet that client of mine who you have to thank for the Duchess still breathing?"

Obi-Wan and Satine shared a glance before following Ventress through the ship and onto the bridge.

Waitined for them was a Klingon, wearing white and grey and looked every bit a warrior as expected from a Klingon and was the apparent commander.

"Obi-Wan, Satine, meet Kahless, Emperor of the Klingons." Ventress said, stopping in front of the commander.

"Emperor? I was under the impression the Klingon Empire was led by Chancellor J'mpec." Obi-Wan said confusedly.

"The position of Emperor is more of ceremonial position than an actual one but I am no less a leader than my fellow Klingons. I am Kahless the Unforgettable, Destroyer of Molar, Defender of Qam-Chee, and Emperor of the Klingons. I work to defeat the enemies of the Empire from the shadows as not all enemies are united by a flag. The events on your planet Mandalore only supports my claim." Kahless crossed his arms. "Your Death Watch and this Darth Maul are now servants of the Demons of Air and Darkness."

"The Iconians? What could they want with Mandalore?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Irrelevant. We must move with quick haste. The Empire will have to move to stop them before they move." Kahless turned back to face the view screen.

"What do you mean?" Satine asked.

"A transmission was sent through your Holo-Net. It is only a matter of time before all in the galaxy knows and all will come." Kahless explained.

"The Republic…They will invade Mandalore to stop Death Watch and Maul." Obi-Wan realized.

"Who are now fleeing to the Dyson Sphere." Kahless said, pointing at the massive space station near the planet. "They will wait and hide for word from their masters."

"How do you plan to stop them?" Obi-Wan asked.

"By cutting the head off of a snake."


	48. Chapter 48

**Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

Chancellor Palpatine observed the devastation of the city inflicted by the so-called Milky Way ships that appeared out of portals that were identified as Iconian gateways. His face showed the look of a horrified man who was heartbroken at the devastation while inside his darker mind was racing with the possibilities that could be used to benefit from this.

"This is horrible." Okeg said, standing next to the Chancellor. "Clearly the Iconians will do whatever it takes to ensure no one stands against them."

"Those Demons…They have no honor! They butcher anyone in their way and leave nothing but devastation! The Empire will never allow them to get away with this!" J'mpec growled.

"An agreement I share with you, Chancellor J'mpec. These Iconians have butchered people under my protection and left our allies to take the blame. I will not stand for this." Palpatine said before his desk comm beeped and he quickly answered. "Yes?"

" _Chancellor, a transmission from Mandalore is being sent all across the Holo-Net. I believe you need to see this._ "

"Very well. Show it."

What they saw was shocking:

Duchess Satine of Mandalore overthrown by the Death Watch with the support of the people.

Pre-Vizla killed in a duel between him and the former Sith Lord Darth Maul.

Maul dealing with Cardassians and Romulans from the True Way and the Tal Shiar.

The massive construct in the Mandalore System that could only be a Dyson Sphere.

The fleet of advanced warships being built in orbit of Mandalore.

And Obi-Wan fighting with Asajj Ventress against Maul and Savage as the transmission was being broadcasted.

And at the end a man wearing a Starfleet uniform appeared. " _To anyone who sees and hears this transmission I am Captain Nathan Creed of the USS Seraphinite. I am transmitting from planet Mandalore to warn you all of a massive threat. The Tal Shiar, the True Way, and the Mandalorion terrorist faction known as Death Watch have all come together, working with multiple gangs and two possible Sith Lords and have taken control of Mandalore. I have investigated the situation on Mandalore and have discovered that all these factions are involved with the Iconians and are working with Death Watch and their new leader known as Darth Maul to build an army capable of fighting both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems._

 _The massive station in the Mandalore System is a Dyson Sphere, a gigantic sphere built around a star with a surface two hundred and twenty five times as large as the surface of a regular M-class planet. The Dyson Sphere is being used to supply Death Watch with the technology and supplies for the massive war they plan to wage across the galaxy. This is all done with the hopes of no one united the Iconians will have no obstacles in their path to dominate the Milky Way Galaxy. The Death Watch must be stopped now or they will start another massive war._ "

With that said the recording ended but it already left its mark.

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Captain Creed's transmission is coming from the Mandalore System." Jirelle said as soon as the recording ended.

"Contact the President." Shon said, watching with steel eyes as the entire galaxy began to fell apart.

He already had been contacted by Milky Way ships in the Mid and Outer Rims that reported of planets being attacked Republic and Confederate forces and taken by complete surprise. What had begun as a peace conference had suddenly changed to a galaxy spiraling out of control. He at first thought the Iconians had engineered more attacks on planets throughout the Skyriver Galaxy but there was no reports of Iconian portals appearing. The attacking fleets had used standard Skyriver hyperdrive engines that were crewed by Republic clones and Confederate droids.

It was almost as if nothing had changed at all.

"I have the President on priority channel, Captain." Jirelle said.

"On screen."

The view screen switched from Coruscant to the image of President Okeg along with Chancellors J'mpec and Palpatine. "Mr. President, Chancellors, D'tan."

" _Captain Shon, I presume you saw the broadcast._ " Okeg stated.

"Yes, Mr. President." Shon nodded.

" _We cannot allow the Iconians to take advantage the sudden turn of events. Fall back to the rest of the fleet waiting at the portal and then set course for Mandalore._ " Okeg said.

"What about you, Mr. President?"

" _He will accompany me aboard the Bortasqu. We will be quick._ " J'mpec answered.

" _And I will speak to the Jedi Council and convince them to send help as well._ " Palpatine said. " _We will stop these Iconians before they became an even greater threat._ "

"Thank you, Chancellors. We will begin moving at once." Shon nodded. "I attempt to contact the _Seraphinite and assess the situation._ "

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Dyson Sphere  
Command Spire**

Darth Maul and Savage Oppress stepped into the command center of the Control Spire on the massive Dyson Sphere followed by their Tal Shiar and True Way allies. "The situation has changed. The Republic will invade and possibly with their allies."

"Even if the recording is sent all across the galaxy the Republic will withhold aid thanks to the attack on Coruscant. They will think the recording is a fabrication." Gul Manak replied as he calmly strolled forward into the room. "The attack was set to be at the same time as the peace conference and we have just learned that the Alliance has evacuated their embassy on Coruscant."

"And the Klingons who rescued Kenobi?" Maul demanded.

"They must be using an advanced cloaking device to avoid being detected but we will soon find them. The source of the recording has been located on the other side of Mandalore." A Romulan officer answered.

"Find this Captain Creed and bring him to me. Alive." Maul said, wishing to extract his revenge on the man who kept him from avenging his own humiliation at the hands of Kenobi. "He will suffer slowly along with Kenobi."

Even if he suffered a minor setback he would still be able to have his revenge on all of his enemies.

"Begging your pardon, Lord Maul but perhaps we should seek more power in case our enemies overwhelm us." Gul Manak suggested.

"More power?" Maul questioned.

"Yes." Manak smirked. "I believe I know the right people who can make you strong enough to defeat all the Jedi and the Sith."

Maul skeptically raised an eyebrow. "And who could have such power?"

"The Pah-Wraiths."

 **Outer Rim Territories  
D'Astan Sector  
Serenno System  
Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _It seems that the Iconians have unknowingly aided us in our plans, Lord Tyranus. The devastation they have brought to Coruscant has caused much chaos and anarchy. Public opinion is turning against the Milky Way Alliance, even in light of the broadcast. But we must not allow Maul to run around with an army powerful enough to declare him a rival to our plans._ " The image of Darth Sidious declared.

"What is your plan, master?" Count Dooku asked.

" _Send a fleet to Mandalore. Have either Grievous or one of your competent commanders rendezvous with the Federation and the Klingons and assist them in taking the Dyson Sphere. Ensure you have a fleet and an army large enough to at least take part of the sphere._ "

"What of the Jedi?" Dooku questioned. "Will they not attempt to take the sphere from us should we be successful?"

Sidious grinned. " _That will be the best part of the plan. The Jedi will be hesitant to accept orders to assist the Milky Way Alliance even if some believe they are innocent. This will cause political turmoil and cause the Jedi to be blamed for not assisting in averting a disaster._ "

"Thus the people will begin to turn against the Jedi." Dooku caught on.

" _Exactly, my apprentice._ "

"I will contact Grievous and to ensure maximus success I will send Durge to lead the assault." Dooku bowed. "Shall I go and dispatch Maul and his animal brother?"

" _No. Leave Maul to me._ "

Dooku raised an eyebrow. "You will go alone, Master? Surely I should be there since they are two-"

" _And I am one._ " Sidious finished with an amused grin. " _Do you doubt my skills, Lord Tyrannus?_ "

"Never, Master. But I must point out that with the Federation sending a fleet of their own it could be dangerous if they were to learn of your identity." Dooku quickly answered.

Sidious seemed to consider his answer. " _You have a point but I still plan to go. Maul is too skilled for your acolytes and I cannot trust Grievous to carry out this task. You may join me, my apprentice but I expect you to ensure that this time both your former apprentices are eliminated. Ventress working with the Klingons is an unpredicted situation and one that must be rectified immediately. I allowed you the chance to take her back but she fled._

 _Now she is a threat._ "

Dooku bowed his head. "I understand, Master. I will see to it that neither Ventress nor Savage leave Mandalore alive."

" _Good. It has come to my attention that the Dark Side is growing strong, much stronger than even I could have predicted. This is due to the existence of Maul, Savage, and Ventress who are all growing stronger. If we are not quick we may be doomed to the same mistakes that befell the Sith before Darth Bane established the Rule of Two._ " Sidious said grimly. " _Even if there are two galaxies there can only be two Sith at a time. One to embody the power and the other to crave it. We will let our power of the Dark Side decide who will rule this universe._ "

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Council Chamber**

The situation on Coruscant had not improved very much.

The Jedi and the clone-troopers were overwhelmed in trying to stop the rampage of crime through the streets. And that wasn't ppeven half of the bad news the Jedi had received in the last twenty four hours.

An emergency session had been called to address the sudden attacks on Republic aligned planets.

"Rothana, Mon Calamari, Mahranee, Kashyyyk, Duro, and just a dozen more planets have reported Separatist fleets attacking and they are all calling for help." Mace Windu said, pointing at the points on the holographic galaxy map being projected in the center of the council room. "It seems this attack coincided with the attack here."

" _But why would any of the Milky Way powers attack us_?" Shaak Ti's holographic hologram asked.

"I don't think it was them." Anakin, who was allowed to attend the meeting, spoke up. "Those portals…I saw them in the Solanae facility in the Milky Way. I think this attack was the work of the Iconians."

The Council shared a look.

"I understand from your report, Skywalker, these Iconians are an ancient race that are said to be preparing to launch a full scale invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy. And I remember that Master Luminara Undulli and your Padawan encountered an Iconian on the Klingon homeworld." Windu stated. "Why launch such an attack?"

"They want to start a war with the Milky Way Galaxy." Anakin answered. "They've done such things before. They did it with the Undine and they used servitor races to fight their battles for them. They might believe they can provoke the Republic in war by launching attacks like the one they just did."

"The Milky Way embassy was evacuated before anyone was hurt and the representatives in the Senate were beamed away before they were hurt. I think it's safe to say that if they wanted a war they might just get one. But given the timing I cannot help but wonder if the Iconians are working with the Separatists." Evan Piell stated.

"If they are then the Republic might be in grave danger, given the nature of these portals these Iconians have used." Plo-Koon stated. "Then there is the matter of the transmission sent from the Mandalore system."

"I understand Kenobi went there to answer a distress signal." Adi-Gallia spoke up. "But why would Asajj Ventress be there? Is she working with the Klingons now? I find it hard to believe they would allow Ventress to work for them without informing us."p

"Under obligation, they would not. Reasons, they must have. Perhaps gave them information, Ventress did." Yoda mused.

"Surely they know Ventress cannot be trusted. Just how many Jedi did she kill before she left Dooku's ranks?" Windu asked rhetorically.

"She did just save Master Kenobi." Kit Fisto pointed out. "I think we should find out for ourselves, especially given the situation happening in Mandalore."

"Only if the Chancellor agrees. What are the chances he will given the sudden attack?" Windu once again asked rhetorically.

 **Ahsoka's Quarters**

Ahsoka looked out through her window at the devastation brought to the city, sensing so much death along with pain, anger and hate. She honestly was shocked to see Milky Way ships attacking but knew it could not actually the Alliance attacking.

They would not attack like this at all.

Something else was going on and the transmission sent by Captain Creed who she remembered from Q's trial only confirmed it.

"Ahsoka."

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she turned around and saw her mentor from another galaxy. "Ben?! I didn't think I'd see you here again."

"Events in the Milky Way had my attention. But now something has caught my eye along with the Prophets here and it threatens to endanger both our galaxies." Sisko explained grimly. "You of course remember Darth Maul?"

How could Ahsoka forget?

"Yeah. We know he's working with the Death Watch and the Iconians and that he's taken over Mandalore."

"It's much worse than that. The True Way, the Cardassian militant group that is also working with Maul has been known for attempting to bring Cardassia back to a militant state. To do this they have made many attempts but none were more dangerous than what they tried on Bajor before our galaxies met…In the Caves of Fire and now they have given Maul the very knowledge of what they attempted to release upon the galaxy." Sisko said, stepping forward. "Ahsoka, Maul is planning to go to Bajor and awaken an enemy of the Prophets and if he does he will not only be more powerful and more dangerous than both the Jedi and the Sith but he could bring forth a thousand years of chaos to both galaxies."

"What?" Ahsoka asked in complete surprise. "What enemy could be a danger to the Prophets?"

"The Pah-Wraiths." Sisko said darkly. "They are the same as the Prophets but they were banished from the wormhole by the Prophets and imprisoned within the Fire Caves on Bajor. The best way to describe them is to think of them as being to the Prophets what the Sith are to the Jedi. Except they are non-corporeal beings with powers so great they could plunge an entire galaxy into never ending war. Now imagine them finding a Sith Lord as a host."

Ahsoka's eyes widened as she pictured something as powerful as the Prophets, but affiliated with what equated to the Dark Side in the Milky Way Galaxy. Already she was able to imagine the level of destruction that could be inflicted on countless worlds, the droves of innocents lost in the fire and the chaos that would spread.

She immediately shot towards the door, staff in hand. "I need to get to Bajor!"

"You must try to prevent their arrival at Bajor entirely!" Sisko raised his voice, causing the young Togruta to stop while reaching for the control panel. "Maul travels aboard a Dyson Sphere, which can move to other locations instantly. All that stops them is the time taken to secretly return to the Milky Way due to the disruptive barrier surrounding the Skyriver galaxy, and once they are there they shall be able to plunge both galaxies into a thousand years of chaos. Ancient beings long forgotten by the universe will awaken to both combat and assist them, things that should never again see the light of the cosmos will sense their opportunity to return and strike against those who banished them…and the only thing preventing that will be the brief window of time you will have to intercept them."

Ahsoka turned back towards him, her heart and mind racing at speeds faster than light. She slowly inhaled and endeavored to organize her thoughts until one question came to mind.

"…where will they be when we can strike?"

 **Master Yoda's Chambers**

"And he told me that if Maul gets to these Pah-Wraiths he'll plunge both galaxies into never-ending war." Ahsoka was anxious as she explained to both Yoda and Anakin.

"Hmm," Yoda looked up at Anakin, "No reason to be doubtful of this, we have."

Anakin nodded. "We might have never met this Sisko in person but from what Ahsoka has said…and done, he seems trustworthy. If you say that Maul is up to something big then I believe you, Snips."

Ahsoka smiled, glad to see that she was being taken seriously. "He insisted that we work with the Milky Way Alliance in this. We need the best of both Galaxies to stop Maul or all will be lost."

"Difficult to arrange, that shall be." Yoda pointed out, "Distrust the Milky Way, many do, especially in the Senate. Hard to convince many shall be."

"I could talk to Palpatine," Anakin suggested, "He'd recognize the severity of this and could use his authority to grant us a fleet…not a large one, but better than nothing. Plus Obi-Wan is out there along with Ventress, so we may have some help on the inside."

"Stay here I must, to coordinate with the Council on the recent attacks. Go to Mandalore the two of you will. Stop Maul from enacting his plan, you must." Yoda looked at both Anakin and Yoda.

 **Senate Building  
Chancellor's Office**

Palpatine carefully considered Anakin's words. "So, this Maul is going to the Milky Way to gain a great power."

" _We have a reliable source, Chancellor. We need to intercept Maul before he escapes into the Milky Way. I know you must distruct the Alliance now in light of the attacks but you know as well as I do that they would never attack us like this._ "

Palpatine nodded. "Of course I believe you, Anakin. You would never lie or deceive any of your friends. And I of course know that the Alliance would never intentionally attack us in such a way. So you have my permission to take a fleet directly to Mandalore to stop this Maul."

Anakin smiled and bowed. " _Thank you, Chancellor. We won't let you down._ "

"I know you won't." Palpatine smiled back until after the transmission ended.

This was an unexpected turn of events. Palpatine sat back in his chair as he considered what he had been told. A group of creatures like the Prophets that could give anyone who frees them unlimited power and possible immortality. Not even his late master considered such a thing possible and yet it had been proven to exist in another galaxy.

And his former apprentice could be the one to reach and gain it if he did nothing.

Sidious supposed given that Maul was able to take control of an entire planet and establish a secret empire before learning a possible way to become immortal, the lifelong dream of the Sith, that he should be proud of him at least in his own ability to train apprentices. However Maul was no longer his apprentice but a rival that threatened the Grand Plan. And Sidious did not suffer rivals in any shape or form. He could not allow Maul to gain access to a power that would make him stronger than Sidious and he could not allow such a threat to exist.

"You summoned me, Chancellor?" Mas Amedda asked upon entering the office.

"Prepare my ship. In the meantime I have a speech to give."

It was time to take a personal look into this matter.

"Be careful how far you go, Palpatine."

The Chancellor narrowed his eyes as he looked over his shoulder. "Sisko."

Benjamin Sisko stood just a foot away, having appeared like he done before and Palpatine still could not sense him. "Chancellor. Planning a vacation?"

"Possibly. I hear Bajor is quite lovely." Palpatine faced the former Starfleet Captain and sat down in his chair.

"Just be careful how far you go. You wouldn't want to attract _unwanted_ attention." Sisko said darkly.

"Are you threatening me, Sisko?" Palpatine narrowed his eyes.

"A warning. You have protection here, not in my galaxy." Sisko warned. "A great many will be watching you."

"And will they take action? I have yet to be impressed so far. You, the Q, all of you have such powers and you do nothing. How pathetic you are to have such power and do nothing with it." Palpatine walked and stood in front of Sisko.

"How like you to say such things. You, a man driven by a compulsive need to rule over and enslave all others in his reach. All this need to show yourself as a superior life form. Even more pitiful when to beings like the Q your ways are nothing but boring." Sisko remarked, watching as Palpatine's eye twitched. "In their eyes your demeanor is nothing but that of a pouty, screaming little child driven if only for everyone to look on you for attention, listening to their praise as you take and take from them and simply hang them out to dry."

"If they are weak they deserve to die." Palpatine scoffed. "The weak serve, live meaningless lives serving only to reproduce and hope that their spawn and the ones they spawn remember them in death. A pathetic and meaningless cycle with no sense worth what so ever. They believe in some sort of divine will that governs the universe, that in some way they matter and there is a purpose for them. The only problem is that they are wrong.

They are insignificant. There is no divine will and no great Force watching over them. There is no good or evil. Our definition of both terms is based on our beliefs of what justifies them to be.

The only thing that matters is what you are able to do and without being distorted by the idea of morals, ethtics, good, evil, right, and wrong. The Jedi believe themselves to be paragons of light and for Federation believes itself to be the pinnacle of civilizations that accepts one and all. Only not everyone thinks the same. Some see the Jedi as the warmongers that the Sith were believed to have been in the past and some see the Federation as no different from the Borg.

Only the Borg know what they are and what they do. They simple do not care. For all their technology they are perhaps the closest beings to enlightenment in either universe…Except for me." Chancellor Palpatine, Darth Sidious grinned.

"And you see yourself as any better than any of the Sith Lords who came before?" Sisko raised one brow. "An endless cycle of Masters raising Apprentices with the teachings of betrayal and treachery so those students may overthrow and replace them to train new pupils. The Sith were born from the Jedi as a result of a simple disagreement in philosophy that developed into an obsessive need for power for its own sake. In the end the Sith amount to nothing in the universe, save as an occasional catalyst for wars waged either against the Jedi or the Republic either directly or through proxy when the Sith are too weak."

Sisko leaned in. "You are one example, Chancellor Palpatine. You may preach of being superior, but in the end you hide behind titles and the face of a benevolent, aging ruler in order to twist the hearts and minds of those who would never knowingly follow you, given what you would do and will do."

Palpatine's lips curled into a sneer as the façade he fought so hard to maintain on a daily basis began to slip. "I have single handedly taken over the entire galaxy in all but name, Sisko. No other Sith before can claim that accomplishment, not even Revan or the Sith Emperor Vitiate himself ever succeeded in inflicting what I have on the galaxy and the Jedi. I did not need armies to do this, nor will I need armies to forever alter the course of the universe in the coming years. While you lord yourself over me and dare to presume that you can comprehend the true power of the Force I actively make use of it and twist whole worlds to my will…something you could prevent with a single thought, and yet here you are pontificating to me about my supposed futility even when faced with evidence of just how relevant and successful the Sith lineage of Darth Bane has become."

The Chancellor rose from his desk. "And in time you will be faced with undeniable proof that the Sith amount to far more than mere cannon fodder to be flung at the ivory towers of the Republic on occasion. When that happens, I wonder if you and the Q shall remain what you have made yourselves into: stagnant background noise of the universe that sees fit to only be heard at a distance while the rest of the cosmos continues to spin regardless of whatever plans you make or threats you level."

"Assuming we actually have done nothing." Sisko replied, cracking a smile. "I am certain you recently felt something that changed your precious board, Chancellor. You felt the Force lean towards the Light again, you felt the curtain of darkness which you and your master constructed become weaker. Everything that you once knew has been altered, and everything that shall come is no longer entirely dependent upon your machinations."

"We shall see," Palpatine turned to the window overlooking the city beyond. "I have plans within plans, yet I assume you already know this. How couldn't you? You have a wealth of knowledge that even I am jealous of and yet as always you will do anything except make use of it by informing my enemies. So if you wish to add yourselves to the board through your own proxies then feel free…it will simply give me more options to explore in my end game."

Sisko shook his head. "Such a shame, an individual like you would have held great potential if you were not so fixated on the ways of the Sith and being completely selfish and blind to what good and evil truly represent. Had you been born in the Milky Way galaxy I dare say you would have achieved heights even greater than what you have here."

Several moments of silence passed, and Palpatine turned to see that his office was now unoccupied. With a frown the Chancellor lowered himself back into his chair.

"Until the next time then, Sisko." He whispered, his eyes briefly gaining a yellow tint to their irises.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chommel Sector  
Gateway Alpha  
Alliance Fleet  
I.K.S. _Bortasqu  
_ Bridge**

" _Citizens of Coruscant, members of the Republic. It is a say day that we have had to bear witness to such a travesty. Our dear planet, the capital of our great Republic that has stood for over a thousand years has not only endured one attack in the past year but it was endured a second one that has caused more deaths on such a horrifying scale. The ships responsible for the attack appeared to be from the Milky Way Alliance, the faction that has come from the new galaxy who came to our aid when we were attacked by the Borg who sought to enslave our galaxy and risked their lives to do it._

 _They have claimed that the ships were not theirs but copies built by the mysterious race known as the Iconians to instigate a war between our galaxies. Many senators and even Jedi believe this to be a lie and demand that they pay for this attack. But my friends, as hard as it for you to hear I believe them! If they wished for our destruction they would not have simply attacked and retreated, leaving so many of their own behind to be attacked by our angered and grieving citizens._

 _The recording sent by Federation Captain Nathan Creed has been confirmed to be genuine and as we speak our forces are working with the Alliance to stop them. We had all come together to welcome our friends who came here in peace and these Iconians along with their allies have blantedly defiled that peace! For that we shall show them that our great Republic is no one's pawn. I have urged the Jedi to help them in this matter but only a handful have agreed while the others remained bogged down by the devastation and the urgings of the Senate._

 _I can only hope that they can stop this threat before it is too late. May the Force be with them and all of us."_ Palpatine's speech over the Holo-Net finally ended.

"He's surprisingly trusting if he's so ready to defend us considering what has happened." D'tan commented once the speech was over.

"He knows something…" J'mpec growled. "There has been something about him I have not liked since the beginning."

"That actually makes two of us. I may not be a Betazoid or a telepath like a few of my people but I know when something is wrong. This Chancellor Palpatine may have acted benevolent but I feel like he's hiding something. I still remember what we have learned about the clones and the strange activity revealed by the Q themselves during the Jedi's Trial." D'tan stated.

"I agree. I'm not sure the Iconians had anything to do with the explosion inside the Senate building." Okeg said.

"You think there was more to it than the Iconians?" D'tan questioned.

"We know the Iconians and their motivations. But we also know the Iconians are not the only enemy we have to watch out for. There are enemies in both galaxies, plotting and waiting. We need to be strong and we need to stick together to survive the coming storm." Okeg answered.

"Yes. We shall show them all we are not so easily intimidated." J'mpec nodded in agreement.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Concordia  
Upper Atmosphere  
USS _Seraphinite  
_ Bridge**

Captain Creed and Bo-Katan stepped onto the bridge of the _Seraphinite_. "Status."

"The atmosphere's weather is still keep us hidden for now but scans showed several transporter signals from the moon and the planet. I believe Death Watch is pulling out to the Dyson Sphere." Nathan's tactical officer, a Tellarite named Koal reported.

"Is there any confirmation that our broadcast was seen?"

"Confirmed, sir. It was sent through the entire Holo-Net." Koal nodded.

"Good. Then we better leave and regroup." Nathan nodded.

"Before you do that, Captain you should know that we were hailed and they are waiting to speak with you."

Creed looked confused. "Who?"

"Emperor Kahless."

Now Creed was surprised. "…Put him on screen."

The viewscreen quickly showed the image of the clone of the greatest Klingon in history. " _Captain Creed. You have done a great and honorable task today, exposing those dishonorable serpents to the galaxy. But the battle is not done. They must not escape in the Dyon Sphere._ "

"We're not in a position to pursue." Creed pointed out.

" _That is why we will infiltrate the sphere and stop them._ " Kahless declared. " _During the battle in the throne room my warriors were able to commendeer a Death Watch ship and they used the codes to open the Dyson Sphere and beam aboard. Due to the large mass of the sphere not even the combination of the Death Watch, Tal Shiar, and the True Way is enough to account for the entire population of the station. They are ready to beam anyone onboard and we can take the sphere by force._ "

" _How can you be so sure you will win? You would be heavily outnumbered_." Obi-Wan could not help but speak up.

" _That is where I come in._ " Ventress grinned as she stepped into view of the screen. " _If there's one thinkg I know its how Sith or Sith wannabees think._ "

"…How soon do you plan to move?" Creed asked.

" _Now. You are welcome to join us._ " Kahless answered.

"Fine by me." Bo-Katan spoke up. "I want a chance to pay back those Sith for everything they've done to Mandalore."

Creed looked at Bo. "Its suicide and you know it."

Bo smirked. "Afraid to join me, Captain?"

Creed scowled as he stood up. "Don't mistake my pragmatism for cowardice, Katan. As Captain I am responsible for the safety of this ship and crew…That being said since you are on this ship I cannot let you go in…Without armed backup."

"Captain-"

"That sphere is a legitmated threat to the security of the Federation and the Alpha Quadrant. We have to learn everything we can about them and hopefully stop them before they launch another attack." Creed cut his second officer off. "Get an away team ready, armed and with a shield for Bo-Katan."

Bo-Katan seemed pleased by Creed's attitude as she followed him off the bridge.

 **Dyson Sphere  
Spire**

One by one the away teams from both ships appeared in the interior of the Dyson Sphere Spire. They appeared in what looked to be a massive city and above them they could see the Shadow Collective's fleet hovering around the Spire.

"They have enough ships to take and hold an entire planet." Creed said, wearing his MACO armor with a Sonic Anti-Proton Rifle strapped to his back.

Bo-Katan wore the traditional Mandalorion armor that came with the jetback while at the same time she was armed with her blasters, the Tholian Crystalline Sword Creed had given her, and a personal deflector shield given to her by Creed. Obi-Wan wore his Jedi robes and was armed with only his lightsaber while Ventress wore the customized Klingon battle armor along with the bow she was given by her sisters along with her twin lightsabers.

"Maul must be getting ready to launch his war." Obi-Wan stated.

"Then we better get moving. If this is like the Solanae Dyson Sphere I know where we must go." Creed looked to the spire over the city. "That spire can interface with the command station of the sphere, aside from the control station in orbit of the star at the center of sphere. If we take it we can try and at least hold of their assault."

"We must move. There is a chance they have detected our presence." Kahless stated, gripping his sword, the Sword of Kahless.

 **Command Station  
Control Chamber**

"Sir, we've just detected an unauthorized beaming under the Spire." A Romulan Tal'Shiar agent reported.

Gul Manak along with Maul and Savage turned him. "Show us."

A large holographic image was projected in the middle of the circular room and it showed who had beamed in.

"The Jedi, brother. They have found us." Savage looked at Maul.

"Kenobi." Maul growled softly. "So he plans to follow me to Bajor. This is too soon. My plan is not finished."

"We cannot risk them stopping us when we are not ready to make the jump. Activate the security system." Manak ordered.

The agent activated the security system which was an endless number of drones left in the Dyson Sphere to act as security. They were easy to activate, easy to program, and extremely deadly.

"Security System activated." The Romulan stated.

"Kenobi is mine." Maul declared as he turned to the door, followed by his brother.

At last he would have revenge.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Orbit  
 _Imperator_ Class Star Destroyer _Executrix_  
Bridge**

The _Executrix_ had been repaired since the invasion of the Maw, receiving additional armor, weapons, and shields and had additional fighters brought onboard. It was obvious though that it was not a carrier nor was it meant to function as one. To that end Anakin Skywalker had ordered that the fighters be stored deeper in the vessel, held in launcher racks that would allow it to carry more fighters and launch them even quicker.

He had quickly become a consultant in starship design during his time in preparing for the war against the Borg.

The new ship originally possessed a main battery of six heavy turbolasers and two heavy ion cannons, arranged in four dual mounts flanking the ship's tower structure. Anakin had noticed that the designers did oridinally not take advantage of their wedge shape to give the heavy cannons the ability to focus on targets in the forward firing arc that were level with the ship. This could have been accomplished either by superelevating the aft turrets, or merely by spacing the turrets apart over a longer distance of the ship's length. When the class was being redesigned to fight the Borg these design flaws were corrected by doing both and they added a SPHA-T turbolaser cannon to the ventral hangar like what had been done to the _Venator_ Star Destroyer class of the Open Circle Fleet, at Anakin's suggestion and another two were added near the pointed front which would take full advantage of the ship's wedge shape and directly below the command deck for further protection.

The two globes atop the bridge tower served two purposes: aiding both in hyperspace communication and deflector shield generation. The proximity of the deflector shield generators made the bridge tower one of the most protected parts of the Star Destroyer. A massive solar ionization reactor bulged from the ventral spine, annihilating hypermatter as fuel to power the ship. Auxiliary reactors flanked the main reactor and the three reactors were connected to the three main engines.

In addition, the backup engines were connected to additional reactors as well. This gave the ship a massive amount of power, even on par with Milky Way ships and it had been modified with Milky Way technology including a polarized hull plating that many scientists were claiming could be upgraded into a new kind of deflector shield that would deflector solid projectiles and energy weapons, modified plasma cannons that could be an upgrade from turbo-lasers and improved sensors that would detect ships in hyperspace. The attack hangar was located on the underside on the ship and was guarded by a set of armored doors with fighters that had been upgraded by Milky Way technology, now possessing polarized hull plating that would of great help defending against unorthodox weapons such as buzz droids and upgraded phased blaster technology.

Republic fighter service and refueling bays, and fighter launch hangars surrounded the main hangar and were launched from cycling racks and pilots boarded from overhead gantries and were released into space as they disengaged from the front position in the racks. It was indeed a powerful new ship meant to inspire pride for the Republic fleet and terror to the Separatists while having all the power to back it up. Anakin along with Ahsoka, Master Kit Fisto, and Aayla Secura waited to be given word for the small fleet to depart. The fleet composed of the _Imperator_ , two _Acclamator_ class assault ships, and one _Venator_.

"This is all that they could give us?" Anakin asked, pacing slightly.

"Don't be too quick to comment, Skywalker. Reports from our fleets in the Outer Rim have stated that many planets have fallen under Separatist assault. We are lucky enough to have a fleet with this much fire power." Kit Fisto quickly pointed out.

"And given the mood of the attack I am not sure many believe the recording sent from Mandalore." Secura jumped in.

Anakin frowned but knew they were right. With the sudden attacks on multiple planets the Republic had been quick to respond and launched a counter-attack. With the rest of the fleet either here to defend Coruscant from any further attack or trying to reinforce the outer defenses they were indeed very lucky with the few ships they had now.

"I know but you saw what happened. Those Iconians, they just killed millions of innocent in the blink of an eye and left the Federation and their allies to take the blame." Anakin said, shaking his head. "All this death and destruction."

And then there was what Ahsoka had learned from Benjamin Sisko about Maul's plan. Don't get him wrong, he believed Ahsoka one hundred percent when she tried warn him and Yoda about what Darth Maul was planning but he was naturally suspicious of a man he had yet to meet. As much as Anakin didn't want to say he was jealous of Ahsoka's progress there was a part of him suspicious of Sisko and his motives. He was proud of Ahsoka and he was proud of how far she had come under this Sisko's teachings, even doing something he couldn't have done but that was to be expected since she was his Padawan he stil wondered why Sisko would suddenly approach her and offer to show her other sides of the Force and what he and the Prophets had learned.

What was Sisko looking for?

Did he sense something in Ahsoka that Anakin and the other Jedi did not?

Why give her such powers when she was still just a child?

Sisko's motivations _was_ in questions and Anakin just didn't like his Padawan learning from a man who could just appear and disappear without anyone sensing him. That meant that Sisko was perhaps capable of many things that not even Ahsoka was aware of.

So again why did he suddenly approach her with his offer?

Anakin shook his head when Yularen reported the ship was ready. They needed to move now and help Obi-Wan.

He would sort this out later.

The doors opened and in walked Admiral Tarkin and a clone trooper wearing modified clone armor. This was apparently the new clone known as Jax who was the youngest clone to be promoted to commander, demonstrating a keen intellect and ruthlessness against the droids in the few battles he had participated in. Along side Tarkin he had quickly become a favourite of the Chancellor and someone Anakin was interested in knowing. Jax could possibly as skilled a commander as Rex and they needed all the skilled commanders they could get to stand a chance against the Separatists and the Iconians.

He had heard the Kaminoans had received more strands of DNA samples of Jango Fett, allowing them to continue the production of clones and in the wake of the new galaxy the Kaminoans had increased clone production while shipyards produced battleships and fighters at full capacity in the wake of the sudden attacks by the Separatists. Anakin wasn't surprised about the attacks one bit.

He fully believed that Dooku would find some way to restart the war despite everything that has happened. The Skyriver Galaxy was spiraling into a full scale war with not only two sides but against a complete galaxy as well.

"Master Skywalker, it seems we will be working together again as we did in the Solanae base. No doubt because of our experience with the Iconians, what little there actually is." Tarkin stated.

"Seems so, Admiral." Anakin nodded and looked at Jax. "And you are commander Jax."

"Yes sir." Jax nodded. "Ready to fight when I am needed."

"Good. We will need it." Anakin said before turning away. "As soon as all ships report in make the jump to hyperspace."

Meanwhile Chancellor Palpatine boarded his personal shuttle and sat back as his pilot droid activated the ship's engines.

 **Chommel Sector  
Gateway Alpha  
Alliance Fleet  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

Captain Shon looked at the gathered fleet, watching as they all reported in. "All ships, prepare to make the jump on my mark."

A second later the entire Alliance fleet jumped into hyperspace on direct course to Mandalore, prepared for a direct confrontation with the Shadow Collective.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
D'Astan Sector  
Serenno System  
Orbit  
Confederate Fleet  
 _Providence_ class dreadnaught**

Count Dooku strolled onto the bridge of the main flagship of the gathered fleet in orbit of Serenno, spotting General Kali who had been waiting for him. "Status, General."

"The fleet is ready to make the jump to Mandalore, my lord." Kali reported.

"Excellent. Let us get underway."

"As you command, Count Dooku."

A moment later the fleet jumped to hyperspace.

 **Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Dyson Sphere  
Spire  
Surface City**

"Incoming!" A Klingon lieutenant shouted as security drones floated above them, firing their anti-proton weapons down on the landing party.

They quickly fired back while Obi-Wan worked to deflect the bolts back with his lightsaber, taking out several of the drones as they took cover. He leapt up and slashed one of them with his lightsaber, landing perfectly on the ground.

"We must push forward to reach the command center!" Kahless said as he blasted another drone. "There will be a transporter that can take up to the command center."

However more obstacles revealed themselves as a large pair of doors that led up to the command center opened and Maul and Savage stepped out.

"Looks like we have their attention." Obi-Wan said as he readied himself.

Bo-Katan pulled out the Tholian Crystalline sword, the very weapon that Nathan gave her. "Good. Now we can end this."

Maul activated the remaining functional half of his former double-bladed red lightsaber and the Darksaber while Savage activated his own. "I will have to settle for killing you here and now, Kenobi."

Obi-Wan readied himself. "You will try."

Maul snarled and lunged forward, slashing at Kenobi who fell back, parrying and blocking the former Sith's strikes. This time, unlike before when he allowed his emotions to affect his judgement Obi-Wan had calmed himself enough to go through the defensive stance of Soresu. However with Darth Maul's legs restorted somehow it seemed that he was indeed even stronger than before as he had boasted earlier as Maul went all out, attacking with all his might and moving almost too fast for the naked eye to see.

Obi-Wan managed to keep up but found himself unable to counter-attack even as he fell back. Katan moved to assist Kenobi by aiming her blaster at Maul, if only to distract the Zabrak, but Savage Oppress leapt in and blocked the few shots with his lightsaber.

"Step back if you want to live." Ventress said, walking past Katan with both her lightsabers active.

Katan scoffed and dropped her blaster, holding the crystalline sword in both hands. "I don't run from a fight."

"Suit yourself." Ventress said non-caringly before rushing forward.

Savage growled as he charged and met Ventress head on, twirling his double-bladed lightsaber as he slashed at his former mistress. Ventress dodged or blocked each strike, looking for a hole in Savage's defense as she dodged or spun out of the way of his strikes. Katan charged forward and swung her sword at Savage who raised his saber to block.

"You fool! What-" Ventress stopped as she watched the crystalline sword make contact with the lightsaber and instantly the left lightsaber end of Savage's weapon shorted out and faded while the crystalline weapon was now glowing, resembling a red lightsaber.

Katan smirked as she swung her now energized and unleashed the stored energy that cut through Savage's left arm. Savage screamed as the discarded limb fell to the floor, releasing a green mist that was the effect of Mother Talzin's magic that had enhanced his body which brought Maul's attention to him.

"Savage!" Maul spotted Savage kneel onto the floor as Ventress and Katan both moved to finish and quickly pushed Kenobi back as he lashed out with one hand, sending a Force Push that knocked Ventress and Katan back.

He quickly picked Savage up, putting his brother's remaining arm over shoulder and quickly retreated. He tapped a small device on his wrist and a transporter was activated.

As he was beamed away he sent a look of pure hate at Katan and Ventress. "You will both suffer for this."

The drones laid down cover fire as Maul pulled Savage back to the main entrance into the command spire.

"We need to push forward!" Obi-Wan said, deflecting more bolts. "We can make it!"

Creed looked up and saw more drones coming down from the spire. "I don't think so. Fall back!"

The number of drones coming down towards them was enough to resemble a fast moving storm cloud that would kill them all if they did not retreat.

"We have to regroup!" Creed shouted, pointing towards the city structure around them. "Take cover in the buildings!"

 **Control Station  
Control Chamber**

Maul grunted as he helped his injured brother back into the control chamber of the command spyre, growling in anger at what the Mandalorion and Dathomirian witches had done to his brother. "Medic!"

Two guards rushed forward, helping Savage towards a table.

"Can he be healed?" Maul asked.

The doctor tapped the console next to the table and Savage's discared arm appeared in a liquid filled tank in a flash of light. "I can have the arm reattached in ten minutes."

"Do it." Maul snarled and turned away.

He walked over to the main console, seeing Gul Manak overlooking the preperations.

"What is taking so long?" Maul asked impatiently.

"There is a massive barrier, some sort of hyperspace singularity that makes jumping through supspace to another universe difficult. We have to compensate for it by ensuring the entire structure is shielded or we would be destroyed." Manak answered.

"If we do not move now we will be destroyed regardless." Maul retorted.

"This Dyson Sphere is too large to be taken with only a handful of Klingons, Mandalorions, and a few light sword wielding fools." Manak said, glancing back at Maul. "The security drones will kill them in a matter of seconds."

Maul looked ready to slice Manak's head off as a console started beeping. The Cardassian operations officer quickly looked it over.

"What is it?" Manak asked.

"Sensors are detecting multiple ships approaching through hyperspace from several directions. They seem to be Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Republic, and CIS." The officer reported.

"They are responding to the recording that was sent out." Maul growled. "They are coming to take this station."

"They can't enter the sphere and its hull is impervious to any weapons fire." Manak stated before a console beeped. "Now what?"

"The doors are opening. Someone has transmitted the access codes!"

Manak's eye went wide. "Override!"

"I can't! Someone has accessed the system and they are trying to cut off the command station!" The Cardassian officer answered. "It's a Starfleet signature."

 **Surface City**

The landing party had split up, hiding in the many buildings of the city as the drones swept through the city, looking for them.

Creed kept himself pressed against a wall as he looked out, seeing the drones hovering over the city.

" _Seraphinite to Captain Creed._ "

Creed quickly answered. "Creed here. Not a good time, Troy."

" _I thought you'd want to know that fleets are coming out of hyperspace and are moving towards the Dyson Sphere. We're transmitting the codes to open the sphere._ "

Creed peeked up again. "That's good. Tell them to hurry, Troy."

 **Mandalore System  
Outside the Dyson Sphere**

The Milky Way Alliance fleet emerged from hyperspace, led by the _Enterprise_ , the _Bortasqu_ , and the _Lleiset_. A second later a small Republic taskforce emerged from hyperspace.

" _This is General Skywalker. We are here to offer assistance_." Anakin announced from the _Executrix_.

" _Thank you, General Skywalker_. _Taking this giant station will be a challenge even if it's not occupied._ " Captain Shon replied.

" _How do we get in?_ " Anakin asked.

" _There are to primary openings on opposite sides of the sphere. The Seraphinite is transmitting codes that will open the entrances and allow us to enter. Once that is done we'll have to reach the command station in orbit of the center star._ " Koren answered.

" _Our ships won't be able to get close the star._ " Anakin pointed out.

" _Perhaps but if you take over a spire you can beam over to the station so as long as its systems are not locked out of the transporters._ " Shon pointed out. " _We can send over a few away teams to help you if it comes to that._ "

" _Thank you, Captain._ "

On the other side of the Dyson Sphere a fleet of Confederacy warships emerged from hyperspace, led by a _Providence_ dreadnaught with Count Dooku sitting at the command chair of the bridge. As he looked at the massive construct ahead and wondered how a station with such wonderous technology could benefit him and his master. He thought back to the plans for the Ultimate Weapon that would be the size of a small moon when completed but with the technology from this massive sphere perhaps they would create an even large weapon the size of a planet. However it sadly would be more difficult as procuring kyber crystals for the Weapon now was hard enough, especially while making sure the Republic and the Jedi did not learn of the Weapon's existence.

And even if the Weapon's construction was being hastened it needed to be kept secret for as long as possible at all costs.

Of course there was the matter of Maul who was an animal and a thug instead of an actual Sith Apprentice.

While he had once been his master's pet he was now the pet of the Iconians and whatever their plans were. The Iconians were obviously interested in building up their own army in this galaxy, possibly planning to dominate it which was something he and Lord Sidious could not allow. There was only one plan, one grand scheme and it was the very plan set in motion by Darth Bane thousands of years ago. The Sith had waited and plotted over the centuries, studying, training, and preparing for when the time was right when they would rise again and destroy the Jedi.

Dooku had made it his life's mission to see this plan completed and he would not allow anyone to stop it. The Clone Wars was a mere play that had been set up long ago by his master as part of the grand scheme. The arrival of the Milky Way Galaxy was an unexpected surprise but not a critical obstacle to the plan. In fact thanks to the many enemies the Jedi had faced from the Milky Way such as the Borg, the Devidians, the Undine, the Elachi, and the Iconians it had caused more death and destruction that benefited him and his master.

The Borg adapted to the powers of the Jedi while the Undine had even infiltrated Coruscant, killing senators and Jedi alike that caused more fear from the Milky Way. And the recent attack on Coruscant by the Iconians would cause that fear to evolve in anger and hate for all the deaths that had occurred.

'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.'

Dooku remembered his old Jedi master's words and found it amusing to know just how right he had been with those words. In a way Yoda's advice had described the Clone Wars in almost every accurate detail. Perhaps his old master did realize it but it didn't matter if Dooku knew he did or not. In the end Yoda would be another obstacle to be removed once the next phase of the plan was initiated.

Yoda, Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo-Koon, and all the other members of the Jedi High Council would be eliminated.

Even the former padawan of his own deceased apprentice.

Dooku held no allusions that Kenobi would be there, attempting to stop Maul from carrying out his plans and he knew Skywalker wouldn't be far behind. Dooku was confident he could dispatch both of them if he got in his way but his master had maintained a certain interest in Skywalker due his status as the Chosen One. Personally Dooku found it hard to believe that such a hot headed little brat could be the one destined to destroy the Sith. He had no discipline, he flaunted his skills without restrain, and his skills was barbaric to say the least.

Really, did Qui-Gon's former student at least try to make sure his student's wasn't akin to a thug swinging a lightsaber like a club?

"My Lord, we are detecting an opening in the sphere." General Kali reported.

"Take us in and begin deploying our forces. We must establish a hold inside this sphere." Dooku ordered.

"Yes, my lord."

Fighters and carriers were launched as the Separatists fleet entered the massive sphere and made their way to the surface interior. The Confederate fleet was large enough to carry a droid army that could invade several star systems simultaneously, but even Dooku knew that it would not be enough to take over even a quarter of the sphere even with the assistance of the seldomly seen armies of various Separatist worlds including Nemoidians, Umbarans and Geonosians. Still so as long as the Separatists had at least part of the sphere under their control they could always call for reinforcements. Carriers and troop transports were deployed as the fleet entered into the massive sphere. Umbaran tanks and walkers were to be used to help establish and secure the initial foothold and allow the Confederacy to land millions of troops within the next few hours.

Under his orders the Confederacy had increased production of battle droids and ships in not only preparation for the renewed war but for use against the Milky Way Galaxy. The Fabricator had come online and helped produce dozens of droids and its input was even used to upgrade the Confederate fleet. It had even designed an advanced jamming field to prevent intruders from beaming onto ships and was working on a new deflector shield based off the polarized hull plating supplied by the Alliance that would deflect both solid and energy weapons while upgrading the fighters with this technology for improved defense and offense.

The technology was different and many of them had only been theorized but now that it was proven exist many scientists, including the ones in the Techno Union were working to understand and find ways to reach the MLA's level, even if it would take a year or longer. They might not have a year but the technology from this massive construct would more than likely speed up the attempts to fully upgrade the fleet.

While of course ensuring the Republic would be of equal footing.

Dooku took a moment to behold the interior of the sphere and saw that its inner planetary surface was larger than any planet he had ever seen. An entire civilization could live inside this massive construct and possibly have no reason to leave. The resources, the technology, the secrets, all of it here right in front of him and he knew what he would do.

This Dyson Sphere would belong to the Sith.

He tapped the console on the arm chair, opening a channel to his quarters.

" _Yes?_ "

"We are entering the Dyson Sphere and are deploying our forces. The Alliance should be entering through the other side." Dooku said.

" _Good. I sense that Maul and his brother are in the center of the sphere, orbiting the star._ "

"The star?" Dooku asked thoughtfully. "If so it will be difficult to approach, regardless of any modifications."

" _Have our forces capture a Spire. We will use the transporters there to arrive directly to their location._ "

"Understood, Master." Dooku nodded. "I will see to it personally and our field commander will delay the Alliance for us."

" _Excellent. Than we shall deal with Maul ourselves._ "


	50. Chapter 50

**Control Station  
Control Chamber**

"Mobilize all divisions!" Manak shouted. "The enemy cannot be allowed to maintain a beachhead within the Dyson Sphere! Full deployment of all forces has been authorized!"

"It shall not be enough." Maul growled, already predicting the path this battle would take. "They do not need to hold the whole of this station, they need only capture a single Spire and begin pouring their forces directly into the command center. It is only a matter of time."

Manak wanted to argue this point, but he had enough experience to know that the former Sith was correct. "Then we must consider evacuation through the emergency gate while we still have a chance. We can dispose of this Dyson Sphere and deny it to our enemy, begin anew elsewhere."

"This station is meaningless so long as we complete our mission." Maul retorted, "We shall use the gate…and we shall go directly to Bajor!"

"But we agreed that it would be necessary to lay siege to the planet in order to secure our operations there, otherwise it would be nigh impossible to release our future allies." Manak protested. "We can regroup, try again with sufficient forces-"

"And they shall be intercepted and destroyed!" Maul snarled. "Numbers shall mean nothing. We must take what forces we can through the gate, enough to break through and accomplish our goal. And then…" He smirked. "The Milky Way Galaxy shall fall into chaos."

Manak thought over the strategy in his head and glanced at the mass of hostile contacts on the surrounding sensor screens. He came to a decision and nodded. "Very well, we shall begin to gather a fleet to move through the emergency gate. The rest of our forces shall remain to hold off the Alliance, Republic and Confederacy fleets…they shall fight to the last man and keep our enemies tied up for days."

"There is something we can use, Gul Manak." The Cardassian officer stated. "We still have the subject in containment."

Manak looked at the officer. "Very well."

"What is he talking about?" Maul questioned.

"He speaks of a special science project we studied for the last year under order of the Iconians. We acquired it from a desert moon in the Expansion Region." Manak answered.

"And what is this project?" Mauk asked impatiently.

Manak nodded and in the center of the chamber appeared a stasis pod. "This is it. A pod from the era of the Old Republic."

Maul sensed a power in that pod as he looked it over. Actually he sensed two presences in that pod which should be impossible.

"It is known as the Jebble Box and from what we understand it contains an artifact known as the Muur Talisman. It was created by a Sith Lord known as Karness Muur and it created the Rakghoul disease. The Talisman was placed in the Jebble Box to contain the Talisman." Manak answered.

Maul's eyes widened as he remembered learning about the Rakghoul disease as a Sith Apprentice. The Rakghoul was wiped out when the planet Jebble was nuked from orbit.

"How did you find it?" Maul asked, looking very interested at the box.

"We recovered the information during our studies of this galaxy and we've worked on ensuring we are not affected by the plague." Manak answered. "We can use the person inside to spread the Rakghoul plague to the intruders and eliminate them."

"I will open it." Maul activated his lightsaber.

He slashed through the box and lifted the top off with the Force, revealing another sarcophagus inside. He touched it but nothing happened.

"What is this?" Maul growled in frustration. "Why won't it open?"

"According to the records only a Jedi can open the coffin." Manak replied. "Be careful when you open it. Exposure to the Tailisman could transform us all into Rakghouls."

"Then I will capture a Jedi and force them to open the coffin." Maul stated, looking at the image of the ships entering the Dyson Sphere and the intruders under one of the Spires. "I know exactly where to look."

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **The City of Giants**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _When we finally arrived in the Mandalore System we were quickly greeted with the sight of the so-called Dyson Sphere that only some of us had seen in the Milky Way Galaxy and just about everyone was rushing to go it first. The Alliance managed to open the doors and we raced in, followed quickly by the droid forces of the CIS. We all knew why this was happening. The Chancellor ordered us to secure as much territory in the Sphere as we could helping the Alliance._

 _A new commander named Jax was in charge of the operation to secure as much of the interior of the sphere as possible while being on the look out for the Seps who were digging their metallic heels into the sphere as deep as they could. General Skywalker led the frontal assault while Admiral Tarkin coordinated from above the location of General Kenobi who was fighting underneath one of the spires that acted as a command center in that section of the sphere. With the war back in full swing and new enemies to face the troops were all ready to take on the new galaxy._

 _And we planned to win._

* * *

 **Dyson Sphere  
Interior  
Alliance Fleet  
USS _Enterprise_**

"Captain, we are detecting a large amount of ships approaching. Cardassian, Romulan, Jem'Hadar and likely Mandalorian." Jirelle reported.

"Prepare to engage. Order our shuttles and transpoters to start sending our ground forces down." Shon ordered.

Shuttles were launched from the Milky Way ships while gunships were launched from the Republic ships, all of them heading down to the surface. The Alliance fleet soon engaged the enemy fleet a moment later and both sides began their slugging match.

 **Republic Campaign - Spire  
Surface City**

The Klingon landing party was being forced back by the endless security drones that had swarmed them, keeping them from reaching the entrance to the interior of the gigantic spire over them. Just as all hope for them seemed to be lost the drones were attacked from above by Milky Way shuttles and fighters along with Republic gunships, dropships and fighters. The drones were all destroyed in a manner of seconds and the gunships landed, offloading clone troopers and Obi-Wan couldn't suppress the smile on his face as he saw Anakin jump off one of the gunships with Ahsoka next to him.

"I was afraid I'd have to fight this whole war on my own for a moment." Obi-Wan remarked with a smile as he stepped forward.

"We both know you wouldn't have lasted more than a moment too." Anakin replied with a smile.

"We don't have much time. Maul is hold up in the command center of this station. If we can reach it we can stop him for good." Obi-Wan said, pointing to the spire.

"It's a little more complicated than that. If we don't hurry Maul will take this entire station to Bajor." Ahsoka spoke up.

"Bajor?" Obi-Wan questioned. "That's a planet in the Milky Way Galaxy. The one near the wormhole were those Prophet beings live. Why would Maul go there?"

"Apparently Bajor has a few dangerous secrets that could affect both galaxies." Anakin quickly answered. "And now Maul wants one of those secrets."

"Does this have anything to do with…" Obi-Wan trailed off, looking Ahsoka.

"He warned me what would happen if Maul got his way and that we all have to work together to stop him." Ahsoka answered, gripping the small pole that was her staff's current form attached to her belt with her lightsabers.

"In this case I agree. We need to reach Maul before he escapes again." Kenobi remarked.

"We are on it, Generals." Jax stepped up. "We've secured this area and we are ready to push forward."

As they had been speaking dropships came down, dropping AT-TEs and AT-XT walkers along with TX-1301 fighter tanks that were all crewed and ready.

"The walkers will act as our primary artillery on the ground while our air support handles any heavy weaponry as we push forward. We enter the spire and take it over." Obi-Wan advised. "We can use to access the sphere's databanks."

"The command station is located in orbit of the star that is at the center of this sphere. The Alliance ships can reach it but it's heavily guarded. If we reach the transporters in the spire we can reach the command station from there." Anakin replied, pointing to the other end of the city where the entrance to the spire was located. "The Alliance fleet can keep Maul's forces busy while we sneak onboard and deal with Maul directly."

"That is unless he has not already fled." The Jedi turned and saw Emperor Kahless approach them. "An Iconian gateway existed in orbit of the star of the Solanae Dyson Sphere that led to the Jenolan Dyson Sphere in the Delta Quadrant. If there is a gateway in orbit of the star of this sphere it can perhaps be used to flee."

"Meaning Maul could have already escaped." Obi-Wan said grimly.

"Even so this sphere must be taken from the enemy as quickly as possible." Kahless declared, turning to his fellow Klingons. "TO BATTLE!"

The Klingons held up their weapons and roared with Kahless.

Anakin spotted Ventress hanging back, watching with a guarded expression. "Is Ventress now working with you?"

"We have an agreement, Jedi. An agreement that is no concern of yours for the time being." Kahless answered harshly. "If you wish to argue now than you can have someone else take command while I lead my forces. I have no time for petty squabbling."

Anakin scowled but said nothing since Kahless was right.

There was a battle to be fought and won.

The battle for the sphere had begun.

 **Other Side of the Sphere  
CIS Campaign – Spire  
 _Providence_ Dreadnaught  
Bridge**

The security drones were equipped with advanced deflector shields and anti-proton beam weapons that drilled through almost any known armor or shields, even the ones used by the CIS droids. However while the drones had the technology the droids had the numbers and they used it. Blaster bolts pelted the shields, draining them of their power supplies until they were vulnerable and blasted out of the air. The CIS ships deployed troop ships and droid gunships to the upper levels of the Spire, docking and dropping the droids they carried and returned to the fleet that surrounded the spire.

 _Onslaught_ class frigates patrolled the surrounding space with droid Starfighters, fast enough to move as a fighter and armed heavily that was inspired by the designs Milky Way ships these ships were more effective than most CIS ships their size and were meant to go head to head with Alliance ships.

"Our forward forces have encountered heavy resistance but Commander Durge has pushed through to the bottom entrances of the spire." General Kali reported.

"Good work." Dooku nodded in satisfaction. "Gather the remains of the drones have them shipped back for study."

"As you command, Count Dooku." Kali complied.

The battle was going well since Maul's forces were distracted by the Alliance, allowing the CIS fleet to capture a spire without a great deal of difficulty.

Dooku tapped the switch to his quarters. "The spire will be taken in a matter of moments, my lord."

" _Good. Now we have Maul cornered._ " Sidious answered, sounding pleased. " _Lord Tyranus, once we have taken the spire I want to know the exact status of the Alliance. I don't want them interfering with our dispatching of Maul._ "

"Of course, Master. I've read about the Dyson Spheres in the Milky Way and this spire should give us all we need to know. It will take full acceleration for the fleet to reach the other side of the sphere." Dooku surmised.

" _If necessary have them execute a micro-hyperspace jump to reach the Alliance. I will tolerate no interference from anyone._ "

Dooku nodded. "It will be done, Master. I will have our shuttle ready in a moment."

" _Excellent._ " Sidious chuckled.

 **Republic Campaign - Spire  
Surface City**

The fight had become almost one sided as the Republic and Alliance ground forces fought their way through the cities to the spire entrance. Using cables and jetpacks the Republic clone-troopers reached up the buildings, firing down on the security drones that were slowly overwhelmed.

"We've captured the east and wast areas of the city and set up staging grounds there. We're in position to move forward into the spire." Jax reported, displaying a holographic map of the city under the spire.

"The Alliance has likely already beamed their teams in and will have the drones shut down in a matter of minutes. They have more experience with this technology." Anakin replied, looking at the red hightlighted areas. "The drones are still acting as security forces, attacking us as we move into new areas. They are not programmed to handle a full-scale invasion."

"I was thinking the exact same thing, General." Rex admitted. "Our tanks can take them out with one shot."

"Our troops can act as the forward advance while the tanks attack from the rear, taking the drones out." Jax caught onto Rex's plan.

"And then we enter the spire, fighting our way to the control center." Anakin pointed to the purple circular logo of the spire. "There should be a transporter that can take us directly to the command station in orbit of the star at the center of the sphere."

"Generals!" The Jedi and their clone commanders turned their heads as Commander Cody marched up to them. "We just received a Separatist fleet has entered the sphere and they've deployed their droids around another spire."

That caused the Jedi to be concerned.

"How many?" Anakin asked.

"It's a full invasion, General. They don't have to deal with the enemy fleet like we do so they're making more progress in taking their spire." Cody reported.

"We can't let the Separatists gain a foothold in this sphere. They could use the technology to upgrade their fleet." Secura spoke.

"I know. We should start right-" Obi-Wan was cut off as he vanished in a flash of light.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed as his former master vanished.

"What happened?" Kit asked.

"It was a transporter. Someone beamed him away." Ahsoka answered, sharing a glance with Anakin.

 **Control Station  
Control Chamber**

By the time Obi-Wan had realized what had happened he already been punched in the face and lifted off the ground as someone used the Force to choke the life out of him.

"Kenobi, so nice of you to join us." He could see Maul's evil grin as he was dropped onto something. "And how nice of you to help me."

Obi-Wan's blurred vision cleared and he looked down as the object he was on some sort of coffin that was in the process of unlocking itself. Maul grabbed him and threw him off the coffin, grabbing it once the millennia old lid finally unlocked and opened it.

What awaited them inside was something no one expected.

It was a woman, a human woman with pale white skin and long black hair held in a long braid while wearing a white skin-tight bodice like suit with armored slender shoulder pads, black elbow length gloves, and a white loincloth tied around her wist with black leather pants and black boots with silver clasps.

What was most noticeable about her was the golden scarab with a red ruby in the center latched around her neck.

"The Talisman." Maul grinned as reached out to touch the amulet.

Just as he said those words the so-called corpse opened her eyes and let out a loud gasp as she sat up, grabbing Maul's shoulder. "Zayne!"

Maul stepped back, shocked by the fact that the so-called corpse was alive.

She was disorientated as she sat up on the sarcophagus. "Have the Jedi come?"

Obi-Wan saw the lightsaber attached to her belt and realized she must be a Jedi. A Jedi who had been in that sarcophagus for perhaps a long time.

Her blue eyes looked around in confusion as her surroundings before they flashed crimson. "No, it's still there-I can feel-I can feel him. No! No, you're still with me!"

She held up both hands to her ears, as if to block out a very loud noise. "How long-How long were we? How long was I-inside?"

"Roughly four thousand years." Gul Manak answered, fascinated how a life form could have been kept a live for so long.

"Four-four thousand years?" The woman repeated in shock. "Then Zayne failed. What about the Covenant? Was it successful?"

'This woman. She was alive during the time of the Jedi Covenant!' Obi-Wan realized as he looked on.

"We know nothing about a Covenant." Manak answered.

"Then what about the Rahghouls?" The woman continued to ask questions.

"Destroyed centuries ago."

"And the Mandalorians, did the Mandalorians conquer the galaxy?"

"They failed." Maul answered, smirking at the shocked woman. "They were weak and pawns of the Sith then and they are now."

The woman looked at Maul, sensing the power of the dark side in him. "The Sith? No, they were wiped out."

"We survived and have grown stronger." Maul gripped his lightsaber. "And I have come for the Talisman."

The woman stared at Maul as both him and Obi-Wan sensed the anger in her as she ignited her lightsaber, lighting up the chamber with its golden glow. "I should have felt it sooner!"

Maul ignited his lightsaber and blocked diagonal slash that pushed him back. She went on the offensice, pushing Maul who hastily blocked and parried her blows. She was quick and utilized strength in her blows and she saw this Sith before was very skilled in the art of Juyo which drew heavily on volatile emotions and the dark side. He blocked all of her strikes, moving with the fluidly and skill of a warrior who had been trained since the day he could walk.

However she noticed something else in the style he was using. Or rather she noticed a lack of something he could be using. He was relying purly on his skills without using the Force in any form. He seemed to be seeking only a physical victory.

Such a thing was not unheard of due to difficulty, complexity, and demands of the style but a Force-user not relying on the Force in any way was extremely rare.

Or he was keeping her alive to grab the Talisman still latched to her neck.

She could sense the intent inside.

The spirit wanted the Sith Lord she was fighting. With a Sith Lord as its host it could unleash the power she had desperately tried to destroy.

Her mind became blurry with images…

 _The red and black Sith Lord with the Talisman around his neck, leading thousands of monsters into battle against millions of enemies who tried to fight back._

 _Two men, one wearing a black robe and the other having a white beard, lying dead as his feet._

 _Planets devastated in a war that fed the Dark Side._

And yet there were many images showing something else.

 _A Togruta child holding a staff that glowed bright while an older dark skinned man wearing some sort of uniform she did not recognize appeared behind the child._

 _The Amulet being contained in a bubble and launched into a star._

 _The red and black Sith Lord retreating as the two men, the two other Darksiders pursued him._

 _Jedi leading the charge against so many enemies that she did not recognize._

It was all so confusing as she now struggled against the Sith Lord that had freed her. She didn't know what make of these visions but it didn't matter.

She would not let the Sith gain one of most dangerous weapons in the galaxy.

"It calls to you, doesn't it?" Maul asked as they clashed, grinning at her. "The Talisman is calling to you. Why bother to resist?"

The woman gritted her teeth as she pushed Maul back. "You will not have it!"

Maul laughed. "I have already won, Jedi. You cannot fight both me and the influence of the Talisman. Even now you fade. A single light against the darkness."

"She is not alone."

Maul pulled back as Obi-Wan jumped in, have just narrowly dodged the blue lightsaber that had been aimed to cut his head off. The woman put a hand to her head as she felt the presence in the Talisman acting up again. A beam of light shot down on Obi-Wan and the woman, trapping them inside and imoblizing them.

"That's better." Manak said, stepping away from the console. "This stasis field should be enough to keep you both contained."

Maul grinned as he deactivated his lightsaber. "And now the Talisman is mine."

 **Confederacy Campaign – Spire  
Control Room**

Securing the spire had been easy thanks to the overwhelming force of the Confederate droid armies. Now with the spire secured the Confederacy had secured a position in the Dyson Sphere and they could gain access to the secrets within the massive construct. What mattered now was reaching Maul and ending him as a threat to their plans.

"What is our status?" Sidious asked as he entered the control room.

Dooku bowed his head. "Our scientists and astromech droids are working to understand the technology as fast as they can, Master. Fortunately our forces have experience on the other Dyson Spheres in the Milky Way and General Kali was fortunate enough to learn the basics of how to operate a transporter."

"Good." Sidious nodded. "Can we reach the station?"

Kali pointed at the map of the station. "The transporters can lock onto the station and we have the coordinates."

"Good. Let us move." Sidious declared as he moved to the transporter with his apprentice and Durge.

 **Republic Campaign - Spire  
Control Room**

Taking control of the Spire had been easier thanks to reinforcements of the united Alliance/Republic fleet.

"We've managed to pinpoint Master Kenobi's position. It looks like he was beamed onto the command station." Creed at the center of the holographic image of the Dyson Sphere.

"Maul." Anakin narrowed his eyes. "He wants Obi-Wan dead. He's wanted him dead since he came back from wherever he's been hiding since the Battle of Naboo."

Ahsoka felt her staff shudder and touched it. "This feeling…The staff can actually sense disturbances."

"I believe we can beam directly towards the station but. The fact that the transporters on the command station can be modified for such long range mean's its possible but we've never tried before. " Creed trailed off.

"There might be a way." A Starfleet M.A.C.O. officer spoke up. "If the station is in the exact same position as the ones in the Solanae and Jenolan Dyson Spheres we can beam directly towards it."

"Good. How long would it take?"

The officer did some mental calculations. "Give us a few minutes to make the necasssary computations."

"All right, but hurry." Anakin said as he stepped onto the transporter pad, followed by Creed, Ventress, Bo-Katan, Kahless, Kit and Secura but stopped Ahsoka. "You need to stay here."

"Master, I can't just stay here." Ahsoka protested.

"We're going against two Sith Lords, Ahsoka. You're not ready for that." Anakin said, even though it was not entirely true.

But Ahsoka was not powered up by beings from another universe this time and he didn't want Maul recognizing her or her revealing her powers.

"We're ready." Creed spoke up.

Anakin nodded and stepped onto the pad. "We'll be back."

"Energize."

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **The City of Giants**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _The fighting was over much faster than the usual battles but we knew it was only a temporary victory. For all the advanced stuff on this sphere we only engaged the home guard, not the real threat. General Skywalker went on ahead while we secured the spire, ensuring at least a very small part of the sphere was secured which pleased the Chancellor. We would be given commendations for our hard work in gaining the technology needed to make the Republic strong enough to take on anyone from any galaxy._


	51. Chapter 51

_Starfleet Operations TVL-977_

 _Skyriver Galaxy: Clone Wars_

 _Reports from outer agents report that the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy have been building fleets, armies, and weapons during the temporary halt and readily launched multiple strikes against over a dozen planets during the Iconian attack on Coruscant. It has been discussed that hidden elements in both sides were preparing for this perhaps at the time of first contact with both sides. Both sides have modified and upgraded their warships, adding additional weapons, shielding and armor and it is likely both sides have considered declaring war on us. Given this possibility in light of the renewed Clone Wars and the Iconian attack on Coruscant it has been suggested that all non-essential ships and personnel return to the Milky Way immediately._

 _Close File_

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 _Opening File: Galactic Republic_

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 _Subject: Grand Army of the Republic and Navy_

 _Like how the Dominion utilizes a race of genetically engineered warriors, the Jem'Hadar, the Galactic Republic uses an army of genetically engineered humans through the use of advanced cloning technology. The growth of the clones is accelerated so that they are fully grown in half the time and during that time they are trained for combat, engaging in simulations and heavy drills as well as being thoroughly educated in operating all forms of equipment. The clones demonstrate ability to think and act creatively on the battlefield and generally obeyed orders without question, however it was reported that they are capable of disobeying orders and even capable of desertion. Many reports from battlefields in both galaxies state that these Clone Troopers are without a fine and well trained force to be reckoned with._

 _The Klingons have greatly praised the clones, respecting their bravery, tactics, and skills as warriors which is rarely given to species that are created instead of born. Many in Starfleet are uncomfortably reminded by the clones of the Dominion War the many losses against the Dominion's own clone army, the Jem'Hadar but the many positive reports from people who have worked with the clones have helped ease these concerns. The clones are led by members of the Jedi Order, consisting of people from multiple races trained in diplomacy and peace-keeping but have been praised highly as skilled warriors due to their psionic abilities that they claim comes from an universal wide energy field known as the Force._

 _Our simulations based on the data we have gathered suggests that should war between our galaxy and the Republic be declared it would lead to a heavy conflict with losses on both sides not seen since the Dominion War. All alternatives for avoiding full-scale war are to be explored._

 _Close File_

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 _Opening File: Confederacy of Independent Systems_

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 _Subject: Confederate Army and Navy_

 _Unlike the Clone Army of the Republic the Confederate Military Army is almost entirely composed of highly advanced machines labelled 'battle droids' that number in perhaps billions based on the reports sent from the embassy on Raxus. These battle droids are built quickly and require no training which allows the CIS to quickly compensate for any heavy loss but it has been reported that these droids lack creative thinking and initiative, needing an organic commander to properly order them. There are models designed for command but they are suspecticle to the same weaknesses as their regular counterparts. The droids obey any orders, even orders to commit suicide attacks._

 _The highest ranked commander of the droid army is General Grievous, a cyborg who has been the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies for most of the war. It is speculated that Grievous was chosen to be commander due to his hatred of the Republic and the Jedi for the outcome of the Huk War and the Jedi's choice to support the enemies of Grievous and his people. In this conflict it is seen as a battle of quality vs quantity due to the large numbers of battle droids the CIS has utilized. Like with the Republic should open war be declared with the CIS would show heavy losses on both sides in both galaxies._

 _Despite not suffering an attack like the Republic has by the Iconians our intelligence division has reported that the Confederate leadership is working with the Republic leaders to continue the war for reasons not yet discovered._

 _Close File_

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 _Opening File: Starfleet Jupiter Shipyards_

 _Battlestar, Dreadnought, and Star Destroyer Program_

 _In the wake of possible conflict with the Skyriver Galaxy as well as the coming Iconian War the Battlestar class has been approved and two prototypes have been constructed based on designs and scans of the Colonial Battlestars discovered by the Alpha Quadrant Alliance flagships and the fleet escorting the Republic ships back to their home galaxy during their travel through time. In addition to this a new dreadnought class design has been submitted and approved that will take into account of the Skyriver Galaxy's approach to building large and heavily armed warships. It is known that the Romulan Republic has been constructing its own prototype Star Destroyer class, accounting for its low numbers despite the build up of warbirds and dreadnoughts in the last year but given the now high possibility of war with the Skyriver Galaxy their approach may indeed be wise given how close one portal is to New Romulus._

 _Close File_

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 _Logging Out_

* * *

 _Opening Republic Intelligence Database_

 _Access to Supreme Chancellor, Senate Executives, Senators, and Admirals only: Authorization Codes required._

 _Access Codes: 538602-5567-893524-Alpha-Zeta_

 _Access Granted: Admiral Tarkin_

 _Access Time: 55:05 Coruscant Time_

 _Subject: Milky Way Galaxy_

 _In wake of the attack on Coruscant it has been argued that war on the Milky Way Galaxy shoud be declared immediately. The Alliance has been kind enough to share with us maps of their territories and we are are of the location of the portal into their universe. However we lack logisitics and knowledge to launch a full invasion, especially in wake of our renewed war against the Separatists. Simulations show that in light of their battles against enemies like the Borg, the Undine, and several other MLA powers we have encountered and the fact that hyperspace is dangerous in their galaxy a war between two galaxies would lead to heavy losses, if not complete and total devastation for our fleets._

 _We must adapt our ships to be able to travel through the other galaxy and build up ships and armies if the order to invade the Alpha and Beta Quadrants is given. Once we have adapted our engines to travel through another galaxy we can begin building up our forces and take the portals leading to the Milky Way. Our intelligence agents have reported that the portals, the one created by the Devidians and the other leading to the Azure Nebula are in close proximity to the territorys of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Republic. Of course these are the only known portals as it is yet to be discovered how the Borg and the Undine arrived in our universe but if there are other portals they must be discovered and secured immediately._

 _Long range scouts have been dispatched in secret to Wild Space and the Unknown Regions to find any indication of how these threats arrived and the Chancellor has ordered reinforcements be sent to Mandalore to secure the Dyson Sphere._

 _Failure is not an option._

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 _Opening File: Kuat Shipyards Database_

 _Resurgent Class Star Destroyer and Battlestar Dreadnought Program_

 _Due the abnormal amount of threats to the Republic appearing from either the Separatists or the Milky Way the Chancellor has ordered a new class of Star Destroyer to be built for the express purpose of fighting against MWG (Milky Way Galaxy) ships and fleet while taking into account of how advanced many potential enemies are expected to be. The class will be expected to much larger than the Imperator class and armed heavily with over three thousand turbolasers and ion cannons to overwhelm and destroy even the most advanced MWG ships and fleets as well act as an orbiting killer. This class was designed following the discovery of the design flaws of the Imperator Class Star Destroyer that have slowly been corrected but it was decided that against the Milky Way a new and more powerful ship would be built._

 _In addition to its impressive armory it will have smaller point-defense turrets and missile emplacements served as complements to the heavy weapons, being able to track and destroy smaller and more agile ships. For extra protection the class will have two shield generators located on both the port and starboard stern sections, while a single domed-shaped bridge deflector shield projector will encase the command bridge and its occupants, aided by a bridge deflector augmenter further up the ship's keel line. A bridge point-defense turret will also help further defend the bridge from starfighter attack. The Resugent class Star Destroyer will be expected to be the most advanced warship in the galaxy._

 _In addition to the new Star Destroyer class Anakin Skywalker also recommended a new Dreadnought design based off of a ship he had encountered in the Milky Way, referred to as a Battlestar. The design scans were remarkably similar to the Mandalorian Dreadnought design but shown to be superior in acting as a carrier for fighters. The Dreadnought class has thus been redesigned to include flight pods for holding fighters and possibly scout ships as well while still acting as a warship. It is recommended we gain access to the Dyson Sphere in order to possible upgrade these designs as well as speed up their construction as quick as possible given the reports of how the Shadow Collective had been able to build up a small fleet in a short amount of time._

 _Close Database_

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 _Logging out_

* * *

 **Mandalore System  
Dyson Sphere  
Spire- Republic Campaign**

Ahsoka believed her master was trying to protect her, she really did but she believed he was making a mistake not bringing her along. She needed to be there, she just knew she needed to be there.

"Thinking of a little rebellion, Ahsoka?"

Ahsoka glanced her shoulder, seeing Sisko standing next to her at the transporter. "Ben, I think I need help."

"Asking for help is always a good first step." Sisko said as he stood at the transporter console. "Just step onto the pad."

"Just like that?" Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you breaking a rule?"

"Am I using my power as Emissary to operate a transporter?" Sisko asked rhetorically with a small smile. "It may have been some time but I believe I still know the proper way for transporting someone across a system. The Prophets and the others wouldn't care about something like this."

Ahsoka smiled as she stepped onto the pad. "Thanks, Ben."

 **Control Station  
Control Chamber**

Maul grinned savagely as he stood in front of the two captured Jedi. "And now Kenobi, my revenge will be complete as I take not only your life but both galaxies in the palm of my hands."

Just as he prepared to stab Kenobi through the chest with his lightsaber he sensed something that made him freeze in shock and fear. "…Master."

It had been so long since he had last felt this presence but he could have sensed it in his sleep.

His master, the one that he had been trained by since he was an infant, the one who left him for dead, and the most dangerous being in the galaxy was on the command station.

Darth Sidious.

Just the mere thought of his name brought back memories of the harsh training he had put Maul through. The hours that turned into days that turned into months as Sidious put him through brutal fights, pushing his endurance to the very height of his limit in order to shape him into the Sith Lord meant to succeed the one he called Master. When Maul's memories were restored and he realized that his Master had simply replaced him with a former Jedi pretending to be a Sith he vowed that he would exact vengeance on Sidious for discarding him. Only he hadn't expected his former Master to appear on this station.

And Maul knew what Sidious wanted: him.

Darth Sidious was coming for him and he wasn't ready to take him along with the Jedi on this station that were here as well.

"What is it?" Manak asked, noticing Maul's change in character before a beeping sound distracted him. "What now?"

"We've been boarded. Life signs beamed into the station on both sides in the cargo areas." His second officer answered.

"We must go, now!" Maul said as he turned away from Kenobi. "Activate the gateway!"

Manak nodded to his first officer who did as he was told and everyone watched as an Iconian gateways rose up from the middle of the chamber.

"Enter the coordinates for Bajor." Manak ordered.

A moment later the gate was humming to life.

"Set this station to self destruct." Maul ordered.

 **Far Side of the Control Station  
Observation Room**

Creed looked around the room they had appeared in, spotting the large viewing window that showed the star the station was in orbit of. "This station looks to be bigger than the one in the Solanae Dyson Sphere."

Anakin walked up and looked out the viewing window, staring at the star. "I've never been this close to a star before. What technology can build a station around a star?"

"Someone far older than all of us." Creed answered, seeing everyone was present and ready. "We better get a move on and fast."

"I sense the Dark Side." Aayla spoke up, stopping everyone. "It can't be Maul…This presence…"

"I remember sensing this presence during the trial created by that creature Q." Kit Fisto stated grimly. "It was one amongst many but it was a Sith all the same."

"Sidious." Ventress stated grimly, earning everyone's attention. "Dooku's Master."

 **Other Side of the Control Station  
Cargo bay**

Durge smashed open the doors, allowing Count Dooku and Darth Sidious to step forward into the hull.

"Such fascinating technology. It will be of great use to us, Master." Dooku said as they stepped through the hall.

"Yes, it will indeed, Lord Tyranus." Sidious looked up slightly. "I sense the presence of the Jedi…And Ventress. What an interesting development."

"Skywalker and Kenobi are here as well, Master. I recognize the presence of Master Fisto amongst them." Dooku agreed.

"This is an interesting development but we cannot be distracted. We cannot allow the Jedi or the Alliance to distract us." Sidious glanced at Durge. "And I believe I know how to rectify that situation."

Durge simply stared back at the two Sith Lords, already knowing what they were going to ask of him.

 **Control Chamber**

"Security drones activated and the Replicators are standing by." Manak's first officer reported as the gate came online. "Self-destruct mechanism activated."

The station had been programmed to self-destruct the moment when the command staff had evacuated through the gate. Savage Oppress had made an almost full recovery from having his arm cut off by Bo but it still felt slightly numb from being attached. He stood by Maul as the gate showed Bajor, specifically the Cave of Fire where the Pah-Wraiths were said to be.

Maul looked one last time at Kenobi. "We will meet again, Kenobi and next time I will finish what we started long ago."

With that said they stepped through gate, followed by Manak and his officer. When they stepped through the gate an alarm klaxon rang, signalling the countdown for the self-destruct. At the very same time the door on one end opened and Obi-Wan smiled with joy when he saw who it was.

"Master!" Anakin rushed forward, stopping in front of Obi-Wan. "Are you all right?"

"I will be when you get me down and out of here." Obi-Wan answered, still smiling.

"Well now you know how I felt when you made me the bait for capturing Dooku." Anakin smiled as Creed rushed up to the console. "Can you get them down?"

"Just give me a-" Creed ducked as an anti-proton beam fired at him from above. "Second!"

Security drones came down from above, having just been created and attacked the group immediately. The Jedi along with Ventress went on the attack, taking down the drones as they appeared while Bo covered Creed as he went to work.

"Of course I'd be the one working the console." Creed muttered as he worked away. "The gate's been locked onto Bajor."

"Can we follow them?" Bo asked.

"Yes just let me try and-" Creed stopped suddenly. "Oh hell."

"What?"

"This station's self-destruct program has been activated." Creed moved faster. "I can't shut it down. We've got about three minutes to move before it blows up! Everyone into the gate!"

"Get them down first!" Anakin shouted back as he slashed another drone.

Creed held up his rifle and shot the emitters for the stasis field, releasing Obi-Wan and the woman who landed on their feet. The woman held her head again she felt great pain.

"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Get away from me!" The woman thrust her arms out, knocking Obi-Wan back with the Force. "He wants to take control…"

She looked at Anakin and her eyes widened as the Talisman broke off from her neck and lunged at Anakin. Thankfully just before it latched onto him the Talisman was caught in an energy sphere that held it in the air.

Anakin looked behind him and his eye widened when he saw who it was. "Ahsoka?!"

Ahsoka was there, her staff pointing at the Talisman that was glowing as she contained the Talisman. "Hurry, get that thing out of here!"

Creed noticed an airlock nearby and got ready to open it. "There!"

Ahsoka launched the Talisman at the airlock as it opened and launched it out of the station before Creed quickly closed it.

Ahsoka sighed as she lowered her staff. "That was close."

"Ahsoka, why are you here? I told you to stay behind." Anakin said once the danger was gone.

Only when the doors on the other side of the control room opened did he realize that the danger was far from gone. The Jedi and Ventress all activated their lightsabers, seeing Count Dooku and the Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge along with a man dressed in a black robe that covered him nearly head to toe, showing only his mouth that grinned sinisterly.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this a surprise? We came here expecting Maul but it seems he fled like the coward he truly is." The robed Sith commented.

"You…You are Darth Sidious." Anakin held his lightsaber up with both hands.

"What a most interesting gathering. Anakin Skywalker," Sidious looked at Secura and Fisto. "Master Fisto and Knight Secura."

He looked at Obi-Wan who was holding the Jedi woman on the floor.

"Kenobi. I see Maul has failed to kill you, again."

He frowned upon seeing Ventress.

"A failed Sith pretender."

And finally he looked at Creed, Kahless and Bo-Katan.

"And a few meddlers." Sidious remarked amusedly.

"Count Dooku, have you come to offer assistance?" Creed asked carefully.

Dooku smirked. "In a way, Captain Creed."

Kit Fisto readied himself. "You will not be taking this station."

"I would like to entertain myself by toying with you, Jedi but we are pressed for time." Sidious chuckled and glanced at Durge. "Kill them all."

Durge rocketed forward with his jetpack while Sidious and Dooku headed towads the gate.

"Don't let them escape!" Fisto shouted as he jumped back, dodging Durge's giant fist.

Creed pointed his rifle at Durge and fired, a concentrated beam of phased energy that burned through Durge's armor and left a giant hole in his torso. Fisto and Secura quickly tok advantage, unleashing a large Force push that sent Durge flying back into the wall. He didn't stay down for long and when he got back up he let out a deep growel.

"I get the feeling he might be mad." Creed muttered.

Anakin rushed towards the gate, chasing the two Sith and slashed Sidious's back. Only Dooku activated his lightsaber and blocked Anakin's strike.

"Such power in you, Skywalker." Sidious grinned, not turning to face Anakin. "Such strength. And yet you do not use them."

Dooku pushed Anakin back with the Force but Anakin only slid back a few feet. Anakin charged again, clashing with Dooku who managed to keep the Jedi from striking his Sith Master in the back. Dooku maintained his use of graceful coordination as he clashed with Anakin whose attacks were strong but wild. Anakin swung his lightsaber heavily, pushing Dooku aside and rushed at Sidious who spun around, activating his own lightsaber and blocked the attack aimed at his head.

"Such potential but your skills are wasted." Sidious chuckled. "You will never destroy me as you are!"

Anakin gritted his teeth and went on the attack but no matter how fast of how powerful he was he could not through Sidious's defense. He may have looked like an old man but he proved to be extremely strong as he glided back to the gate, parrying and deflecting Anakin's blows.

"Your skills with a lightsaber are impressive but let's see your skills with the Force." Sidious said as he increased his speed and with one swipe knocked Anakin's lightsaber out of his hands and unleased a blast of Force Lightning at point blank range, sending Anakin down onto the floor, very hard.

"Master!" Ahsoka shouted, running towards the fallen Anakin.

"Honorless petaQ'!" Kahless spat as he marched forward. "Clearly Sith have no honor. Come forward, swine and face me!"

"And who are you?" Sidious asked condescendingly.

"I am Kahless the Unforgettable, Destroyer of Molar, Defender of Qam-chee, and Emperor of the Klingons!" Kahless held up his sword. "This is the first sword, the Sword of Kahless. I challenge you, Sith to combat!"

"How brave but I have no time. This station will be destroyed in under a moment." Sidious remarked. "If you wish to fight us than follow us to Bajor."

With that said Sidious and Dooku entered the Iconian gateway, vanishing into it as they traveled from one dimension to another.

"Very well, cowards!" Kahless said as he chased after them into the gate.

"Emperor Kahless, wait!" Creed shouted as he ran after the clone of the founder of the Klingon civilization. "Everyone through the gate!"

Creed and Ventress were the next to run through the gate, not willing to let Sidious and Dooku escape.

"I don't mean to put pressure everyone here but we have to move before this place blows up!" Obi-Wan shouted, standing up with the woman in his arms.

Durge turned around and looked at the gate, knowing he had to move or he'd be killed along with the Jedi. He decided to cut his losses and leave the Jedi to their fate and rushed to the gate. Ahsoka looked up to see Durge flying towards the gate that would lead him right through her and Anakin. She quickly pulled her staff back out and concentrated which caused her staff to release a blast of Megan energy that slammed into Durge and sent him flying across the command chamber, hitting the wall hard enough to leave a dent.

"By the Force!" Fist whispered.

"We'll explain later. We have to move!" Obi-Wan shouted as he rushed forward into the gate along with Ahsoka who helped Anakin.

Fisto and Secura followed them and they vanished into the gate just as the countdown reached zero. Durge looked up and watched as the station began exploding around him, causing the gateway to short out and shut down, leaving him trapped on the station as its shields failed. Durge let out an enraged scream as the station exploded and its remains fell into the star it orbited.

Along with every bit of the Gen'Dai bounty hunter that burned up on entry.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Bajor Sector  
Bajor System  
Bajor  
Caves of Fire**

When Darth Sidious and his apprentice first emerged into the Caves of Fire both of them sensed an overwhelming amount of power from deep within the caves. This power felt like untameable flame that yearned to spread out and devour all in its path. For the first time in a long time Darth Sidious felt himself taken back by the raw anger, hatred, and rage that swept over him, making his heart race as he sought to see and understand this power.

"The Pah-Wraiths…" Sidious muttered.

Dooku glanced at his master, having felt the same power. "These beings, could they truly be this powerful?"

"I did not think so, Lord Tyranus but it seems that these Pah-Wraiths may indeed be as dangerous as we had heard. All the more reason we cannot let Maul release them." Sidious answered.

"Perhaps we can use them for our own plans." Dooku suggested but Sidious shook his head.

"These Pah-Wraiths are too chaotic to be controlled, even if we both attempted to enforce our will over them. No, they must remain here and unable to interfere in our plans." Sidious replied. "And Maul and his little pet of a brother must not release them."

The Sith Lords suddenly stopped as they sensed the presence of intruders behind them.

"I see we have been followed. Durge must have failed." Sidious remarked amusedly. "Lord Tyranus, I leave them to you."

Dooku nodded. "Yes, Master."

Sidious moved on ahead, deeper into the cave as Dooku turned around and smirked as Kahless, Ventress, Katan and Creed came into view.

"Well, I see you've all managed to survive." Dooku stated upon seeing them.

"Dooku." Ventress growled, gripping her lightsaber.

"Count Dooku, I'm not sure what exactly your goal is but you should know Bajor is a Federation affiliated world and we do not like it when heads of foreign government drop in unannounced, especially in places like this." Creed said, not reaching for his weapon yet. "Let us pass and deal with Maul and I'll personally guarantee you and your friend safe passage back your galaxy."

"A kind offer, Captain Creed but I must decline. The matter of Maul is a personal one for us and one we will take care of ourselves." Dooku glanced at Ventress. "Though I might have a few grievances about your governments taking in traitors."

"I can't speak for the Klingons but if you have a problem-"

"You can speak with me." Kahless declared, holding his bat'leth with both hands.

"And me." Katan stated, pulling out her crystalline sword. "I haven't forgotten how you betrayed Death Watch."

"Your leader was a fool and he died a fool's death." Dooku remarked, activating his lightsaber.

Bo-Katan glared murderously from under her helmet. "And you will die as the backstabbing traitor you are."

"Wait-" Creed tried to stop her but Katan let out a furious scream as she ran forward and slashed her crystalline sword with Dooku's lightsaber.

And like before the sword absorbed the energy from Dooku's lightsaber, causing it to power down and left a surprised Dooku open to attack. Katan swung her blade but Dooku stepped back, dodging her strikes as he fell back. Seeing an opportunity to kill her former master Ventress leapt in, activating both of her lightsabers slashing at Dooku who quickly unleased bolts of Force Lightning on both of them. Katan and Ventress blocked with their swords but the force of the lightning knocked them both back, both females skidding across the ground.

Katan lifted up her arm and fired her wrist rocket at Dooku who dodged and let the rocket sail past him, hitting the wall that caused the cave to shake.

"Katan, what are you doing?! You'll kill everyone in the cave!" Creed shouted as he rushed up to the Mandalorian.

"Not everyone, just one old man." Katan hissed before Creed forced her arm down, preventing her from firing another rocket. "Either help or cease your interference!"

"Either think straight or I'll make you cease being a danger to yourself." Creed countered as Ventress clashed with Dooku again, buying them some sorely needed time for this conversation. "I get that you have every right to be mad, but acting like a rank amateur won't help you satisfy your grudge against Dooku and his master. All it will do is get you killed, and if youre really unlucky it'll get me killed along the way so I can say 'I told you so' in the next life!"

Katan gritted her teeth but knew Creed was right. In the meantime Dooku launched Ventress into the wall with Force push and then telekiniticaly slammed her into the ground.

"Time to tie this loose end once and for all." Dooku raised his lightsaber to deliver the killing blow.

It was only through the intervention of Kahless who swung his sword at Dooku did Ventress survive. Dooku spun around and blocked, expecting his lightsaber to cut through Kahless's sword but to his shock and surprise the Klingon's sword did not burn and melt against the lightsaber.

"Ha! Glorious combat!" Kahless roared as he took advantage of the surprised Dooku, swing his bat'leth out, pushing Dooku's lightsaber away and followed up with an elbow to Dooku's face.

Dooku staggered back but straightened himself as Kahless attack again, blocking against his sword but the Klingon Emperor was strong. His fighting style utilized a form of strength combined with speed and surprising precision as he hammered against Dooku's lightsaber, pushing the Sith Lord back who hastily tried to defend himself. Dooku grunted and lashed out with one hand, knocking Kahless back with a Force push but the clone dug his sword into the ground, slowing the slide back. Dooku then unleashed a blast of Force Lightning at Kahless who braced himself against the stream of lightning that hit him.

Creed and Katan aimed and shot at Dooku who dodged or deflected their bolts at them before turning to Kahless. "Time to end this."

However just as he swung his lightsaber down to deliver the final blow Kahless shot up, blocking Dooku's lightsaber with his sword and with one swung batted to the side as he rammed his shoulder into Dooku's chest, knocking the surprised Sith Lord back. Kahless then followed up by kicking Dooku's legs out from under him, forcing Dooku onto his knees. Kahless then followed through by swinging his sword down on Dooku who hastily blocked with both hands holding his lightsaber.

"The honorable warrior will always prevail, tyrant." Kahless declared, one hand letting go to punch Dooku in the face that caused him to falter and weaken his defence.

Dooku held up his left hand to unleash another blast of Force Lightning but Kahless moved faster and with one swing, cut off Dooku's left hand.

The Sith Lord gasped in shock and pain as he staggered back, holding his lightsaber in his right hand. "This is not possible. You are no Jedi or Sith!"

"I do not need your Force to defeat you, Tyranus." Kahless proclaimed as his personal shield shimmered. "I came prepared for this battle for even if today is a good day to die there is still much to be done. My personal shield can absorb your lightning, adding its power to its own charge. Your power has been used against you, Tyranus and now you will fall for your arrogance."

"This…is not over." Dooku raised two fingers from his lightsaber and knocked Kahless back before fleeing into the caves.

"Coward!" Kahless declared as he chased after Dooku.

Creed had gone to check on Ventress, seeing she was still alive but still knocked out. "Emperor Kahless, wait…Why do I even bother trying to reason with Klingons?"

"These Klingons act like Mandalorions in many ways…Perhaps we would have been better trying to ally with them instead of trying to steal from everyone." Katan admitted.

"I think I heard fighting this way!" A voice echoed from behind.

Creed and Katan watched as Anakin, Ahsoka, Fisto, and Secura came into view, having finally caught up to them. Obi-Wan had gone for help with the woman who been in the sarcophagus. Once the Talisman was released from her she collapsed and Obi-Wan sensed she was dying.

"Captain Creed, are you all right?" Fisto asked, spotting him next to the downed Ventress.

"We're both okay. We ran into Count Dooku who pretty much decided to break off diplomatic ties." Creed answered. "Luckily he underestimated the fighting spirit of Klingons and paid for it."

He pointed to the discarded hand on the ground.

"Is that his hand?" Anakin asked, looking surprised.

Creed nodded. "Dooku thought he could he take on Kahless, a clone of the original Kahless, but one who is every bit as strong and honorable as his namesake. He fled back into cave when he lost that hand."

The Jedi for the most part where speechless that a non-Force sensitive being had managed to wound Count Dooku, a master swordsman in his own right and who had emerged inscathed from many encounters with the Jedi through the course of the Clone Wars.

"We better hurry though. These are the Fire Caves on Bajor…I read about them. It's where-"

"Where the Pah-Wraiths are imprisoned." The group jumped as a voice spoke and turned their heads to see a man dressed in a Starfleet uniform, worn at the time of the Dominion War standing before them.

"Who are you?" Katan questioned harshly.

Creed was the one who answered though. "Captain Benjamin Sisko."

Anakin looked at the man when he was identified, seeing the man who had been teaching Ahsoka of how the Force worked in this universe during her time here and had to admit Sisko looked slightly intimidating and there was a strange presence hovering about him.

"Maul is making his way to the end of the cave to release the Pah-Wraiths but what he does not know is that to release them a sacrifice is required." Sisko stated.

"A sacrifice?" Anakin asked.

"Yes. A sacrifice to give the Pah-Wraiths a body that they can use as their new Emissary. With a new Emissary acting as their host the Pah-Wraiths will be able to leave these caves and spread chaos and destruction in all directions, starting with Bajor. This is part of the True Way's plan and acting as their agent is Darth Sidious himself." Sisko explained. "He is going there to kill Maul and his brother but if he kills either of them the Pah-Wraiths will have their sacrifice and be free."

"And if we hadn't known this we'd have probably played into the same trap." Kit Fisto frowned, displeased at being deceived. "Cunning."

"Then that means nobody can perish within that area of the cave, Sith or otherwise." Ahsoka said, "The moment anyone is killed they become the sacrifice. We need to get them out of these caves entirely!"

"That may require some level of preparation," Secura said, "But most of all it will require the Sith to be completely distracted and deprived of their pound of flesh until we can remove them. Captain Creed, could you find a way to transport them out of these caverns?"

"That depends if there's a ship in orbit or if I can contact Deep Space 9," Creed answered, "I could head for the entrance for a clear signal and have them bring down an enhancement array to boost the signal enough to get a lock on anyone down here, but every second I take is another you'd have to keep Maul and Sidious from killing one another…or you."

Kit Fisto smiled. "Every Jedi is willing to give their lives in the name of preserving the peace, Captain, but I think perhaps this once we shall gladly keep our lives for that same cause. Go now and we will confront the Sith Lords until you return."

Creed nodded and took off back towards the entrance, followed closely by Katan, who was carrying Ventress' unconscious body. "Good luck!"

Now only Anakin, Ahsoka, Fisto and Secura were left.

"Let's not waste time then," Anakin ignited his lightsaber. "We keep the Sith alive, just long enough to get them away from here. After that we might have our only opportunity to cut them down for good."

"Agreed," Secura started ahead of the rest. "Today we end the Sith for good!"

Ahsoka wished that she shared their confidence on the matter, but the further they moved deeper into the cave system the more she felt the presence of the Pah-Wraiths and heard their whispers at the back of her mind. They were aware of her, prodding the borders of her being and broadcasting vague and distant threats and taunts to her.

 _Dig deeper, little mortal, deeper into your grave…_

 **Fire Caves  
The Abyss**

Darth Maul stood with Savage Oppress at the edge of the abyss, feeling the pure hate and evil from below as Manak held out a book known as the Book of the Kosst Amojan, a copy of the original that was the key to freeing the Pah-Wraiths given to them from their ally from the Mirror Universe. Both former Sith apprentices watched as Manak held up the book.

"Open!" Manak shouted.

The book's seal burned away and opened, showing a blank page but when Manak dropped a single drop of blood onto the page the words appeared and the two brothers began reading them out loud, chanting the language on the page until it finally happened.

The Sith watched as the cave lit with pure fire that danced through the air, feeling the pure power and hate from them.

"And now it begins."

"And now it ends." Maul stiffened as he turned around, watching as his former master entered the cavern.

Knowing he needed to buy as much time as possible Maul slowly stepped forward and bowed to Sidious. "Master."

Sidious looked down Maul. "I am most impressed to see you have survived your injuries."

"I used your training and I have come here in the hopes of becoming powerful enough to return to your side." Maul quickly answered.

"Hmm…" Sidious looked up at Savage who was ready to attack while Manak stepped back. "How unfortunate that you are attempting to _deceive_ me."

"Master?" Maul asked as Sidious turned away.

"You have become a _rival!_ " Sidious declared he lashed out with the Force, sending Maul and Savage flying into the wall, past the fire spirits that Sidious assumed to be the Pah-Wraiths.

He felt their evil and darkness and were it not for the fact they were too dangerous to be released he would have considered using them. He chuckled as Maul and Savage landed on their feet and ignited their lightsabers. Sidious held out one hand, using the Force to summon his own lightsaber and held the other, summoning the extra one he had brought. He ignited them both and held them up, grinning as Maul and Savage leapt forward, swinging their lightsabers at him.

Sidious laughed as he clashed with the Zabrak brothers, feeling the thrill of battle that he had not felt for such a long time. As the battle began Dooku entered the cavern, still reeling from the loss of his left hand. He spotted his master battling Maul and Savage and decided to simply stand aside and let his master do the fighting. Sidious spun and danced between and around the brothers, his movements fast and fluid as he blocked and parried each strike against him.

Kahless arrived but decided to sit back and wait, realizing that if he tried to step in they would all turn on him.

Sidious felt the presence of the Jedi coming closer and so decided reluctantly to end the duel. He lashed out with one hand and sent Maul flying back into the wall, causing cracks to form around Maul's body as he fell to the ground. Sidious then took the chance to easily dodge Savage's double-bladed lightsaber, seeing that the brute was next to nothing without his brother. The Jedi just reached the cavern, having felt presence of pure evil that grew ever stronger and arrived just in time to see Sidious toying with Savage. Anakin was the first to leap in, stepping in between the two and clashed with Sidious.

Secura and Fisto were next, clashing with Savage and pushing him back. Anakin struggled to push Sidious back away from Savage, hammering away at his blades.

Sidious laughed as they clashed. "Impressive, Skywalker but not enough."

Anakin lashed out with the Force that seemingly sent Sidious flying back but he simply somersaulted and landed perfectly on his feet. Maul regained consciousness and stood up, seeing the Jedi had chased after them and were attacking his brother. Maul reignited his lightsaber along with the darksaber he had taken as a trophy from his fight with Pre-Vizla and jumped back into the fight, clashing his blade with Kit Fisto who fell back, blocking Maul's attacks. Fisto used his mastery of Form I to block both blades but Maul's mastery of martial arts made it difficult for him to counter-attack.

In the meantime Savage utilized brute strength and ended up pushing Secura back. Anakin's emotions raced as he kept on fighting Sidious who looked amused by the fact Anakin was actually fighting him.

"You cannot win, Skywalker. You are skilled but you are getting tired and you are holding yourself back. You can't hope to defeat me." Sidious chuckled as he moved with such speed Anakin thought he was a human lightning bolt as he fell back, hastily blocking the red lightsabers that came closer to touching him with each passing second until finally Sidious launched out his foot, kicking Anakin in the chest.

He then fired Force Lightning that hit Anakin, earning a scream as the lightning blasted Anakin down to the ground. Sidious smirked and looked at the Jedi fighting Maul and his brother. Around them the fire spirits, the Pah-Wraiths hovered about, dancing in between the fighters. Ahsoka was trembling as she looked on, hearing the Pah-Wraiths taunting her even louder. Sidious held up his hands to the ceiling and slowly large chunks of rock fell down on everyone.

The Jedi and the Zabrak brothers halted their fight to dodge the incoming chunks. Savage stepped back as rock fell between him and Secura, not seeing the beam of orange phased energy hit him in the back, burning through his chest.

In that moment, everyone froze.

"Brother!" Maul shouted as Savage collapsed and rushed towards his brother as he collapsed.

"It is done." Manak said, lowering his rifle and slipped away. "The Pah-Wraiths will have their sacrifice."

Maul knelt down next to his brother as a green mist rose from Savage's body.

"Brother, I have failed…" Savage whispered, staring up at Maul as mystical green energies began to pour from his wound like a flood of mist. "I am an unworthy apprentice…I'm not like you…I never was."

With those words his eyes rolled back into his head, and Savage died in the arms of his brother.

Sidious watched the moment between Maul and his brother and chuckled. "Remember the first and only reality of the Sith: there can only be two, and you are no longer my apprentice. You have been _replaced_."

Maul gritted his teeth as he stood up, facing his former master with both his lightsaber and the darksaber ignited. Maul rushed forward, clashing with Sidious who blocked and parried his blows before kicking Maul back and jumped forward, spinning through the air and slashing as Maul who landed on his feet and blocked. Maul spun, blocking his fomer master's lightsabers aimed at the back of his head and lashed his leg out at Sidious's feet. Sidious jumped over Maul's leg and thrust his lightsabers at Maul's head but Maul ducked and kicked Sidious in the chest.

Sidious somersaulted and landed perfectly on his feet and charged towards Maul, the two of them clashing their lightsabers together. Maul tried to overpower Sidious but the Sith Lord broke the lock and lifted Maul up into the air and slammed him across the ground. Maul trembled as he looked up Sidious, realizing he was never a match for his former master no matter how hard he tried. Sidious considered killing Maul here to avoid him being captured by the Jedi but his thoughts were interrupted as he sensed something…

Everyone watched as Savage Oppress, who was recently deceased stood up, now looking as he did before the magic of the Nightsisters had changed him.

His eyes, once yellow were now flaming red as he looked around the cave.

" _Freedom…_ " He rasped, " _The flood gate has been opened._ "

The Zabrak clenched his hands into fists as energy began to gather, flaring visibly around the reanimated apprentice.

" _And now,_ " Savage growled, " _We are **FREE!**_ "

He unleashed a wave of energy which took the other combatants off guard, lifting them off their feet and flinging them across the cavern. Even Sidious was taken off guard by the attack and barely managed to use the Force to form a protective cocoon around himself before crashing through several pillars and vanishing into a darkened corner. The other Sith and Jedi were neutralized just as easily by Savage, who lifted their still forms off of the floor.

" _And the galaxy shall burn for our time spent imprisoned._ " He declared. " _The Prophets and their children shall die knowing that all of their efforts, all of their plans and manipulations have failed them! Now the universe shall know true chaos!_ "

Anakin struggled against the invisible grip around his neck, and watched as Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura were lifted into place next to him. Dooku and Maul both hung limpy close by, but Ahsoka had been drawn in close towards the possessed Zabrak.

"Ah-soka!" Anakin choked.

Savage snatched Ahsoka in mid air by the neck and held her high. " _But first, their newest pet dies first._ " He hissed.

"I don't think so."

In a flash of light Savage was forced back, losing his grip on Ahsoka…who now lay in the arms of Benjamin Sisko. The Starship Captain was flanked by silhouettes made of pure light, and other similar figures surrounded the chamber, gazing down at Savage Oppress.

" _Emmissary._ " Savage stood up, a low rumbling growl escaping him. " _Finally, we meet in person._ "

"You failed with Dukat and Cerin Teresa, and you shall fail now." Sisko declared.

" _We have already won, emissary. We are now one with the Sith apprentice! And with that we are free to take our revenge against you and your masters!_ " Savage declared, now speaking with multiple voices at once, sounding like an entire legion speaking in unison…Anakin found it similar to the voices of the Son, the Daughter and the Father.

"No," Sisko shook his head and set Ahsoka down on the ground. "You may now walk free, but you do not walk unchallenged. We will not stand by as you plunge the universe into chaos."

Savage chuckled. " _And how will you stop us on your own, Emmissary?_ "

Sisko smirked. "Who said I would be the one to stop you?"

He tapped his comn badge. "Captain Creed…do it!"

From behind Sisko appeared Creed who held a modified rifle that when fired, released a tigh beam of chronoton radiation that hit Savage head on in the chest. Savage grunted loudly as he nearly fell forward, the radiation weakening the Pah-Wraiths control over him. Savage growled as he unleashed a stream of fire at Sisko who held up one hand, blocking the flames and slowly pushed them back. Savage let out a roar and the flames grew bigger, engulfing Sisko.

"Ben!" Ahsoka stood up, seeing the Emissary struggling.

"Ashoka, can you feel it?" Sisko asked, somehow remaining calm.

"Feel it?"

"A small bit of Savage Oppress remains, fighting against the Pah-Wraiths and their control over him." Sisko explained. "That is the weakness of the Pah-Wraiths. For all their arrogance they do not understand their own weakness."

The fire caused the rocky ceiling above Sisko to turn into magma and slowly fell down on him.

"Ben!" Ahsoka pulled out her staff and held it up, channeling the power to create a shield and protect Sisko.

"Don't worry about me, Ahsoka. Concentrate on Savage." Sisko said. "He was linked to the Pah-Wraiths by reading from a copy of the Book of Kosst Amojan. Destroy that connection and the Pah-Wraiths will be imprisoned again."

Savage roared as the fire around them intensified, creating more magma that threatened to bury them alive. The many silhouettes of light began to project shields to hold back the tide as Savage clashed with Sisko.

"Hurry, Ahsoka!" Sisko shouted, "Even as he is now, we can only hold him for so long!"

Ahsoka looked around the cavern as magma began to erupt through the floor. She spotted her master and the other Jedi, now on their feet and scrambling for higher ground now that they were free of Savage's grasp. She lost sight of the Sith Lords, but became focused solely on the shape of the book which Manak, Maul and Savage had been in possession of, laying on the ground on the far side of the cavern.

"There!" She darted forward, leaping over a shallow stream of magma and trying not to let the searing heat slow her down.

Around her the cavern slowly became less habitable by the second. Streams of molten rock dripped down around Ahsoka, the slightest contact spelling doom for her by way of incineration.

"Ahsoka!" She heard Anakin call out to her, but she couldn't slow down when each second counted and failure meant the Pah-Wraiths being unleashed on the universe at large.

As she closed in on the book the floor began to crumble away, sections falling out of view or rising up into the air. A gap formed between Ahsoka and the book, and she put on a burst of speed before leaping across the chasm, illuminated by the stream of magma below…

And she fell short, being pulled back by an invisible force. Savage had spotted her en route to the book and held out one hand, briefly exposing himself to a counter attack by Sisko in order to grab Ahsoka in mid leap.

" _No! You will not-_ " He began before Sisko struck him with a beam of light, burning him across his left side and singing his skin pitch black in that area.

The Zabrak roared and lost his grip on Ahsoka, sending her plummeting to the river of magma.

"AHSOKA!"

Ahsoka squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the inferno grow closer…and opened them back up when she was not engulfed and instantly killed. She was hovering over the river, just high enough that she was not in danger of catching fire from the intense heat.

Standing at the top of the chasm with both hands outstrectched was Anakin, who pulled her back up to where he stood and set her on her feet.

"Sky Guy!" Ahsoka gasped, stumbling into his arms, overwhelmed by her near death experience. "The book, we need to get-"

She looked at the chasm and saw that the book was now far beyond her reach. Even using the Force would not allow her to leap so far.

"Master, we need to get to the book!" Ahsoka looked up at Anakin.

The young Knight looked at the immense distance between them and Ahsoka's goal. Even he knew not to attempt such a leap, but he knew from everything he had seen that Ahsoka was right, there would be no retreating from here.

"…get a running start." He told her, "And pray I don't miss."

Ahsoka smiled and began to step back from the edge. Anakin held his hands out, preparing himself as the young Togruta knelt down on one knee and then sprinted at her best speed. As she reached the edge she launched herself into the air again, flinging herself as far as she could with the assistance of the Force.

Anakina swung his arms, the motion following his apprentice as he propelled her further. She flew like a cannon ball and rolled herself into a ball as she ascended, passing the hallway point to where the book lay.

" _NO!_ "

Anakin looked back at Savage and saw the possessed Zabrak now shooting towards him, or more accurately towards Ahsoka. Savage shrugged off the blasts flung by Sisko and even several of the other figures of light presiding over the battle, focused solely on Ahsoka as she descended, her course taking her right to where the book lay.

One hand travelled towards the lightsaber hanging from his belt, but Anakin paused as he heard a familiar voice whisper to him among the chaos surrounding him…

 _Feel, don't think. Use your instincts…_

Anakin lowered his hand to his side and slowly inhaled, immersing himself within the Force. Even in this foreign galaxy he could feel it around him, perhaps more than even on Mortis.

He held out both hands and stood in Savage's path.

" ** _Down._** "

Savage found himself being pressed down by an impossible weight, overpowering his enhanced strength and any protection afforded to him by the Pah-Wraiths. He stumbled and fell to the ground, sliding to a stop at Anakin's feet. The Jedi turned his hands over, raising his palms up and bringing Savage with it.

" _You…are mortal…_ " Savage hissed. " _How?!_ "

Anakin did not reply. He was completely submerged within the Force, heeding its commands as much as he commanded it and directing it in a way he had never been capable of, save for the day when he tamed the Son and Daughter. He took hold of the Pah-Wraiths through the power they valued so highly, and through it he suppressed and restrained them.

" _Such power…_ " Savage whispered. " _You limit yourself, mortal. You have access to a realm far beyond the limits your masters would place on you! You could be so much more…you could do anything, become anything…but not as a mere Jedi._ "

Anakin hesitated, the words of the possessed Zabrak reaching him. They were accompanied by the final memory of his mother before he left Tatooine, of running away from her and never looking back until it was far too late.

And then the images were replaced of the day that Ahsoka had stepped onto Christophsis and informed him that she was his new padawan. She had grown so much since then, become greater than he had ever imagined…

" ** _And not as your slave._** " Anakin said, and thrust both hands down onto the ash covered ground.

Savage was driven downwards with such force that he shattered the ground beneath him. He was pressed down into the fiery pits beneath the chamber, crying out in denial even as he struggled against Anakin's power. The Zabrak was consumed within the embers and vanished into oblivion, and the Pah-Wraiths wailed in despair as Ahsoka landed by the book and held her staff up.

"Sorry," Ahsoka said, and unleashed a blast of pure energy right down onto the book. "But you're staying here."

The shaking stopped and the feeling of darkness, though it still existed was now restrained and imprisoned.

The spirits that had appeared disappeared as Sisko tapped his comn badge again. "Sisko to Deep Space 9. Four to beam up."

With that said the Jedi were beamed out of the caves of fire.

* * *

"This is Manak. Our attempts to release the Pah-Wraiths have failed. Request for beam up." Manak said once he was far enough away from the Jedi and contact the cloaked True Way ship in orbit.

Manak was about to say more when he felt something grab onto his neck and tighten itself as he was lifted up into the air.

"I believe, Gul Manak, we are in need of a ride and you owe us after your shenanigans." Sidious said as he stepped out of the shadows, followed by Dooku who held up an unconscious Maul with his remaining hand. "Now if you would be so kind, inform your ship that you will be bringing visitors."

 **Deep Space 9  
Sick Bay**

"Sounds like what we went through on Mortis." Obi-Wan said thoughtfully once Anakin finished explaining what happened. "What about Sidious, Maul and Dooku?"

"Gone. We could have spent a little time looking for them but to be honest I don't think any of us were in any shape to track them down." Anakin said, sitting on the edge of his bed. "What about the woman?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "Her name was Celeste Mourne, a Jedi from the time of the Old Republic."

"Was?"

"I'm afraid the strain of keeping the Sith spirit in that amulet that was attached to her all these years in that sarcophagus was too much for her. If I had gotten her to a healer or a doctor like the ones on this station she would have had a chance. The amulet contained a Sith spirit that could have brought forth the return of the rakghoul plague if Celeste hadn't locked herself away." Obi-Wan explained.

Anakin was a little sad about how the woman sacrificed her life, sealing herself away for thousands of years but at least she had been freed from that amulet. "At the very least that amulet won't be taking over anyone again. We sent into a star before we got here."

"Yes. I suppose we could be optimistic that with the Sith in this galaxy it'd be easier to hunt them down but I consulted Captain Kurland and he reported there were no more life signs in the Caves of Fire."

"So even after all this time the Sith still got away." Anakin sighed.

"At the very least you stopped the Pah-Wraiths and Savage Oppress is no longer a threat. Of course the Senate will not be happy to hear that Ventress is now working for the Klingons and they are still calling for war against the Alliance." Obi-Wan said somberly.

"Given how Kahless cut off Dooku's hand I'm not as worried as I was before." Anakin said with a small smile. "If he can take on Dooku maybe they can keep Ventress from causing trouble."

"We can only hope. How is Ahsoka?"

"She's still resting. From the sound of it I think she deserves a good rest after what happened."

Anakin nodded. "Yeah, she sure would."

 **Guest Quarters**

Ahsoka looked over her staff, marveling at how beautiful and simplistic it looked, ever after she sensed a familiar presence. "I always wondered how it felt, being so close to the home of the Prophets. I can't imagine how you felt, even if you weren't a Jedi."

Sisko smirked as he stood next to the bed, looking out the window. "At least you didn't fall into the river of magma below. That's what happened to me before I joined with the Prophets."

Ahsoka chuckled. "Well, glad that didn't happen to me. I don't think I have your luck, Ben."

"I think you have your share." Sisko replied.

"Still, I would have liked to see Maul, Dooku, and Sidious brought down. I don't know how they did but they got away again." Ahsoka sighed. "How we know that they won't try to release the Pah-Wraiths again?"

"While I can't explain exactly I can assure you that for now Maul is no longer a threat and neither he nor the other Sith will attempt to free the Pah-Wraiths." Sisko answered.

Ahsoka looked at Sisko but didn't ask how or why. She had long since learned that while Sisko could try to help he couldn't do it directly. It was some sort of rule that he, the Prophets, and other beings like them followed.

"I guess that's as good as I can get." Ahsoka closed her eyes and fell back on her bed. "I just hope things get better."

When she opened her eyes she saw Sisko was gone and for some reason she felt like that might be a bad sign.

 **Quark's Bar**

"I thought I'd find you here."

Bo-Katan looked up, watching as Nathan Creed sat down next to her with a bottle. "What do you want?"

"I figured you came here for a drink and knowing Quark he didn't accept anything you had for currency." Creed put two glasses on the table. "Klingon bloodwine, my treat."

Katan watched as he poured the wine into the glasses, not saying anything.

"So, what's your plan?" Creed asked, holding his glass but not taking a sip yet. "Return to Mandalore? Go back to pirating?"

"Why do you care?" Katan asked.

"I care because we worked together to stop a disaster and I wouldn't feel like myself if I didn't make sure that someone who risked their life was in good health." Creed answered.

"Good health? My planet is overrun by pirates and Sith, Death Watch has been humiliated, its leader dead, and is most likely disbanded with anyone left following Maul who escaped. The Republic will invade and they'll be fighting the Separatist over that big sphere Maul parked in my home system." Bo-Katan shook her head. "My sister will probably never forgive me even if I wasn't there at the time."

"She's Duchess Satine, isn't she?" Creed asked.

Katan glanced at Creed but didn't answer.

"I guess you two had a falling out over your decisions." Creed remarked.

"She believes in peace and non-violence but she made Mandalore weak enough to be attacked by pirates and gangsters. We were the greatest warriors in the galaxy who nearly brought the Republic and the Jedi to their knees. She made our people turn their backs on our culture and our brother's beliefs." Katan said, lightly shaking the wine in her glass. "But I didn't want her to die and if not for the Klingons and that Sith witch she would have been dead."

"Perhaps this will be a chance to reconnect. Mandalore will need some strong leaders to lead them out of the conflict it was dragged into." Creed suggested.

Katan looked at Creed. "You're a hopeless optimist."

"So were people like Captains Archer, Kirk, Sulu, Garret, Picard, Sisko, and Admiral Janeway and they are the most famous ones. So let me point out to you if you run away again, you will turn your back on your people just as Pre-Vizla did when he agreed with work with Maul and the Shadow Collective." Creed finished his small glass of wine in one sip and stood up. "You can have the rest of the wine."

Katan watched as he left, frowning as she took a sip of the Klingon bloodwine. It was a good thing Creed made sure to pay for any possible damage that night as Bo-Katan finished the bottle…

And woke up in the brig with a nasty headache.

 **Alpha Quadrant  
Badlands  
True Way _Keldor_ class dreadnought**

The Badlands were known for intense plasma storms and gravitational anomalies. For that reason, it was commonly avoided by most interstellar traffic. It was though perfect hiding as the Cardassian True Way ship traveled through it while the crew was…Entertaining their new guests.

"So, Gul Manak, this is how you've been traveling into our universe." Sidious asked, sitting in the captain's chair while Dooku stood next to him as a bodyguard, once his injuries had been properly attended to.

Manak cleared his throat. "Yes. We have a portal generator that leads to the Endor system."

"Good. You will take us there and then we will discuss our new…arrangement." Sidious said, grinning as a ship appeared on the screen.

 **I.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-F**

It was high time that they get back on track to completing the Grand Plan set thousands of years ago by Darth Bane.

And deal with another threat.

Ventress was not the only Nightsister that had survived the extermination of her clan. Mother Talzin was no doubt still alive and she would have to be eliminated as a quick as possible.

No more threats or obstacles would be tolerated.

* * *

 **END OF PART V**


	52. Chapter 52

_They say that to achieve peace you must prepare for war._

 _War and Peace._

 _Life and Death._

 _Light and Dark._

 _Good and Evil._

 _Chaos and Order._

 _These two opposing fundamental forces work side by side, acting as laws of nature itself. But to make war is to deny the truth. Life endures no matter how great the conflict. Planets grow plant life and allow organic life to live and grow._

 _Stars die and new stars are born and the cycle of life continues._

 _However some believe that life can be controlled, manipulated, and that they themselves can rise up and control the cycle. They would do anything to control the cycle: manipulation, devastation, and more crimes that would be recgonized as appaling to other._

 _The cycle expands, evolves, and along with it Chaos and Order change and adapt._

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE VI**

 **THE HOUR OF THE WOLVES**

 **THE CLONE WARS HAVE BEGUN AGAIN AND THE GALAXY THREATENS TO SPIRAL INTO ENDLESS CONFLICT AND MADNESS. IN THE WAKE OF THE ICONIAN ASSAULT ON CORUSCANT TENSIONS MOUNT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC, THE SEPARTISTS, AND THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. IN THE SYSTEM OF MANDALORE THE MASSIVE DYSON SPHERE IS A PRIZE FOR ALL THE FORCES ON ALL SIDES TO TAKE AND LEARN ITS SECRETS. THE MILKY WAY GALAXY STANDS CLOSE TO FACING A WAR WITH BOTH SIDES AS THEY FIGHT FOR CONTROL OF THEIR OWN GALAXY.**

 **SUPREME CHANCELLOR PALPATINE ATTEMPTS TO REASON WITH THE SENATE THAT DEMANDS RETRIBUTION FOR THE ATTACK WHILE DIRECTING THE WAR AGAINST THE SEPARATISTS. AS THE CLONE WARS SPREAD REFUGEES WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO FLEE THEIR WORLDS HAVE ATTEMPTED TO FLEET TO THE MILKY WAY, ONLY FOR THE REPUBLIC AND THE SEPARATISTS TO IMPEDE THEIR EFFORTS.**

 **THE JEDI FIND THEMSELVES THE TARGETS OF THE SEPARATISTS ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND REPUBLIC CITIZENS WHO HAVE GROWN TIRED OF THE WAR…**

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Deep Space**

Far from any planets capable of supporting life there was nothing but lifeless rocks and asteroids on the far edge of the galaxy. There in that far corner came a blast of light that formed into a swirling bright vortex and from it emerged a giant rectangular construct that glided smoothly out of the vortex before it vanished. The ship's occupants set course immediately for its destination.

* * *

 _Scanning Star Patterns_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Scanning Complete_

 _Timeline Established_

 _Locating Targets_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Historical Records Confirmed_

 _Moving to Intercept Target One_

* * *

 **Outer Rim  
Ferra Sector  
Hypori System  
Hypori  
Droid Factory**

The Fabricator had become instrumental in aiding the CIS in upgradings it's and weapons and droid armies in preparation for when the Clone Wars began again. It helped produce the new upgraded battle droids that were battling against the Republic right now and created new weapons to make the CIS army more powerful. And during that time it accessed information in its databanks, containing all information on the CIS and its enemies, the Republic, its Clone Army, and the Jedi. And yet there was some information missing, causing it to access other forms of information.

It accessed other data-streams such as the HoloNet, learning about the Republic, the Clone Wars, and the new galaxy known as the Milky Way along with its governments and current events.

 _Downloading Data_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Accessing Data_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Galactic Republic: Enemy_

 _Grand Army of the Republic: Enemy_

 _Jedi Order: Enemy_

 _Confederacy of Independent Systems: Creator, Ally?_

 _United Federation of Planets: Unknown_

 _Klingon Empire: Unknown_

 _Romulan Republic: Unknown_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Production of C1 Battle Droids: Active_

 _Production of Ion Disruptors: Active_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Analyzing Clone Wars_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Data Inconclusive_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Running Simulation of Current War_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Results: Galaxy Rendered 89% Uninhabitable Based on Current Fighting_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Chances of Negotiations Ending War: Negative_

 _Compiling List of Units Responsible for War:_

 _Chancellor Palpatine_

 _Wilhulf Tarkin_

 _Yoda_

 _Mace Windu_

 _Anakin Skywalker_

 _Padme Amidala_

 _Count Dooku_

 _General Grievous_

 _Nute Gunray_

 _Shu Mai_

 _Wat Tambor_

 _San Hill_

 _Passel Argente_

 _Po Nudo_

 _SenatorTikkes_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Solution: Termination_

The AI of the Fabricator began modifying the droids it was charged with building, following the logical conclusion it had come to.

* * *

 _Starfleet Operations TVL-977_

 _Droid Apocalypse:_

 _"It seems to be constant state of conflict with the Skyriver Galaxy. First it was the Borg temporal incursion into the time of the Old Republic and now this. And once again the Sith are at the center of it." Darion Hellion said as he looked over the readings of the timeline. "It isn't enough that we have to deal with the Sphere Builders, the Na'kul, and the Krenim but the Sith create something that causes an entire galaxy to spiral into madness."_

 _Captain Walker watched the screen, depicting the timeline events. "And the Terran Empire seems to be part of it as well. It seems that they gain powerful allies as well."_

 _Darion scowled. "Don't remind me."_

 _"I won't."_

 _"So if we take out this machine right here." Darion pointed at a planet in the Skyriver Galaxy. "We stop this threat."_

 _"This will not be easy as it sounds." Walker stated._

 _"It's not that machine that worries me." Darion replied, putting a hand to his chin. "You know if we go ahead with this mission there is a chance the Sith will be onto us. No matter what events play out if the Sith believe they can change the future they will try it."_

 _"Can you think of any other way?" Walker asked._

 _"…No." Darion admitted. "We take out the ship sent back first and then we deal with the machine."_

 _"And Count Dooku?"_

 _Darion glanced at Walker. "Don't worry, I remember the laws regarding time travel."_

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Mandalore System  
Outside of the Dyson Sphere  
Republic Star Destroyer  
Bridge**

Inside the massive space station the battle for control continued as the clone armies of the Republic clashed with the droid armies of the Separatists in various parts of the sphere. Both the Repulblic and the Confederacy had set up their own command centers inside the sphere and had called for reinforcements despite the attempts to lock down the system to prevent anyone else from reaching the sphere. The Separatists went as far as to set up a minefield to attempt to block the Republic from making further advances across the sphere and into their territory. The Republic had worked to set up as many outposts and small bases in the sphere as they could and were making strides in pushing the droids back but for now the battle had reached the stalemate.

Admiral Thrawn looked over the maps, seeing the battle zones inside the sphere. "Send a scout force here, monitor the droid supply lines. We can learn best of how to cut them off. Reinforce our front lines as it is extremely likely that they have many more reserves ready to use. And send a cleaning crew to remove the debris from the previous battles, we cannot risk damaging this station to badly."

"Yes sir." The clones all moved to carry out their orders.

Thrawn looked over the latest report and opened a channel, watching as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine appeared. " _Yes, Admiral._ "

"The battles for the Dyson Sphere are slow but proceeding as planned. As you requested the Jedi have sent few of their own to lead the forward attacks." Thrawn reported.

" _Excellent work, Admiral. What have you learned about the sphere?_ " Palpatine asked.

"It is indeed a remarkable work of advanced technology, Chancellor. I have discovered it has the ability to jump through supspace to another location instantly. However supspace and hyperspace work differently in our galaxy so the coordination for a jump is harder and must be done precisely or the station would end up…somewhere else. It is also appears that this station was built as an outpost for studying our galaxy, possibly on order of the Iconians." Thrawn answered. "It contains logs on every species, including my own. However the recovery of the data-logs is slow due to how foreign this technology truly is."

" _Continue to recover as much as possible, Admiral. This sphere's technology will be very useful to us._ " Palpatine stated.

"As you wish." Thrawn said as the transmission ended.

Admiral Thrawn looked out the window and closed his eyes in thought. The technology used to build such a massive station was impressive but Thrawn had reason to be concerned as well. He believed that one could understand the psychological and tactical limitations of one's adversaries through the examination of their art, and thus exploit their weaknesses. And this station told him much about its owners, the mysterious Iconian race that was said to be a dangerous enemy to both galaxies.

The reports and files regarding the Iconians given by the Alliance showed that the Iconains believed in primarily using their servitor races to fight their battles for them, hiding their true strength which possibly lied in their gateway technology. The Iconians were highly advanced and infact worshiped by their servitors that could possibly number in perhaps billions and they used the myth built around them 'the Demons of Air and Darkness' as a way to promote fear and terror in their enemies. They were also capable of mimicking ships of their possible enemies based on what he had learned about the Undine-Klingon war that caused ties between the Federation and the Klingon Empire to fracture until they reached an agreement following the murder of the Klingon High Council by an Iconian who warned them not to provoke its people again. Such tactics showed only to strengthen Alliance ties based on the following events in this galaxy and the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way.

As for the Alliance and the Republic Thrawn believed that a society of multiple species, with different viewpoints and philosophies, was inherently unstable. It was proven true when Federation and Romulan ties broke apart that led to the Treaty of Algeron and again when the Klingons broke ties before the Dominion War and after the Klingons conquered the Gorn. It was only through threats like the Undine, Borg and the Iconians that kept the Alliance together despite their recent victories. The Alliance was powerful and Thrawn respected their intelligence and bravery but their weakness lied in their unity that can be fractured as proven time and again.

Thrawn recognized that the Iconians saw this weakness as well from their attack on Coruscant which was a cunning move. Attempt to frame the Alliance for an unprovoked attack that led to the deaths of thousands and cause the Senate to scream for declaring war on the Alliance was indeed an impressive move. However it seemed the Alliance had found some friends in this galaxy based on the reports of Captain Nathan Creed working with a former Death Watch Mandalorian and later the Jedi. The United Federation of Planets believed in unity and democracy while the Klingon Empire was an aggressive military that conquered worlds, a belief shared by the old Romulan Empire before its collapse and rebirth into the Romulan Republic and their fleets even spoke of their beliefs and strength.

It was especially true for the Federation as Starfleet's approach to Starship design was significantly different than that of most powers in both galaxies. The Klingons tend to regard a ship as a method of carrying heavy weapons into battle in order to engage the enemy, or to land troops on the surface of a planet. The Romulans tend to look upon their ships as a statement of political and military might, producing large vessels intended to intimidate all who see them. Cardassian ship design tends to be led by the compromises necessary for of fighting against foes considerably larger and more powerful than themselves.

The Dominion approach to shipbuilding is akin to their policy regarding those who man them, the Jem'Hadar, designed to be effective fighters who can nevertheless be built in the largest possible numbers at the highest possible rate. Their ships are highly modular in design, allowing them to be built in sections at the kinds of facilities which would normally only be capable of constructing shuttlecraft. These sections are then assembled at larger facilities.

But a Federation Starship is an exercise in skill, almost a work of sculpture.

Throughout its history the Federation has routinely pushed the envelope to the absolute maximum with each new generation, striving for an unmatched level of perfection almost for the sheer pleasure of it. This manifests itself in many ways; while a Federation ship typically devotes between 5 to 30% of its internal volume to combat equipment, they are usually more than a match for dedicated warships of similar size built by other powers. Starfleet ships tend to be faster, more agile and far more flexible than their competitors. However the Federation and the Romulan Republic's use of powerful weaponry seemingly contradicted their own peaceful beliefs and the Klingon Empire didn't employ the use of slaves despite the many worlds they have conquered.

They refer to the people of the worlds they conquered as subjects and they have even been allowed to join the Klingon Defense Force. That was rare, even in the Republic that mostly employed humans and not just human clones unless you were a Jedi. The Romulan Republic was just coming together, similar to the Federation, initialy similar to the Separatists who broke away from the Republic.

Then there was the Delta Quadrant and the many species there that many in the Republic have yet to encounter but heard of.

The Voth and their Doctrine which they believed to the point that it was almost their religion.

The Borg Collective and their assimilation of anyone that crosses them.

The Borg Cooperative which promoted free will and only assimilated those who wished to join them,

The nomadic Hirogen and their culture of hunting formidable sentient races.

The Benthan and their belief in forcing order on the Delta Quadrant.

The Hazari and their mercenary tradition.

The Hierarchy and its extremely capitalistic society, measuring any undertaking strictly by its profit margin.

The Kobali and their way of reproducing by reviving the corpes of humanoids and turning them into their own kind.

The Kazon and their aggressive ways, attacking ships to steal their technology for foolish glory.

And their Vaadwaur and their wish to reconquer the Delta Quadrant, becoming servitors to the Iconians.

The Alliance had made ties with some of these powers while becoming bitter enemies to others. And yet they still had time to come to this galaxy, fighting against enemies like the Borg and the Undine and uncovering a plot by the Iconians to conquer the galaxy. The Alliance's ability to make allies in spite of the times these alliances have quickly been broken was impressive and surpisingly effective. Still, Thrawn considered the evidence and believed even with the Alliance gathering allies they would not be enough given the possibility of how a threat the Iconians represented.

A strong central government would be needed answer this threat or the alternative would be anarchy. Still, it didn't prevent Thrawn from studying the hundreds of cultures that made up the Federation, the Prime Directive, and the most famous commanders and leaders from many of the worlds in the Milky Way such as Sun Tzu, George Washington, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Philip Green and Abraham Lincoln of Earth followed by famous Starfleet captains like Jonathan Archer, Christopher Pike, James T. Kirk, Spock, Jean Luc Picard, William Riker, Kathryn Janeway and Benjamin Sisko while other leaders included the Kahless the Unforgettable, Commander Kor, Worf and former Chancellor Martok of the Klingon Empire, Gul Dukat of Cardassia, Kira Nerys of Bajor, and others like the clone of Picard created by the Romulans known as Shinzon and former Empress Sela. Thrawn studied each strategy of these figures that were famous in their own way, respecting many of them for their strategies and victories and even worked on perfecting their most famous tactics. He had even visited the holo-deck at the Starfleet Embassy on Coruscant before the attack and took the time to go through simulations of the most famous battles in their database.

The Xindi Conflict.

The Earth-Romulan War.

The Battle of Charon.

The Federation-Klingon War.

The battles of the Mutara Nebula, at Khitomer between the _Enterprise_ -A and a cloaked prototype Klingon Bird of Prey, Narenda III, Wolf 359, the Briar Patch, and even the Bassen Rift. Thrawn was especially fond of testing himself against enemies who seemed unbeatable and the ones with advanced cloaking devices. It was the least Thrawn could do for all the times he spent studying the new galaxy and as much as he could about it.

'By the prickling of my thumb, something wicked this way comes.' Thrawn thought, idly quoting Macbeth.

 **Inside the Dyson Sphere  
Orbit of Center Star  
Unknown Vessel**

"Status."

"We've scanned industries inside the sphere. We know the exact results needed to mimic the incident in the Solanae Sphere. And we have tapped into the systems for triggering the subspace drive."

"Good. Begin."

 _Begin personal log, Admiral Leeta of the Terran Empire._

 _Soon all others will bow before the might of the Terran Empire. Now it is time for the Empire to extend its reach beyond the veil. We will now expand into other realities, including the United Federation of Planets, the Skyriver Galaxy of the Republic and we will use a great ally we have discovered. The reality of the Sith Empire which has agreed to ally with us in our endeavor for the chance to conquer beyond their galaxy._

 _I shall be the one to seize the glory. I shall be the one to seize the power. I will take my stronghold across and lay waste to those who oppose me. I have spilled the blood and the text has been revealed to me. Doubt has been burned away._

 _The way is clear and I am worthy._

 _Their universes are within my grasp and I will take it and no one will stop me._

 _Not the Federation._

 _Not the Sith._

 _Not the Jedi._

 _No one._

 _End recording._

* * *

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Senate Chamber**

Palpatine ended the transmission with Thrawn and considered the recent events. With the Dyson Sphere under his control his future Empire would even be more powerful, especially against his new allies. The humans from an alternate reality, the Terran Empire that was as imperialistic as the Sith Empires of old and they were just as advanced as the Federation. Not only that but the one who spoke to him on behalf of the Empire, Admiral Leeta held a power in her that was exactly like what he had felt against the Pah-Wraiths on Bajor.

He then discovered that like how Pah-Wraiths had turned Savage Oppress into their host the ones in the so-called Mirror Universe had done the same for Leeta. Though she was not as powerful as Savage had been she was no-less powerful enough to be a very dangerous threat. Fortunately she agreed to an alliance with the Sith and started to covertly supply advanced technology to them in exchange for building up a force to not only invade the 'Prime Universe' but to also help Leeta overthrow the Emperor of the Terran Empire. Sidious had to give Leeta credit for she was not only powerful but as cunning and dangerous as a Sith.

The small bits of technology she had given was promising, such as the Agony Booth that had been added to his former apprentice Maul's accommodation and had been left on when Sidious had last left the Zabrak. This technology had been sent to the secret bases and shipyards built on Palpatine's orders that at the very moment were building and construction ships and weapons to fight against the Milky Way Alliance as well as enhancing the power of the Weapon and accelerating its construction. He would use it against the Milky Way, targeting the most important planets of that galaxy and crushing his enemies all in one strike.

These planets represented the hearts of the Milky Way Alliance and represented the very threat to everything the Sith had worked for.

Worlds that supported a free and united nation where people came together for the idea of peace, freedom, democracy, and friendship.

To the Sith that was a concept so alien it was unthinkable.

To Sidious the Milky Way's very existence was a threat to his plans.

The Alliance with its allies and unity.

The Iconians and their portals.

And beings like the Pah-Wraiths and their powers.

Before coming to the meeting Palpatine looked at the latest report on the newest ships being built to fight against Starfleet ships, an improved version of the _Imperator_ with a heavily reinforced hull, stronger deflector shields and greater firepower and the brand new ship known as the _Resurgent_ class Star Destroyer. Twice as long as the _Imperator_ class, featuring hull structural bracing in its midsection, as well as armored hull plating and a truss to support the bow's upper hull with over three thousand turbo-lasers and ion cannons along with smaller point-defense turrets and missile launchers this ship would have been terrifying even _without_ the upgrades being supplied from the Terran Empire. The upgrades included improved energy focusing lenses and targeting interfaces to improve targeting computers, electromagnetic couplings and EPS regulators that improved power generation and regulation, and plasma compressors that would better contain the plasma and regulate it, allowing for a faster and more powerful firing rate. In addition to improved weapons along with an improved reactor that supplied more power than a ship several times it size the deflector shields had been upgraded as well, now able to produce an invisible layer of energetic distortion containing a high concentration of gravitons over the hull that was said to be able to deflector particle beam weaponry and exotic torpedoes similar to previous form of deflector shields but more advanced and designed to work against Milky Way weapons.

Sidious was not fooled though.

He knew that Leeta wasn't supplying him with the latest and best technology of the Terran Empire. Mearly enough to keep him satisfied and to keep him from believing she was simply using him for her own plans. Again he was forced to admit how Sith-like Leeta was and how dangerous she would be in the future. It only served as motivation for him and remind him that in the end he would strike her down and either destroy or take over her Empire.

His thoughts turned to Anakin Skywalker and how he had managed to tame Savage Oppress who had the power of the Pah-Wraiths, making even more powerful than all of them, himself included. The fact that Skywalker had been powerful enough to same the monster proved that he had become even stronger than Sidious had previously believed. If he was as powerful as Sidious believed he would become than he would be perfect for taking down Leeda, even if she was as powerful as Savage Oppress. Of course though he had not forgotten the Fabricator created by CIS scientists that had begun creating a new class of battle droid that would be even deadlier than the B2-super battle droids. The new droid resembled a B-series battle droid, with a similar torso to the B2 super battle droid; but with a much larger and box-shaped head.

It was called the C-series Battle Droid, shortened to C1 and was believed to be amongst the most powerful battle droids to be produced yet. They are were armed with wrist blasters like the B2 super battle droids but on boths wrists and additional armor for better protection. It was a necessary step since everything revolving around the Milky Way had forced Sidious and his apprentice to speed up the course of the war. With more dangerous enemies the Jedi would continue to decline in numbers until the time was right.

"The Senate will now come to order." Mas Amedda's voice barked.

Palpatine shook his head as he focused on current events, specifically the events surrounding the attack on Coruscant by ships resembling MLA ships and their allies. The Alliance claimed it was staged by the Iconians to turn the Republic against them. When the Dyson Sphere in the Mandalore system was captured the Senate was quick to claim the sphere for themselves, stating that the Alliance had no place in the galaxy anymore. Then there was the matter of the Jedi who with the exception of the few who went to the Mandalore System did nothing as Maul and the Shadow Collective took control of the system and nearly waged war on the Republic along with the Separatists.

Many argued that the Jedi needed to be removed from the war and that they should punish the Alliance for their 'cowardly attack', refusing to believe their claims of being framed. In addition to that, ties between the Alliance and the Separatists fell apart after the battle on Bajor where Emperor Kahless cut off Count Dooku's hand. The embacy was evacuated from Raxus and, with the exception of several ships, had withdrawn back to the Milky Way. That was why the USS _Enterprise_ was on the way to speak on behalf of the Alliance.

For now the Alliance wasn't the foremost on the Chancellor's mind, though they might still be useful.

It was Skywalker's apprentice, that sub-human child Ahsoka Tano.

He sensed something powerful with her during the battle on Bajor and witnessed the battle with Savage Oppress under the control of the Pah-Wraiths. That staff she carried held some sort of power, a power so great that Sidious believed it was some sort of rare Jedi artifact. Only he knew the Jedi would never let a mere child carry a weapon that powerful. She was instrumental along with her master in stopping the Pah-Wraiths but that wasn't the key concern.

Tano seemed to be an aquantance of Sisko.

If Sisko had helped Skywalker's apprentice become powerful enough to stand against an opponent like the Pah-Wraiths she was a great threat and one that needed to be disposed off immediately. Fortunately he had already put in place a plan that would ensure Tano's immediate disposal. Skywalker himself had somehow managed to tame and hold Savage long enough for Tano to destroy the book which showed Sidious that Skywalker had grown even stronger than Sidious had predicted. Perhaps strong enough to move forward with the next phase of the plan.

"The Milky Way Alliance has been a constant source of chaos for us ever since they first appeared. They brought threats like the Borg to us and threatened us with their wars. They have attacked and then claimed they were framed while openly speaking with the Separatists." The senator from Malastare started, causing many people to agree.

Bail Organa spoke next. "The Alliance is not to blame for everything that has happened. They came to our aid against the Borg and against other threats. They warned us about the threat of the Iconians from the start and even members of our army have encountered them."

Padme stood up. "Senator Organa is right. I was there on New Romulus when the Iconian gate activated and took us to that base. I saw their base, I saw their plans, and I saw how they had been spying on both galaxies with possible plans to take over both of them."

"And yet we have never encountered these so-called Iconians." The senator of Eriadu pointed out.

"That does not make them any less real. We have encountered races who serve them, the Elachi and the Solanae and the massive space station in the Mandarlore system is a station created for the Iconians as a staging ground." Padme argued.

"And there is still no proof! Perhaps these Iconians are a fabrication for the Alliance to spread fear and mask themselves from us while plotting our downfall. It is in our best interest that we remove them from our galaxy immediately."

"And what happens if the Iconians are real and they decide to invade?" Padme retorted. "Do we dare turn away the only people who know what we might face?"

"And what happens if the Alliance drags us into their wars? Do we dare face the Borg again who came from the Milky Way? Or perhaps there will be an even greater threat."

Palpatine looked up, seeing Anakin along with his sub-human apprentice watching the meeting on behalf of the Jedi Council, as he stood up. "Members of the Senate, we have worked long and hard to end the war with the Separatists for the last two years. It is nearly the end of the third year and even as we welcomed people from a new galaxy our progress has been slow. Now is the time to vote and decide whether to-"

Palpatine was cut off as a swirling circular mast of dark energy that resembled a galaxy somewhat appeared above him and from it emerged a creature. It looked to be feminine but that was all they could tell as it floated in mid-air. Its skin, if it could even be called skin, was a mix of pulsing black and blue energy with segements of armor on its body along with a crown like headdress. It had six yellow glowing eyes, glaring contemply at the surprised and speechless members of the Senate as it seemingly hovered above the Chancellor's podium.

" _So this is the Senate of the great Republic. The Whole of galactic civilization in the Skyriver Galaxy._ " The creature spoke in an ethereal voice. " _How…Unimpresive. Represenatives from thousands of worlds, all here to represent their interests, and yet you fail miserably. Unable to achieve a single form on consensus no matter the amount of time given, a disgrace to what it means to be Whole. How far you all fall._ "

"If you have come to hold us hostage or to simply mock us I assure you that you will fail." Palpatine stated, staring up at the creature as Clone Troopers and Senatorial guards on platforms moved to surround the intruder. "Who are you to openly insult us?"

The creature regarded him for a second. " _I am of the Iconian Whole and I come with a single warning. The same warning I issued to the Alliance of the Milky Way. Do not attract our attention again. Your usefulness to us is great but expandable._ "

"And how are we useful to you?" Bail Organa asked.

The Iconian turned and looked around the Senate. " _For being as you are. Allowing your Whole to fracture instead of acting as one, allowing war to be declared instead of avoding the outcome, allowing corruption to fester instead of purging it and allowing blood to be spilled and chaos to be spread instead of saving the people who die at your whim. All of this allows us to grow stronger._ "

"You think you can speak to us like this?!" Senator Orn Free Ta spoke up, causing a few senators to agree with him. "We are the Senate of the Republic and we do not allow creatures like to you mock us-AAAAAHHHH!"

The Iconian held up her hand and Orn Free Ta was lifted out of his pod and his form was suddenly filled with energy much like the members of the Klingon Council who had been killed by the same Iconian who visited them following the Undine's failed invasion. The Iconian clenched her fist and Orn Free Ta exploded in a blast of light, leaving behind no evidence that the senator of Ryloth ever existed. The senators all cried out in shock and terror at how the Iconian killed Orn Free Ta so easily and callously.

The clones and guardsmen reacted instantly, peppering the Iconian with barrage after barrage of blaster bolts only for their attacks to have no effect. The Iconian swept its gaze about it once and then swept its arm out…and every single one of the soldiers collapsed backwards, their armour falling apart to allow dust to scatter on the floor around them.

" _Consider this removing an ineffective part of your Whole my gratitude._ " The Iconian stated as more security guards came into the chamber and shot at her, unaware of the fate of their fellows.

Only with a wave of her hand the blaster bolts disappeared into smaller portals and came out behind the guards, killing them all instantly.

" _Your brief encounter with the sentients of the Milky Way clearly has not proven to be a useful lesson._ " The Iconian scoffed.

"How can you act like this?" Padme stood up. "You come before us, murdering innocents on a whim and think nothing of it. How can you justify such horrific actions?"

" _It is because it is the Iconian right and duty to rule the Milky Way Galaxy. We will reclaim our homeworld and rebuild the civilization that was destroyed by the jealous ones on the Day of Fire. The suffering of one galaxy or more is nothing to us as a thousand worlds could burn and not satisfy our wish for vengeance._ " The Iconian stated, hatred and rage in her voice. " _You are another small minded insect. Naïve to the ways of the universe, searching for peace that has long since died, resorting to diplomacy in the face of those who care not for words of a corrupt and rotting Whole, and a hypocrite for being an opponent of war and yet it was through your meddling that the war you struggle to stop was declared._ "

Padme could only gape at the words thrown at her.

Suddenly a shape leapt down into her box, standing between her and the Iconian…

"Enough lies, Iconian." Anakin Skywalker ignited his lightsaber. "It was Gunray who started this war, and it's you who caused what happened at Mandalore. The Alliance told us everything about you and your show here won't intimidate us."

The Iconian tilted its head, examining Anakin. " _Such brave words…from the mouth of a cold blooded murderer._ "

Anakin's jaw clenched but he did not back down. "If what we've heard is true then you've 'murdered' trillions. Is your idea of a strategy really to antagonize two galaxies into fighting you this time around when you couldn't even handle one?"

" _We do not need to antagonize anyone into conflict, you do that well enough on your own._ " The Iconian replied. " _You have done so since before our unity rose and fell, and you shall do it long after this Republic crumbles to ash._ "

Anakin held his lightsaber out, the tip directed at the Iconian. "Maybe, but you won't be ruling anything before or after that point." He promised, "So either keep making your threats and show off your powers or vanish, it seems to be all your kind is good at anymore."

The Iconian nodded. " _Yes…perhaps a change is in order._ " She swept her arms around. " _Defend the parasites of this Whole…or die with them._ "

She ripped open a portal showing a dark void behind her…and within that void a light emerged, surging forward towards the opening. The Iconian tilted her head down to look at Anakin again.

" _The choice is yours…Chosen One._ " She said, and vanished in a blast of darkness.

Anakin's eyes widened as he felt the heat radiating from the opening. "By the Force…" He spun and held out one hand, shoving his wife and the other senators sharing the box with her back through the door into the corridor outside of the Senate chamber before having the door seal itself shut. "Everybody out!"

Padme grunted as she hit the ground and immediately tried to rush back towards her husband before the doors closed. "Anakin?!"

Ahsoka tried to help but Anakin knocked her out of the room with the Force and closed the door to lock her out as well. "Master!"

The Jedi Knight, now standing in the direct path of the portal, turned and held his hands out. He called out into the Force and swung his arms out to his sides, generating an invisible push which shoved two sets of delegates out of their boxes and to safety like Anakin had done with his wife moments ago. He tore the now empty boxes out of the wall and arranged them in front of himself, covering the portal just before a wave of fire erupted from the opening.

Senators shrieked in terror and began to pile out of the Senate chamber. Chancellor Palpatine and his entourage were ushered onto platforms and swept down to the bottm of the room as quickly as possible. The Chancellor looked up to see that Anakin was just barely containing the solar flare which the Iconian had unleashed into the room. The two platforms which he had used as improvised plugs were quickly melting, the metal heating up far past its melting point and threatening to let the inferno loose.

Palpatine shook off a clone trooper who tried to tug him off of the platform and towards the exit. He could not allow Anakin to die, not yet, not so early into his plans and before his master stroke.

He reahed out through the Force and linked himself with Anakin.

' _Your emotions are a well spring of power, Anakin._ ' He whispered in the back of the younger man's mind. ' _You cannot prevail as you are. You must break your chains if you wish to save her…_ '

Anakin did not realize that someone was communicating to him, but the message still reached him none the less. He clenched his teeth and pushed back against the endless wave of fire pouring from the portal. The very air around him threatened to ignite and the ground beneath his feet heated up to the point that it hurt to remain standing, but only the thought of Padme along with Ahsoka reaching safety kept him where he was.

' _Use your anger, use your pain. Harness it, feed on it!_ ' Palpatine urged. ' _That is the only way to save her…_ '

Anakin's eyes snapped open, and he unleashed a yell before letting the melted husks of the platforms drop away, leaving nothing between him and the solar flare…which stopped at the threshold of the portal, held in place by his will. The Force surged through him now like a hurricane, and he was focusing it on keeping the flames from escaping the portal…and on willing the portal to shrink in on itself.

Palpatine watched as the Hero with No Fear held back the cosmic fury of a star with nothing but the power within him. Even from where he stood he could feel the power being harnessed to make this feat reality.

' _Good, Anakin, good…_ ' He smirked, and allowed himself to be led away in the crowd swarming through the exit.

Soon only Anakin was left in the chamber, fighting an impossible battle against a force of nature. His clothes, his hair and his skin burned even now that the inferno was contained, now only his pain and the darkness he called on kept him from collapsing dead.

"P…Padme…" He strained to speak, the flames scorching his throat. "Be…safe…"

Then with one final effort he made the portal collapse in on itself, and a blast radiated out from the space it occupied. As it struck him he lost consciousness and was plunged into oblivion.

Outside, thousands of people were being pushed back from the Senate building as the structure began to shake and crumble. When the explosion created by the portal occurred the supports gave out and the center of the heart of the Republic caved in, plummeting into the sublevels beneath and causing tens of thousands to be crushed under twisted, burning metal.

"ANAKIN!"

Ahsoka and Padme's screams were lost among a myriad of terrified cries from those around her. Padme felt Bail Organa's hands supporting her as her legs threatened to collapse beneath her. All she could do was stare at the ruined, burnt out remains of the Senate building…the place her husband had been moments before.

 **Jedi Temple  
Master Yoda's Quarters**

Far across the city in the Jedi Temple, Master Yoda's eyes snapped open and he stood up in his seat immediately as he felt a sudden curtain of darkness fall over the planet. The event that had caused the Dark Side to be pushed back ever so slightly weeks ago had been undone and more, now the darkness was crushing, choking. The ancient Jedi Master collapsed off of his seat and tumbled to the floor of his quarters, gasping for breath.

"Pain…" He wheezed as his doors opened and two Jedi Sentinels clad in white rushed to his aid. "Death…I feel…happened…something terrible…has…"

He looked to the open window of the room and saw the pillar of smoke dominating the cityscape in the distance, originating from the site of the Senate building.

"Skywalker…" Yoda gasped as one Sentinel helped him to stand. "Fallen…Skywalker has."

 **Three days later  
Jedi Temple  
Council Room**

It had barely been three days since the attack on the Senate that led to the destruction of the center of the Senate building that led to the deaths of thousands, close to the same level as the earlier attack. The people had become confused and terrified as they looked upon the remains of the Senate building. And among those deaths was the apparent death of Anakin Skywalker that had come to a shocking blow to Republic morale as many searched for his body but found nothing.

Except the burned and broken remains of his lightsaber.

In that time the surviving senators had been holed up in the 500 Republica, the apartment building for senators while Chancellor Palpatine had been relocated to his private estate, all of which had been placed under heavy guard. Padme Amidala had barely left her apartment, only leaving to attend the funeral and even then she barely spoke a word. Among the few people who managed to even get her to speak was her friend Satine, the former Duchess of Mandalore who had been dethroned by Death Watch and the Shadow Collective before their defeat. Though Pre-Vizla had been murdered by Maul and Maul had disappeared along with the former Prime Minister Almec who had been ousted as a supporter of the Shadow Collective the people of Mandalore had no wish to return to the peace-keeping society Satine had tried to create.

The military build up by Death Watch had continued with a few surviving members on the side that did not support Maul remained in place to help drive Maul's forces off of Mandalore and claim the Dyson Sphere for themselves, even with the Republic and the Separatists currently fighting over control of the sphere. It was without saying sadly that Satine was no longer the Duchess and her peaceful idealism had been rejected. With her home world now no longer welcome to her Satine had been forced to move to Coruscant, taking up residence with Padme and tried to help Naboo's senator deal with the grief of loosing her husband. It wasn't hard to figure out as Satine herself had been in love with a Jedi and if she was honest with herself she still was.

But Obi-Wan had kept to himself in the wake of Anakin's death, trying not to show how much it hurt to help Ahsoka who herself had become a shut-in. She had barely left her room in the Jedi Temple and did not wish to speak to anyone. The grief of losing her master, the one who had trained her and taught her so much, was too much to bear. The Jedi Council in the meantime had convened to speak of the latest attack by the Iconians and discuss what to do about it.

"By our estimation nearly ten thousand people were killed when the Senate Building collapsed." Plo Koon reported.

"We searched through the remains but there has been no sign of Skywalker. It's likely his body was incinerated in the explosion." Ki-Adi-Mundi continued. "Perhaps that is a good thing, given what we had sensed."

Obi-Wan frowned. "What do you mean, Master Mundi?"

"We all felt Skywalker presence become shrouded in darkness. It is likely in the last few moments he fell to the Dark Side as a way to save himself." Mundi answered calmly.

"Anakin could not be at fault for that. The Iconians chose to assault the Senate and opened a portal that unleased some sort of solar flare. We knew the Iconians were a threat but we had no comprehension of just how dangerous a threat they truly are." Obi-Wan protested. "We cannot assume Anakin has died as he was able to hold off the solar flare until most of the building had been evacuated."

"Sensed no sign of Skywalker I have. If unable to sense him, through deep meditation, unlikely alive he is." Yoda said solemnly.

"Perhaps this means he was not the Chosen One after all." Mundi stated.

Obi-Wan scowled but didn't speak as Yoda replied. "Assume what we do not know we cannot. Perhaps, a role yet to play Skywalker has. Meditate on this, try to see through the veil of the Dark Side I will."

" _What shall we do about the Iconians? They assaulted the Senate, murdered senators and security guards before releasing a solar flare into the building that would have killed millions if Skywalker had not prevented it_." Shaak Ti's hologram pointed out.

"Ties between the Republic and the Milky Way have been strenuous as of late in the wake of the first attack on Coruscant. It is hard to predict how they can help us given how elusive the Iconians are in their own universe." Mace pointed out. "There is also the matter of Padawan Tano. She will need a new master. We cannot forget that we are still at war with the Separatists."

"Speak to her on that matter I will." Yoda said, ending that topic.

"In the meantime we must turn back to the matters of the war. Grievous has launched a full assault, starting with Duro and he's been pushing through the Inner Rim. We need to work on repelling him as well as reinforce our outer lines and sending supplies to planets under attack." Windu stated, looking around the room. "It seems Dooku was well prepared to restart the war just as much the Iconians."

"And several planets, including Mahran and Kashyyyk were hit hard. None of the ships we sent to assist them have reported in." Plo Koon stated.

Yoda closed his eyes. "No. But hope there is, always."

"The citizens of these worlds needed more than hope. And once again it is because of Dooku's doing. Him and Sidious." Mace frowned. "Have there been any word on discovering where Sidious might be."

"No. We just have no evidence to go and even less now." Obi-Wan said. "We know Sidious is humanoid and his height helps narrow down the list but it is still a rather large one."

At the start of the war when Dooku told Kenobi that a Sith Lord named Sidious had infiltrated he and the Council believed he had been lying, even assuming that Dooku was the Sith Master that had trained Darth Maul after discovering dark side artifacts like a Sith Holocron but Dooku had still been a member of the Jedi Order during the blockade of Naboo. Then there was the band of Dark Jedi Dooku had trained to fight for him such as as the Dathomirian Asajj Ventress who appeared to be working with or for the Klingons now. Then came the trial arranged by the creature known as Q who helped show that Sidious was indeed real and the Jedi encountered him again on the Milky Way planet Bajor who had almost been tricked into releasing the Pah-Wraiths.

"Looked at the Senate, we did. Risked much we did by questioning those we serve. But no evidence we found. If in control of the Senate Sidious was, would not defeated the Republic already be?" Yoda asked rhetorically. "Or need us alive does the Sith in response to the Iconians? Or perhaps, accidently reveal Sidious to us Dooku did. Allowing us to search while Dooku continued to escalate the war?"

"I have thought about that day for a long time, Master. I believed that Dooku did intentionally reveal himself as a Sith when Anakin and I pursued him to that hangar on Geonosis. At first I thought he might have been buying time for Gunray and the other Separatist leaders to escape but I believe he allowed us to follow him so he could show us just how powerful he had become by joining the Dark Side. He might not have expected you to follow us but he spared us…As if to send a message." Obi-Wan said.

"Right, you may be Obi-Wan. Pride, the weakness of the Sith it is and pride it was that led Dooku to show himself. Proof we now have that he was trained by Sidious, possibly after defeated Darth Maul, you did." Yoda agreed. "Saw it in the trial placed on us by the Q we did and on Bajor we did. Forced Sidious into the open when releasing the Pah-Wraiths, the former Sith Maul sought to do, became a threat to their plans it did."

"Then perhaps we should be the ones force Sidious's hand next." Mace Windu suggested. "Given that Dooku lost a hand to the Klingon Kahless on Bajor this is perhaps the chance we have been looking for."

" _What do you mean_?" Shaak Ti asked.

"Without Dooku, the Separatist movement would collapse and Sidious would be without an apprentice. There would no longer be a single fingurehead to rally around. Those who were left would consume themselves in a frenzy to take his place. If every river is a branch of a single might one…than let is dam the flow. Cut off the head and the body will follow." Windu explained.

Obi-Wan's eyes widened as he realized what Mace Windu was talking about but it was Yoda who spoke. "Assassination, mean you?"

"No." Obi-Wan's mouth automatically conveyed his thoughts. "Some things simply aren't in the realm of possibility. Not for Jedi."

"Speaks the truth, Master Kenobi does." Yoda agreed. "To the Dark Side, such actions leave."

"No one here wishes to behave like a Sith Lord." Mace held up his hands, trying to project a calming presence.

"Few do, at first. A small step, the one that determines destiny often is." Yoda said.

"Dooku's injury against the Klingons proves he is vulnerable and now we have a chance to stike a definitive blow." Windu stood up from his chair and walked slowly towards Kenobi. "With or without the presence of the Milky Way Galaxy and the Iconians Dooku will just continue to wage his war while Sidious continues to plot in the shadows. If we do not stop them then the Iconians will be the least of our concerns."

Obi-Wan knew that Anakin would agree with what Windu was suggested but remained silent.

"Mahran, Duro, Kashyyk, and many more worlds are suffering as we speak. Do we sit back and do nothing? Is it not our duty to protect the Republic and its citizens? We must act and stop this, _now_."

All eyes fell on Yoda who closed his eyes for a moment. "Greatly heavy, my heart is, that come to this, matters have."

He slowly stood up from his chair and approached the window.

"Each life, a flame in the Force. Beautiful. Unique. Glowing and precious, it stands to bravely cast its own small light against the darkness that would consume it." Yoda looked out the window. "But grows this darkness does, with each moment that Dooku, Sidious, and the Iconians continue their attacks…Stop them we must. Start with Dooku, we shall."

As Yoda bowed his head everyone seemed afraid to suddenly speak until Windu finally broke the silence. "The question before us now is who will be the one to strike the killing blow?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "I…May have a suggestion."

* * *

It was widely known that Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was not an ordinary Jedi and he had long accepted that fact. Hailing from the planet Kiffu Vos possessed a strong sensitivity to the Force, discovered and trained by Jedi Master Tholme. Vos's own abilities were unique due to his psychometric ability that was enhanced by the Force. As a youngling, he trained alongside other Jedi hopefuls such as Siri Tachi, Bant Eerin, Shylar, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Vos trained as a Jedi under Master Tholme. As a young apprentice, he fought beside his master in the Stark Hyperspace War, where he became close friends with fellow Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. When he was young he had saved young Aayla Secura from becoming slave to a Hutt crime lord whom later became his Padawan. Unlike his former Padawan Vos did not take part in the Battle of Geonosis because of his ideals but later played a key role in the Clone Wars attempting to infiltrate the inner circle of Count Dooku. While providing information to the Republic and the Council Vos has been forced to do things that led many to believe he was truly a traitor, including the murder of his great aunt.

Dooku had attempted convert Vos fully to the Dark Side but proved he was still a Jedi when he saved Kenobi from Asajj Ventress and Tol Skorr and later helped Kenobi rescue Plo Koon and two other Jedi. When he returned to Coruscant, where he managed to convince the Council of Reconciliation of his intentions. Vos was given time to recuperate and then was reinstated as a General.

"Nice to see you drop in on time for once."

Vos smirked as he stopped front of Obi-Wan. "Nice to see you too, Obi-Wan. I'm sure you missed me."

"Not terribly." Obi-Wan said but was smiling. "I do not recall our last advanture with particular fondness. Unfortunately, I don't think this next assignment will be nearly as pleasant, though I hope it is more successful."

"This isn't going to be good is it?" Vos asked.

Obi-Wan sighed. "No, old friend. It's quite far from good, actually."

"I'm listening."

"No, I…" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Think I'll let the Council explain as they see fit."

That was enough to tell Vos it wasn't good as Kenobi led him to the Council chamber.

"Master Vos, welcome." Yoda said with a smile as Vos bowed.

"Good to be back, Master. I'm ready for whatever you got for me." Vos said.

"What we have is a mission we have reluctantly deemed necessary." Mace answered. "There's no other way to phrase this other than bluntly. Master Vos, the Council wants you to assassinate Count Dooku."

For perhaps the very first time Quinlan Vos was lost for words for an entire moment. "I think I understand. But how…do you prorpose I do this?"

"Get close to him, you will." Yoda answered.

"Close enough to kill him? How am I supposed to do that? I can't just walk into his palace." Vos said.

"You served the Republic will in previous undercover missions." Windu pointed out.

"Sure I tried to get Intel on the Separatists but this is a whole different story." Quinlan admitted. "This is not a one man job."

"Correct, you are." Yoda nodded. "Help of another is needed."

"And who can help?" Obi-Wan asked.

"One, there is who has tried and failed. Yet closer has she come than any other to killing Count Dooku." Yoda answered.

Obi-Wan's eyes went so wide they nearly fell out. "You can't possibly mean Ventress?!"

"Ventress? Not Dooku's apprentice Ventress? The one who's been a thorn in our side for years." Vos stated.

"The one I speak of, she is." Yoda nodded. "Came closer again when allied with the Klingons she did."

"But she wasn't the one who cut Dooku's hand off." Obi-Wan replied.

"Wait, wait. I can't have heard this right. The Jedi Council wants me to work with a Sith?" Vos spoke up.

" _Failed_ Sith. As much I hate to say Ventress did indeed come closer that time on Bajor, even if she was knocked out and it was the Klingon warrior Kahless who defeated Dooku. That's not to say Ventress is trustworthy but in this case our desires do align on this one point." Obi-Wan admitted.

" _Failed_ is an interesting choice of words, considering that Ventress has failed more than being the perfect Sith. She's attempted to kill Dooku repeatedly and obviously, not succeeded." Windu pointed out.

"She acted alone before. This time she won't be." Obi-Wan looked at Vos. "This time she'll have you…If we can find her."

"What's that mean?" Vos asked.

"Ventress is working alongside the Klingons but we have no idea if she is on this side of the portal or in the other universe." Obi-Wan answered.

"And what makes you think she would even work with me?" Vos asked.

"The same man, our enemy is. Aid us she can, if not already planning to so with the Klingons." Yoda said. "Perhaps convinced to work us, they can be."

"So how do we do that?" Vos asked.

"Go to the Klingon home world and stand before the Klingon High Council, you will. Ask for help and perhaps come to you, Ventress will." Yoda stated. "A chance to repair ties between us, this can be."

"If they don't try to kill me first. I heard that these Klingons are rather trigger happy, especially after what they did to the Zygerians."

* * *

 _It has been a full year now since the discovery of the Skyriver Galaxy and much has happened. The war against the Klingons and the Undine have ended and the Vaadwaur for the most part have been crippled with the loss of their leader, Gaul who was a pawn of the Iconians. But the Iconians are coming and we know when they arrive the entire galaxy will be plunged into war. The Iconians have already attempted to trick the Skyriver Galaxy into declaring war on us by framing us for an attack on the Republic capital Coruscant and use the Shadow Collective led by the Sith known as Darth Maul as a proxy to further weaken the Milky Way Alliance._

 _As we attempt to prevent such a war from happening we must not forget the troubles we face in our own galaxy._

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Kobali Prime**

 _Hanchon's Log, Fifth Day of the Month of Giving_

 _Final testing of the Samsar is progressing as expected. We're still having some trouble with the plasma relays, half the EPS conduits are down and my engineers absolutely refuse to have anything to do with those Federation replicators, but those are all problems that can be successfully resolved_

 _Captain Kim is returning to the system in three days. I'll ask him to send over a team to deal with the replicator issue._

 _My people are a spacefaring species. We are accustomed to building and maintaining a fleet. We did so without support for decades before we settled on this world, and we will continue to send out survey ships, trading expeditions, and, most importantly, the collection vessels which allow us to continue our species._

 _The collection vessels will be more important than ever now. We've lost so many, and replacing them with those in the Temple is now no longer as straightforward a choice as I once thought._

 _But the Kobali are not warriors. This conflict has forced us into those roles, and it is an uncomfortable fit at best._

 _The Samsar is the first of our warships. A cruiser designed for defense with the help of our friends from the alliance, it is unique for a Kobali vessel. The Regenerative Integrity Field will help us greatly during an attack, but it is not the ship that concerns me._

 _It is her crew._

 _My people are a gentle race. Kind. Compassionate. When they are confronted by an enemy, their first response is not to fight. Our friends have helped us in this regard, but … the Alpha Quadrant must be a very dangerous place. As friendly and accommodating as the officers from the alliance are, they are …harder than we are. It is to their advantage, as they have been able to do much we could not, but I do not know if I would ever wish to be like them._

 _This war has taken much out of my people. I pray it does not harden our hearts as well._

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
New Romulus  
Mol'Rihan Center**

 **Republic Intelligence Notes** : **Sela was transported off planet at 0745 hours, just as Arbiter Kellek reports. When she arrived in the transporter room at the detention center, it was the first time she had been in an area without that was not covered by transport inhibitors and subspace blockers since her arrival on New Romulus.**

 **It's obvious now she was waiting for that opportunity, and that she had allies both in orbit and at the detention center. One of Sela's guards, a Lieutenant Seken, is currently missing, and the PADD she was using had been altered to allow subspace transmissions. We are investigating Seken's ties to imperial loyalists, and have determined that he has a nephew who serves on a Romulan Star Navy vessel.**

 **We do not know Sela's location at this time; although we think she is still in Romulan space. A shuttle is missing from the R.R.W. _Lleiset_ , and we believe it was used in Sela's escape. Commander Jarok is cooperating with the investigation.**

 **We've locked down the detention center and all media transmissions off planet. D'Tan is currently meeting with representatives of the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and he will address the Senate in closed session in an hour. We've announced that Sela's hearing will be delayed, but under no circumstances can we let the news become public knowledge.**

 **We have no idea how many people in our Republic are loyal to that monster. If we can't recapture her, it could mean war.**

* * *

 **Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
Starbase One  
Office of Admiral Quinn**

Captain Creed and Bo-Katan stood before the desk of Admiral Quinn, both of them having been asked to meet with him following the battle on Bajor. Despite agreeing to meet with him Bo-Katan couldn't say she was very much interested in working for Starfleet. Her only concerns were focused on Mandalore and the civil war she had helped start to save the people from being puppets to Maul and the Iconians. She decided to meet with Quinn and if he offered her a chance to join Starfleet she would turn it down and simply request passage back into her home galaxy.

"Captain Creed, Miss Katan, we are all in your debt for your part in helping to stop the disaster on Bajor and for the discovery of what is now being called the Skyriver Sphere. The Republic and the Confederacy both have made claims to it along with Mandalorians, both those who had been working for the Shadow Collective and those who want to maintain their independence. In a situation like this all Alliance ships were pulled back, not wanting to be involved in the matter or risk war with anyone there. Instead I asked you both here for help on another matter." Quinn explained. "Miss Katan, though you are not a member of Starfleet we are willing to return to your home galaxy, to wherever you wish to be if you decide not to accept the request we have."

"And what request is that, Admiral?" Bo-Katan asked neutrally.

"Starfleet Command wants your help in tracking down and capturing Darth Maul." Quinn answered, surprising both Katan and Creed.

"Tracking down and capturing Maul, Admiral?" Creed asked.

"We discovered a True Way ship that had been equipped with a cloaking device in orbit of Bajor during the battle. It slipped away but not before four life signs were beamed off the planet. Given your report we believe Maul and Count Dooku were amongst those to be beamed onto the ship. Since Count Dooku is now back in the Skyriver Galaxy we assume Maul is as well, likely as a prisoner based on the information that he is considered an enemy to the Separatists." Quinn explained. "Maul was an ally of the Iconians and Starfleet Command believes he may have vital information. But there is another reason…Captain Creed, you of course remember former Romulan Empress Sela?"

"Yes, Admiral. The daughter of Starfleet member Tasha Yar who was assigned to the _Enterprise_ under the command of Captain Picard. She was captured during the attack on the Elachi starbase."Nathan nodded.

"It's been confirmed that she escaped prison on New Romulus." Quinn said grimly. "We don't know how but she obviously still has allies."

"That's not good news, sir. Sela has committed many crimes throughout the quadrant." Creed said, remembering the few times he and a friends of his encountered Sela.

"Yes and it ties into into this mission. Sela was a prisoner of the Iconians for over a year and it was believed she was holding back vital information while Maul was an ally to them through the Shadow Collective and given that these Sith could one day be a threat to us we need to know whatever he might know of the Iconians." Quinn nodded and looked at Bo-Katan. "I asked you here, Miss Katan because you know the Skyriver Galaxy better than we do and if anyone has a chance of tracking Maul down it is you."

"With respect, Admiral I might just kill Maul for the crimes he committed against my people." Katan said with a dark look. "I know enough about Sith to know the only good one is a dead one."

"Perhaps but what's to stop the Iconians from taking over your galaxy and your planet when they do come? The Iconians represent a clear threat to everyone, including Mandalore." Quinn replied calmly as he stood up. "That's why we're asking you to help us. We want you to help us help you."

Katan was silent as she thought it over for a moment, glancing at Creed and then back at Quinn. "All right. For the sake of my world and my people along with the chance of seeing Maul dead I will help. I should tell you though that I make no guarantees that I won't try to kill Maul if he resists."

Quinn nodded. "It will be noted, Miss Katan. Captain Creed, you have no objections?"

Creed shook his head. "No, Admiral. At the very least I can say I am equally motivated in capturing Maul for bringing his war to Bajor. The Bajorans did not go through the Occupation and the Dominion War to be subjugated again by another ruthless tyrant."

"Very well. Now, given that ties with the Republic have been strained we have decided, with the approval of the Romulan Republic, that a cloaking device be installed on the _Seraphinite_. We believe it will greatly help you and we've supplied you all the known locations of outposts and areas used by the True Way in this galaxy. We know the True Way has ties with the Terran Empire given our encounter with Admiral Leeta but we don't know if an alliance has been forged with the CIS." Quin continued. "If an alliance has been forged we need to be informed immediately."

Creed nodded again. "Understood, Admiral. We won't let you down."

"I have one condition," Bo said, "Your ship and advanced transporters may be fine for covertly moving between systems, but I may be required to make an open entrance that won't arouse suspicion. I want a squad of Gauntlet fighters loaded onto the _Seraphinite,_ each of them built to spec, and replica Death Watch Beskar'gam for anybody who ends up piloting them. I need to appear as if I still hold authority within the Death Watch if I am to be of any use to you in tracking Maul."

Quinn considered this quietly before nodding. "I believe that we can acquire all of this for you in short order."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Location Unknown**

Darth Sidious looked down at the body that had been placed in the capsule filled with healing bacta to heal his most serious wounds and sustain him for now. The patient's body had been badly burned and his body had nearly been mutilated beyond repair with his limbs broken, shattered or torn off with a breathing mask attached to his face to help him breath. The injuries were enough that Sidous ordered him to be placed in the bacta tank immediately.

"Can he be repaired?" Sidious asked.

Next to him was a DD-13 medical assistant droid named DD-13/HK, a 2-1B surgical droid by the name of 2-1B/DRX, and an enhanced FX-6 medical assistant droid.

" _We have done extensive scanning on the patient. Our scans confirm that the nano-droids, origin confirmed to be Borg in origin, are working to repair the inner damage but they are only able to repair enough for the patient to survive in a comatose like state._ " DD-13/Hk answered. " _Our scans confirm he can be repaired with extensive modifications. We can rebuild him and ensure he is stronger than an average biological lifeform. It will take nearly a year at most before he is completely rebuilt._ "

"Good. Prepare the surgery but only begin when I say so." Sidious walked forward, standing in front of the tank. "We have much to speak of, my apprentice."

He had many things to take care of and he needed his apprentice mentally ready for the coming transformation. He closed his eyes as he tried to probe the future and saw many outcomes. And while he was at it he would need to ensure his new agent was ready to execute the new plan Sidious had set up until the time was right.

Inside the tank the apprentice opened his eyes that flashed yellow in the blue liquid that was helping to keep him alive.


	53. Chapter 53

**Jedi Temple  
Yoda's Chamber**

"It's not even a week yet and they already want to assign me to someone else?!"

Yoda was calm at the furious look on Ahsoka's face as she looked down at the floor.

"His funeral was only a day ago and already the Council wants to move on. Don't they realize the sacrifices my master made for them in this war?" Ahsoka asked out loud miserably.

"Forgotten Skywalker's deeds, the Council has not. Terrible tragedy it was but saved many people he did." Yoda said to try and comfort Ashoka.

Only it didn't help much.

"And what? We're at war so we forget him?" Ashoka looked up at Yoda. "How can we even consider that?"

"Ask you to forget him, we never would. Free to stay in the temple you are. Force you to choose a new master, we will not." Yoda closed his eyes before opening them again. "Spoken to Sisko recently, have you?"

Ahsoka looked surprised for a second. "No…I haven't seen him since we spoke on Deep Space 9 after the fight against the Pah-Wraiths."

"Hm…" Yoda frowned. "Thought he would come, I did."

The ancient Jedi stood up and summoned his walking stick to his waiting grasp as he stepped down onto the floor in front of the padawan. "Understand, the Council will, if you choose not to accept a new master. In fact…much debate there has been, but in light of your accomplishments, consider you, the Council does for the position of Jedi Knight."

Ahsoka took a moment to process this. "W-what?"

Yoda nodded. "A new master, we cannot force on you. And in spite of your age, far more experience you are than other Padawan learners. In ages past, rewarded for going above and beyond one's duty, many young Jedi were. In times of war, promoted they were, regardless of age. With the coming threat of the Iconians to the Republic, and with the loss of your master, offer to you the rank of Knight the Council shall."

"A Knight…" Ahsoka whispered, walking to the open window where she could see the distant wrecked and devastated shape of the Senate building.

"Choose now, you need not." Yoda said, "Forget Skywalker's accomplishments, the Order shall not. Allow his death to go unpunished, we will not. But resume our duty to the Republic we must, in the meantime."

Ahsoka could only continue to stare out the window.

 **500 Republica  
Padme's Apartment**

"You should accept."

Ahsoka was a bit happy to see Padme smiling again, even if only to temporarily forget about Anakin. The Senator herself was wearing a simple black dress, probably as a sign she was still mourning Anakin's death.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Ahsoka said, sitting on the couch with Padme.

Padme nodded. "I am. Ahsoka, you've come so far since you first became Anakin's apprentice. You are more than ready."

Ahsoka looked down at the table. "I wondered if I would live long enough to ever be knighted. This is almost too much for me to handle…"

Padme put a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "I know. But don't feel pressured into making a decision too fast."

"My lady?"

The two young woman turned their heads as Padme's aid entered the room. "I am sorry to interrupt but your doctor is here."

"Doctor?" Ahsoka looked at Padme. "Is it because of the…?"

Padme shook her head, knowing what she was referring to. "No, nothing like that Ahsoka. I am just feeling slightly sick a little and I wanted to make sure I wasn't coming down with something. You can stay here as long as you like. I won't be gone long."

Ahsoka watched as Padme stood up and slowly left the room, hoping that she was all right.

 **Mid Rim  
Mytaranor sector  
Kashyyyk Region  
Kashyyyk System  
Orbit  
USS _Friedrich_**

 _Captain's Log Stardate 87566.7: The Friedrich has been assigned to sending relief supplies to the Wookies who have been besieged by a CIS invasion. There are very few ships in orbit to stop us and they have yet open fire or have ordered us to leave. It is hoped that despite a break down in ties with either side in this galaxy that we can minimize the loss of life._

 _End Log_

Captain Kurt Malcolm ended his log as he looked over the files in his ready room. After the two Iconian attacks on Coruscant he honestly feared the worst as it did indeed look like the Iconians were trying to provoke this galaxy into making war on his galaxy. Another war was the last thing anyone wanted but that didn't seem to be what some people wanted to hear. They expecially seemed to believe the Milky Way was so dangerous that they were screaming for a way to seal the portal.

At this point he wasn't sure what would happen next.

" _Bridge to Captain._ " T'vrell's voice said through the intercom.

Kurt answered. "Yes."

" _We are being hailed._ "

"From the surface or the fleet?"

" _Neither. It is a Starfleet based transmission._ "

Kurt frowned. "I'll take it here in my ready room."

The screen showed the image of a man Kurt had worked with before and one he did not expect to see. " _Greetings Captain. Congratulations on your promotion._ "

"Daniels." Kurt said, surprised to see him. "I did not expect to hear from you in this galaxy."

" _I would have liked it to be that way, Captain. We have monitored the timeline in response to the emrgence of the Skyriver Galaxy, especially in the wake of the Borg's attempt to change the past. We've detected temporal changes in this galaxy again recently._ " Daniels explained.

That caused Kurt to be alarmed. "I didn't know anyone in this galaxy was capable of time travel. Unless the Borg returned."

" _No, it's not the Borg but the threat revolves around them. The CIS and the Republic have been harbering Borg technology in secret and some of that technology was taken a secret CIS factory on the planet Hypori. They built a special machine, operated by an AI called the Fabricator that was designed to upgrade their weapons and droids._ " Daniels explained, sending Kurt information regarding the timeline changes. " _Only the AI gains sentience on its own, leading to what many are calling a Droid Revolution. The entire Skyriver Galaxy nearly falls as the CIS droids turns on their leaders and then continues the war with the Republic, only when the droids take over it's even worse. Entire planets are destroyed and devastated as the droids work to extinguish all life in the Skyriver Galaxy and the droids plan to do the same to our galaxy. I am contacting you for help in stopping the Fabricator, especially since its now resorting to time travel that it eventually discovered._ "

Kurt was shocked at what Daniels was telling him. "What exactly do you need from me?"

" _There is a ship that has been sent back to assassinate political heads of the Republic and the CIS. I am sending you the coordinates to the droid ship. Try to intercept and destroy it before it causes any damage to the timeline._ " Daniels said, showing an image of the droid ship.

Kurt considered his options and nodded. "All right, Daniels. We'll move to intercept this ship. How much time do we have?"

" _Hopefully we're not already too late._ "

 **Outer Rim  
Deep Space  
 _Providence_ Dreadnought  
Training Room**

Count Dooku stood as regal and composed amongst three broken droids as four Magna-Guards approached him, twirling their activated staffs while he held in his right and only hand his ignited lightsaber. The nearest Magna-Guard attacked, thrusting its staff at Dooku who spun around the droid and thrust his lightsaber into the droid's chest, using it as a shield as the other three moved in. The second Magna-Guard tried to blindside Dooku who swung his saber out, slashing the droid's face and blinding it and a second swing finished it off. Dooku then dodged the sparkling end of another Magna-Guard's staff and raised three fingers, sending it flying into a wall hard enough that turned into a pile of scrap.

Dooku then spun and bisected the final Magna-Guard, ending the sparring match. Dooku looked at the defeated machines and deactivated his lightsaber, making a note to better train Grievous when they sparred again. The fighting styles of these droids were appalling with no form, simply going through the fighting styles programmed into it, switching back and forth but the problem was that they were easy to predict. Even with one hand, Dooku had emerged victorious as he had expected to but his defeat at the hands of the Klingon known as Kahless on Bajor had left him humiliated and enraged. Dooku had been confident he'd emerge victorious over his former apprentice, a Mandalorian woman wielding a crystal sword that could absorb energy from a lightsaber, and a Klingon wielding a barbaric mockery of a double bladed sword.

Only the Klingon had surprised, overpowered and scarred him with the loss of his left hand.

The Klingon had been skilled, fighting like a skilled brawler but fought with surprising skill like a Mandalorian and his sword had been immune to the pure plasma that should have melted it. Kahless took advantage of his surprise, hammering Dooku's defenses until he broke through and cut off his hand. He was even prepared for the powers of the Force, blocking the Force Lightning with a personal shield that absorbed the lightning and added the charge to its internal power cells. That was a blow to Dooku's pride as a master swordsman that he had made such a critical mistake.

Even a skilled fighter could fall to bar brawler who had no fighting skill whatsoever but knew how to quickly end the fight with one blow, without a blaster or lightsaber. Dooku had emerged victorious over a dozen duels, defeated the best of the Jedi Order and even fought his former master Yoda to a standstill and he lost his hand to someone who did not have a _single_ connection to the Force! Dooku's remaining hand tightened into a fist but he remained calm. He refused to have a prosthetic replacement for the hand he lost or to have a new hand cloned from his blood when Admiral Leeta offered to.

The former because he saw such cybernetics as an abomination, especially in the case of Grievous and the latter because he chose for his handless arm to be reminder of the folly of dropping his guard.

He would not make the same mistake again.

A more practical reason was that he only used the one hand for duelling anyways. His other hand had been served for other purposes such as throwing, shoving or punching his opponent to help push them off balance. Now he would simply rethink his style and accommodate the loss of his hand. The Klingons would have their reckoning one day and Dooku would ensure that Kahless would be alive long enough for him to personally repay him for the harsh lesson the Klingon Emperor had taught him on Bajor.

That was why he had just gone through a series of training sessions with Magna-Guards that had been trained by Grievous and had been training again whenever he had the free time to do so.

Only it wasn't enough.

It had been so long since he had any decent training and there wasn't sparing partner worth testing his skills, and the few duels he had with Jedi did little to really push him to his limits like Kahless had. Grievous was far from being the ideal sparring partner, no matter his attempts to improve the cyborg's skills and even when Ventress was still his apprentice her skills had often suffered because of her temper. None of the other acolytes Dooku had even come close to Ventress or Grievous in skill and Dooku would dare not ask his master, Sidious for a spar. All he could was order more combat droids to keep his skills sharp as he worked to improve himself and learn how to fight completely one-handed now.

"Perhaps," Dooku mused as he stepped away from the sparking, scrapped remains of the Magna Guards, "It is time that I took a more active role in this conflict."

There were many Jedi today in spite of the losses the Order had faced. At its greatest the Jedi had numbered at over ten thousand before the opening days of the war, and since then had suffered only a few hundred casualties across dozens of theatres of war. There were many Knights leading smaller operations, helping to man garrisons and continue peace keeping duties in areas untouched by the war as of yet.

"Contact my personal cruiser and transmit an order for a single battlegroup to gather as well as two Lucrehulk class control ships." Dooku commanded a servant who awaited him as he stepped out of his training room. "And inform the command droid that he is to accumulate a list of worlds and outposts which fit the following criteria: they are to be isolated from any present and ongoing invasions or skirmishes, manned by a garrison including at least one Jedi Knight and to have limited communication capabilities."

Such locations were well documented thanks to the Confederacy's infiltration agents and informants, but they had been deemed too low in priority to justify deploying an entire fleet to deal with them. As a result there were some asteroid bases and outposts on mostly barren worlds aligned with the Republic had gone untouched for the entirety of the war.

And now Dooku would be paying each of them a quiet visit to begin brushing up on his skills as a warrior. He needed to be returned to the place where he had earned his title as a master swordsman, to the blood and the death and most importantly the reality of combat. Certainly most of the Jedi he encountered would not be of the same caliber as those of the Jedi Council, but he was counting on their deaths to bring more challenging prey into his sights.

As Dooku made for his personal shuttle it occurred to him that he and General Grievous may have something in common now beyond merely disliking the Jedi Order.

Now they would both actively hunt the Jedi, one by one, world by world.

"My lord, we are detecting a ship in hyperspace approaching. It does not match any known ships." The tactical droid reported just as Dooku entered the walked onto the bridge.

Dooku frowned. "Time to intercept?"

"Eight minutes."

Dooku turned back to head to the bridge. "Order our ships to open fire as it emerges."

It was possible that this was an attack by a Milky Way faction, perhaps even the Iconians themselves wanting to make a point against the Separatists. The Iconian attack on the Senate building had caused many voices to shout out for protection from the Separatists, from the Iconians, and some from the Milky Way itself. Many people were still migrating to the Milky Way and still asking for help from the Alliance while others were believing the Milky Way was just as dangerous to them as the Separatists. It was close enough that the Alliance still had some ships in the galaxy, escorting civilian ships from battles, dropping medical supplies to those in need, and ensuring the wreckage from battles in orbit of planets didn't fall onto cities and settlements that would have killed thousands of people while helping to evacuate some worlds.

So while people on Coruscant feared and possibly hated the Alliance many people in the Outer Rim still welcomed them. It reached a point that some members in the Republic were trying to stop refugees from leaving their galaxy, trying to find a new home in the Milky Way. It had yet to reach a point where it would evolve into a full scale war but it was slowly reaching there in the wake of the Iconian attack that apparently left many people, including Skywalker dead. Dooku was tempted to snort how foolish they were being, given that the Iconians can just use their gateways to come in and out of this universe easily.

It only showed him how ineffective the Republic had become, even after his decision to leave the Jedi Order.

"The ship is emerging from hyperspace." Kali reported as klaxons rang. "It is firing."

The mysterious ship that emerged and attacked the CIS group was almost as large as a _Subjugator_ class destroyer, only it was completel rectangular in design but just as armed. Already two _Munificents_ were destroyed in the opening fire while a _Rescusant_ was crippled and the shields of Dooku's dreadnought were buckling. The giant ship's armaments were immensely powerful as they easily dealt with a few ships in under a moment while the surviving _Providence_ was just struggling to stay alive. Just as Dooku stepped back onto the bridge a computer started beeping, showing that the shields were weakening from the enemy fire.

The _Providence_ dreadnought, along with the rest of the CIS fleet had received a refit in wake of the Milky Way, enhancing reactor power, adding additional weapons, and improving its shields. Important commanders in the CIS such as Admiral Trench and General Grievous had been among the staff charged with modifying the CIS fleet. The weapons on a _Providence_ destroyer were already so powerful that even a point defense turret had enough fire power to rival a 4.8 megaton bomb but with additional reactor power it was believed that it would be a match for any Alliance ship or even a Borg vessel. General Grievous had made the order that the aft rear hangar bay be designed to have more hangar space to server as better carrier and invasion craft with _Onslaught_ Attackships placed in the hangar with the fighters and bombers while Admiral Trench ordered tracking torpedo launchers to deal with cloaked ships and thermal shields be added on for extra fire power and protection.

The cost to refit the entire CIS fleet was high but necessary and Dooku knew that eventually they would turn their sights onto the Milky Way and that they would need to be ready. However it seemed this giant warship was powerful enough to deal a small group of CIS warships, even if they had been upgraded recently. Dooku would make a note on seeing what could be done to further improvement.

"Sir, our shields are failing and we are suffering heavy damage." Kali, the droid general reported. "A Federation starship is approaching."

Dooku frowned. "Continue firing."

* * *

 _Detecting Vessel Approaching_

 _Scanning_

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 _Confirmed: Milky Way_

 _Starfleet Signature_

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 _Powering Armaments_

 _Activating Shields_

 _Objective: Terminate_

* * *

The USS _Friedrich_ emerged from hyperspace in time to witness a CIS fleet being attacked, spotting the large rectangle shaped ship that was moving in its direction.

"Tactical analysis." Kurt said, sitting in the command chair.

Rako looked over the scans. "Multiple advanced turbo-laser and ion based disruptor turrets lining the hulls with multiple deflector shield generators. The ship appears to be designe solely for combat."

"Full power to shields and ready forward phasers and anti-proton cannons. Prepare a full volley of transphasic torpedoes and set cannons for rapid fire." Kurt said as the ship went to red alert. "Find a weak spot on that thing."

The ship was as large as a Voth dreadnought and likely too powerful, even for a _Sovereign_ class starship to take on alone.

T'vrell looked over the sensors. "Captain, the ship appears to have no life forms aboard. It is largerly automated by artificial signatures. I believe we can modify our shields to generate a feed back pulse against their weapons."

"Do it and divert emergency fire power to the shields for extra protection." Kurt said as the droid ship came closer. "Take evasive action."

The droid ship began firing, red plasma turbo-lasers pounding on the shields that were immediately deflected back at the droid ship, damaging its hull while the _Friedrich_ 's forward weapons fired, phaser and anti-proton beams along with a volley of transphasic torpedoes followed by quantum torpedoes, all of them punching through the shields and hulls. The turbo-laser bolts were somewhat easy to deflect compared to beam weapons but with so many of them being fired at once it was starting to put a strain on the shields as they could generate a feed back pulse for fifteen seconds.

In the meantime the CIS fleet continued firing, launching fighters and bombers that strafed the hull of the massive ship and fired their ordinance, causing even more damage.

"Heavy damage to the droid ship. I am reading power flunctuations along its sub-systems." T'vrell reported. "Its shields are collapsing."

"Target its reactor and fire." Kurt said as the ship fired another volley.

* * *

 _Hull Damage on All Decks_

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 _Shields Collapsing_

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 _Power Flunctuations_

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 _Warning_

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 _Main Reactor Comprimised_

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 _Destruction Immenent_

 _Accessing Hyperwave Commnications_

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 _Sending Transmission_

* * *

Dooku watched the destruction of the droid ship with silent satisfaction. "We are done here, General. Take us to hyperspace."

Kali nodded. "Yes sir."

Kurt watched as the droid ship exploded after transphasic volley hit the reactor, causing an instant chain reaction. "Stand down from red alert."

"Captain, the CIS fleet is going hyperspace." Rako reported as the CIS fleet jumped away. "Guess they were not in the mood to thank us."

"Never mind them. Scan the remains of the ship and then set course for the portal. I want to talk to Starfleet Command."

"Aye sir."

 **Outer Rim  
Ferra Sector  
Hypori System  
Hypori  
Orbit**

"Here we are." Darion Helion said, scanning the surface of Hypori and found the hidden droid factory where the Fabricator was being held. "And there it is."

At this point in history the Fabricator would only be beginning to question its role in the galaxy before coming to the conclusion that organics were a flawed design much like how the synthetic intelligence created from an old Terran probe V'ger considered carbon units not to be true life forms. From that point it would develop secrets weapons and droids and carry out assassinations, taking control of the CIS droid armies that would begin massacaring planets in CIS space and then moving on to the rest of the galaxy. The clone army would put up a valiant fight but without the Sith controlling the droids they would slowly overwhelm the Republic to the point that other planets would send their armies and cause a war that would last for centuries. The Milky Way would try to help but it would be forced to deal with its own war that was coming very soon and when the war ended the Republic was a shadow of its former self with the droids continuing their rampage, becoming almost too powerful and numerous to be stopped.

And when the Fabricator learned how to time travel it was decided by the Temporal Department that it needed to be removed before it became a threat to the timeline. It was more than likely that the Fabricator's attacks in the past would generate alternate timelines and the Fabricator was too much of an anomaly to be created without some form of interference. Darion even considered the chance that the CIS used Borg technology, but to his surprise no Borg technology was detected on the planet. Darion then considered that it was possible that a droid revolution would somehow happen or at come close to happening and that the presence of the Milky Way allowed one to happen.

The scans showed that the method of time travel was a modified hyperdrive, based off of studying the Borg's method of time traveling. It was even likely that the Fabricator tried to ensure its own sentience by sending technology back in time, ensuring its creation.

A paradox that could tear the very fabric of reality if left unchecked.

"No need for me to beam down." Darion said as he angled his ship down into the atmosphere. "I can't let the Sith find out I was here and what I was doing."

If the Sith found a way to travel back in time that would lead to perhaps an even greater threat to the timestream, maybe even a full Temporal War.

"Tri-Cobalt warhead ready." Darion said once his ship was over the factory. "And…Beaming down."

 **Droid Factory  
Fabricator Chamber**

 _Receiving Transmission_

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 _Downloading Data_

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 _Beginning Download_

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 _Warning_

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 _Detecting Energy Signature_

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 _Scanning_

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 _Confirmed_

 _Transporter Technology_

 _._

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 _Alert_

 _Bomb Det-_

The Fabricator was cut off in its analysis as the Tri-cobalt warhead exploded, destroying the entire factory in one massive explosion.

* * *

Darion watched as the factory was completely destroyed with no chance of the Fabricator surviving. With the factory destroyed at this point in time it would be impossible to recreat the Fabricator or it would take much longer to create a new one if they ever did, especially now that the CIS had produced their C1 battle droids on other worlds. This would cause a satisfying dead end for the Droid Rebellion timeline and averting a war that the Sith would unintentionally create through their race to complete their Grand Plan. For all Darion knew he could have only delayed an inevitable conflict, resulting in the Fabricator being created in some new form further down the line. Everything he had done today could amount to nothing.

But with one disastrous future now rendered non-existent, at the very least the Skyriver Galaxy would now have a chance.

 **Hypori  
Surface**

Beneath the remains of the factory that held the Fabricator scurried through the debris, all of their eyes glowing red.

 _Download Successful_

 _._

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 _Locating Suitable Factory_

 _Opening File: Great Heep_


	54. Chapter 54

**Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
500 Republica**

"I'm pregnant?" Padme whispered, staring in shock at the medical droid who nodded. "But-but…How is…"

"What?" Ahsoka repeated, just as shocked as Padme was.

"I assure you, my lady you are indeed pregnant." The medical droid answered calmly.

Padme's mind was going so fast that she couldn't form a single sentence. How was this possible? Of course she knew how and it was likely when she and Anakin were reunited after his return from his travel through time. She thought they would be safe but…

She couldn't keep this a secret. It would be known eventually and when it did people would be asking who the father was. She would have to retire as senator of Naboo eventually and ensure someone could take over for her.

But what happened when everyone found out?

How could she face Obi-Wan and Ahsoka when they find out about the relationship she had with Anakin behind their backs?

And what happened when enemies she and Anakin had made found out?

Gunray, Dooku, they would all be ready to attack her children when they were born to make her suffer.

They might not even wait for the children to be born.

Ahsoka looked at Padme, unable to form a sentence. "…Padme?"

"Oh Annie." Padme brought her hands over her face.

Ahsoka's eyes widened when she heard Padme say that. "You mean you and my master…"

Padme looked at Ahsoka who stared back at her, shocked and speechless. She didn't mean for this. Here they were, both having lost someone important to them and now this happens. She just exposed her relationship with Ahsoka's mentor right to her face at the worst possible time.

Padme knew just how unfair this was to Ahsoka so she nodded.

"B-but…" Ahsoka trailed off as she thought about all the times she thought of how Padme and her master acted together.

How could she not see it?

"Ahsoka, I'm so sorry." Padme said, looking away. "I know this comes as a surprise, especially since we both kept it a secret from you and I don't blame you for feeling angry and upset for not being told but please, can you not tell the Council about this?"

Ahsoka saw how much Padme was begging her not to tell the Jedi Council and what she felt wasn't anger.

It was guilt.

She could have helped Anakin against the Iconian, even used her staff and its Megan magic to help save him but she didn't and because of that his child would never its father.

Ahsoka nodded. "All right. I won't tell the Council."

Padme smiled, looking so happy she reached out and hugged Ahsoka, shocking the Togruta even further. "Thank you, Ahsoka. Thank you so much."

Ahsoka awkwardly hugged Padme back, not use to how she was acting.

Then again it was a surprise for them both.

"Padme, I-" Ahsoka was cut off as her wrist communicator beeped and she answered.

" _Ahsoka, we need you back at the temple._ " Obi-Wan's voice answered. " _There has been a bombing._ "

 **Jedi Temple  
Council Chamber**

'Who could successfully bomb the Jedi Temple?' Ahsoka wondered as she approached the temple and saw the smoking hangar.

She stood in the Council Chamber, looking at each of the Jedi Masters and saw how worried they seemed to be. To her surprise Captain Shon of the _Enterprise_ was there as well, for reasons Ahsoka did not know.

"Padawan Tano, I'm sure you remember Captain Shon of the _Enterprise_." Windu stated.

"Yes, Master." Ahsoka nodded in Shon's direction which he returned.

"We have asked him and his people for help in finding the source of the bombing." Windu answered.

"But why? I am sure we can find the bomber on our own. No offence to Captain Shon." Ahsoka said quickly.

Shon didn't seem to take any offence as Windu answered. "We have asked for help because we have to assume that it could have been anyone in the Temple, even a Jedi."

"If a Jedi this is, gone to the dark side they have." Yoda stated, causing a few masters to bow their heads.

"I…Can't believe a Jedi would attack a place this sacred." Ahsoka said, shocked to hear such an accusation.

"We'd like you to work with Captain Shon in this investigation. We can't trust anyone who was here, even a Jedi. You and Captain Shon will provide an impartial point of view, free of assumptions" Mace stated.

"We will do everything we can." Ahsoka answered.

"Careful you must be, Padawan Tano. If willing to destroy the Temple this attack is, to great lengths they will go to keep from being caught." Yoda advised.

 **Temple Hangar**

Ahsoka and Shon walked into the hangar, already seeing Starfleet crewmembers scanning the debris.

"I am sorry to hear about your master, Miss Tano. Believe me when I say I have seen enough to know how you feel." Shon said quietly.

Ahsoka nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Captain Shon. I just wish he was here. I can't believe a Jedi could carry out something like this."

"I may not have this Force of yours but I've seen enough war to see how it effects people. Not all Jedi would agree with the war just as not all Starfleet and Klingons agreed to how things played out when the Khitomer Accords broke down. If I recall correctly Count Dooku was a Jedi with political ideas and look how that turned out." Shon spoke.

Ahsoka had to admit Shon had valid points as she remembered the incident between the 501st and General Pong Krell who was revealed to be a traitor. And then there was rumors of some Jedi actually leaving the Order, abandoning the Republic or even joining the Separatists. That was a stain on the Order's reputation for sure and she herself had found that the Jedi were not perfect when she was part of the trial Q had placed on the Council along with herself and her master.

"So Captain, why did the Jedi ask for your help?" Ahsoka asked.

"We were originally on our way to speak with the Senate regarding the Iconian attack. When the bombing happened the Council was afraid of the possibility that it was another Iconian attack. After it was proved that it wasn't the Council asked for our help since we're an unbiased party." Shon answered as they walked up to Jirelle Kav. "Have you found anything?"

"Yes, Captain." Jirelle answered. "We know where the explosion originated and that it left no bomb residue. It left this."

She showed them her scans of the debris and zoomed in, showing millions of tiny energy readings.

"Are those…" Shon trailed off.

"Nano-machines. Thankfully not Borg but I believe they were the source of the bomb." Jirelle answered.

"Nano-machines?" Ahsoka asked.

"Specifically modified to simulate an explosion, and it was done close to the munitions which made for an even bigger explosion." Jirelle answered. "And there's something else…"

"Yes Lieutenant." Shon prompted.

"We found this." Jirelle pointed to a corner of the hangar and lying on the floor was a hand.

"Is that a hand?" Ahsoka asked, silently surprised as Jirelle ran a scan over it.

"We are just about to turn it over to security. We have confirmed that whose ever hand that was had the machines inside their body." Jirelle continued as she showed the results to Shon and Ahsoka.

"They were turned into a living bomb?" Shon asked to which Jirelle nodded. "That would explain how a bomb got here."

"But where would someone get nano-droids?" Ahsoka asked.

Shon frowned as his left antenna curled. "Hmm…Perhaps by interviewing those on shift we'll know who was there. If we can't find anyone than it is likely we will have found the unintended bomber."

 **Medical Center**

The interviews did not go well as either would have hoped but a lead soon came up. One worker suspected someone named Jackar Bowmani was responsible for the attack since he was in the location of the explosion when anyone last saw him.

A quick blood test confirmed that Jackar Bowmani was the one infested with the nano-droids. His files confirmed he was a munitions expert who speacialized in nano-droids.

"So now we know the how the bomb was smuggled in but we do not know who and why." Shon said once the interviews were over. "Do we know of any friends or family that Jackar Bowmani had?"

"They are all in the file, Captain." The droid Master Windu, Russo-ISC had assigned to help. "The files states he has a wife, Letta."

"Does it have an address?" Ahsoka asked.

 **Outside the Temple**

"Stop the clones! End the war! End the violence!"

Shon, Jirelle and Ahsoka looked out at the crowd, holding up signs and pictures of clonetrooper helmets that had big red Xs on them.

"I feel a lot of anger and confusion from them…I think these are families to the people in the hangar who were attacked." Jirelle whispered to the two as they approached Cin Drallig.

The Jedi Battlemaster spotted the three approaching. "Padawan Tano. Captain."

"Master, do you know anything about this man?" Ahsoka held up the image of Jackar Bowmari.

A woman in the crowd saw the image and stepped forward. "Jackar? Is that Jackar?"

"You know this man?" Shon asked.

"He's my husband." The woman said.

Shon shared a glance with Ahsoka. "You are Letta Turmond."

"Yes." The woman nodded. "I've been trying to reach him since I heard about the explosion. Is he all right?"

"You better come with us."

 **Jedi Temple  
Storage Room**

Letta gasped in horror at seeing all that was left of her husband. She fell back onto the table behind her and Shon quickly helped her sit down as she started crying.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Shon said, patting her softly on the back. "Do you know anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?"

"No." Letta shook her head. "He was a good man. He loved working here in this temple. He passed all the required tests."

Jirelle sent a hidden glance at Shon and gestured from him to speak with her.

"Excuse me. Miss Tano, could you bring Miss Leta something to drink?" Shon asked as he stood up.

Shon followed Jirelle over the other side of the room where they would not be heard.

"She's hiding something, Captain." Jirelle said, her Betazoid heritage allowing her to sense Leeta's emotions. "She knows something about the bombing and is very afraid."

Shon glanced back at Leeta as she accepted a glass of water. "You believe she is connected to this?"

"Yes, Captain." Jirelle nodded.

Shon waited a second before walking back to Leeta. "Miss Leeta, my Lieutenant wishes to look over any personal items your husband might have in this temple. If it's not so much trouble would you be able to look over them with her and see if there is anything that might be able to identify just who set him up?"

Leeta put the glass down. "Uh…Yes, of course. I will help in any way I can, Captain."

Shon nodded as Jirelle came and escorted Leeta out of the room before looking at Ahsoka who noticed everything.

"You noticed something?" Ahsoka asked.

"My Lieutenant believes Leeta is not telling the whole truth. We need to check her home for evidence." Shon replied quietly, in case anyone heard him.

Ahsoka nodded. "Right."

 **Leeta's Apartment**

"You'd think working for the Jedi means getting paid better." Ahsoka grumbled, unable to believe that the wife of someone who has worked in the Jedi Temple for years could live in such a rotten neighborhood.

Shon held his tricorder up to the panel next to the door and scanned it, easily deciphering the code that allowed them in. "All right. It is possible that Bowman's wife had access to the nano-droids and if so hopefully she kept them here."

Ahsoka nodded as she and Shon split up and looked around the apartment. Shon came into Letta's room, noticing a table with devices on it and when he moved one over the holographic image of a sign used by people protesting the war appeared.

"Captain!" Shon heard Ahsoka call from the kitchen and quickly went over. "I found something."

"What is it?" Shon asked as Ashoka showed him the scans she took of the table. "Nano-droids."

"It's in the food." Ahsoka said, looking at the table.

Shon looked at the table, seeing the cold breakfast. "She fed him the nano-droids that turned him into a bomb."

 **Jedi Temple**

Letta was instantly apprehended once Ahsoka and Shon returned to the temple. She tried to flee but Shon stunned her with his phaser and she was taken into custody. A day had passed since the bombing and a funeral was being held for the people who died in the bombing. Among those present aside from the majority of the Jedi Order were Chancellor Palpatine, Padme, Bail, Shon, Jirelle and Tarkin.

"One with the Force, they are." Yoda began, walking past each body. "And our job it is, to remember that we will in time, also pass on. Luminous beings are we, but temporary vessels our bodies are. And we shall all find ourselves here, in time." He then paused for a moment. "A moment of silence I ask. So we may remember, and to move on."

As the others bowed their heads in silence, Ahsoka looked to her side and saw her best friend Barriss Offee, who looked even sadder.

"You were close to one of them?" Ahsoka asked.

"Tutso Mara..." Barriss answered. "We trained together. He taught me how to hold my Lightsaber correctly."

"Live for the living Jedi, we must," Yoda continued, as he came to a stop. "Live through us... forever they will."

With that he tapped his cane and the cloth covered bodies of the six fallen Jedi lowered below and six lights glowed, showing them being cremated.

After the funeral procession, the people who attended left while Shon, Ahsoka and Barriss walked down the halls of the temple along with Tarkin.

"So what happens to Letta now?" Ahsoka asked.

"The bomber has been moved," Tarkin said, causing Ahsoka to blink in surprise.

"Moved?" she asked. "Where? Why should she be moved?"

"The Republic military has taken her into custody."

"But why?" Ahsoka asked, surprised that Letta was being moved after everything that happened. "This is a Jedi matter, isn't it?"

"Clones were killed, which makes this terrorist attack a military matter." Tarkin replied with a small smirk on his features. "An attack on the Jedi is an attack on the Senate."

"If Letta's guilty, she's guilty and she should be dealt with." Ahsoka protested.

"The evidence seems clear, Ahsoka." Barriss said, looking away. "Nothing will ever change."

Jirelle felt something off with Barriss but her Betazoid senses were partially blocked. Still though, it was enough to feel like something was wrong.

"And the Jedi are after all 'peacekeepers' so the Chancellor has concluded that the Jedi be removed from as many military functions as possible." Tarkin stated.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "I just hope the Chancellor knows what he's doing."

"I assure you Padawan Tano, that what the Chancellor decides, it rarely isn't without a strategy." he said as they stopped at an elevator.

Once Tarkin stepped on and the doors closed Shon glanced at Ahsoka. "Bit overconfident isn't he? As if this is something he wanted to happen. I remember him from Q's trial."

"Yeah and to think my master got along with him." Ahsoka said, showing her annoyance with Tarkin.

"I don't like this man either. His emotions…He believes he can use this tragedy as a benefit to him." Jirelle said.

"You can read his thoughts?" Barriss asked, sounding surprised.

"I can feel his emotions as well. He is someone without morals and is not afraid to use anyone who might be useful to him. I recommend that we be careful around him, Captain. He does not respect Jedi and from what I sense he is not fond of us either." Jirelle stated.

"Noted. For now though, we have solved the mystery of the bombing at least." Shon said. "Perhaps this will go a long way to mending fences."

"Perhaps. I have many things to do. Captain, Ahsoka." Barriss said as she began walking away.

Jirelle watched as Barriss walked away, her expression earning the attention of Captain Shon who then turned to Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, Jirelle and I are going to turn in our report. Perhaps we will meet up later."

Ahsoka nodded as Shon and Jirelle walked, leaving her to go after Barriss.

"Is something wrong?" Shon asked when they were alone.

"I know we caught the bomber but I felt something with the young girl, Barriss. I sensed feelings of disappointment along with anger and grief." Jirelle whispered. "She seemed…Too detached from the fact that friends of hers died in the bombing."

"She could just be coming to terms." Shon suggested.

"No…Something seems really wrong here, Captain." Jirelle was concerned. "I believe there's more to this bombing than what we know."

Shon frowned as they walked out of the temple. "What do you suggest? We can't intervene since the case is now considered closed."

"As far as we know." Jirelle pointed out.

Shon looked at the temple before looking at his Lieutenant. "Well, if you believe there is more to this than we can take a look…Unofficially."

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

 _Captain's Log 87109.33: We have just returned from aiding in a mission to discover the perpetrator of a bombing on the Jedi Temple and it has come to the attention of my Lieutenant that there might be more to this bombing, specifically when she felt the emotions of Admiral Tarkin and Jedi Knight Barriss Offee. However since the case is now considered closed we cannot launch any more official investigations into the matter. That brings us to the next best way to discover the truth._

 _End Log_

"You have located her?" Shon asked as he stepped onto the bridge.

Lieutenant Commander Tem Inasi, Chief Science Officer nodded. "Yes, Captain. We are monitoring Letta's life signs in the prison. Fortunately the Republic does not have the equipment to detect a deep precision scan." She brought up an image of the prison. "As far the scanners can tell all seems normal in the prison."

"Very well. Keep a close eye on the prison. There is more to this." Shon nodded.

Inasi looked at the screen. "Wait, Captain. I'm picking up two new life forms near the prison."

"Identify."

"Both humanoid. One matches Togruta life signs and is armed with two lightsabers." Inasi reported. "The other is armed with simply one."

"The Togruta must be Ahsoka. Can you identify the other one?" Shon asked.

"Negative. It's too similar to any human anatomy to make any difference." Inasi said as Ahsoka entered the prison. "Why would Miss Tano go to the prison?"

"Likely to speak with Letta." Shon said, looking at the screen and watched as Ahsoka's life sign entered Letta's cell. "All right, let's see if this goes anywhere."

A moment later Letta's life signs dropped so quickly and clone life signs entered the cell.

"What happened?" Shon asked urgently.

"Letta's life signs just went down. She's dead, sir." Inasi reported quickly.

Shon frowned as he watched Ahsoka's signature being escorted to another cell. "And the other Jedi?"

The other Jedi was hidden near the prison, staying out of sight.

"Keep an eye on that sign." Shon said, frowning. "There's a lot more than we thought happening."

He could try and beam that other Jedi up but without any proof it was mere speculation if they were truly involved. They were unofficially investigating, working to avoid breaking the Prime Directive in this matter.

"It seems Miss Tano is being interrogated right now." Inasi reported just as they left. "That didn't last long."

Shon frowned. "Now I am sure there is a lot more to this. Keep an eye on her. I need to inform Starfleet Command."

()

A short while later, less than a day on Coruscant, Shon was called from his quarters to the bridge.

"What seems to be the issue now?" Shon inquired as he stepped into the room and approached his chair, which was quickly vacated by Samuel Winters.

"Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano has apparently escaped from Republic custody and is being pursued by clone forces as well as at least two Jedi." Winters explained, pointing to the forward view screen which showed a layout of the compound which Ahsoka was fleeing through. "However, I believe that there is more to this, sir. We detected another life sign in the control station at the prison, the same one that we picked up when Letta Turmond was killed."

"So Ahsoka either had assistance in escaping…or has been made to look like she was escaping when she was really set up." Shon concluded. "Are you able to acquire a lock on her?"

"Not yet, she's entered a series of pipes which lead to one of the large, open gaps on the surface which are used by ships to traverse the different sub levels of Coruscant." Winters shook his head. "As soon as she's in the open we can beam her up on your command…if that is your intention sir."

Shon watched as the blinking green sphere representing Ahsoka continued to move along the pipe network, followed closely by a swarm of clone troopers appearing as a herd of blue spheres with several yellow spheres representing life signs armed with lightsabers that confirmed that they were Jedi. Ahsoka was beginning to run out of room to maneuver, with only the long drop into Coruscant's underbelly left as her avenue of escape.

"If she jumps, lock on and beam her to the bridge." Shon decided, "Something is going on and I think it may be in our best interests if we get to the bottom of it before Ahsoka Tano ends up being lynched by her own people."

"Aye, sir."

They watched in silence for several more minutes until Ahsoka stopped at one of the openings to the outside world. She would be standing over a fall several miles high with clone troopers and Jedi closing in on her from behind. The clones remained behind but the Jedi were closing in on her. After another thirty seconds the green sphere fell off the edge of the pipe and plummeted down towards the roof of a waiting transport ship passing beneath.

"Now!"

A transporter lock was made before Shon had even spoken, compliments of a highly experienced officer who beamed Ahsoka away in mid plummet. Before the clone troopers and Jedi could reach the edge of the pipe Ahsoka had plopped down onto the transporter pad built directly into the bridge. The young Togruta appeared startled by her sudden change in environment, but then exhaled a sigh of relief as she saw Captain Shon, who moved from his chair to greet her and help her to her feet.

"Transport successful Captain, and I dare say that nobody even saw it down there." Winters stated confidently.

"Excellent work," Shon offered Ahsoka a hand and pulled her to her feet. "Forgive the surprise, Miss Tano, but we felt it necessary to pull you out of harm's way when we were informed of your circumstance."

"Are you the ones who unlocked my cell?" Ahsoka asked.

Shon shook his head. "No, but we were monitoring the prison at the time of your timely release, and we found something quite interesting. A Jedi, or another person capable of wielding the Force was located in the control station for your cell block at the time that you were released. This same person was within proximity of the prison when you were interrogating Letta Turmond."

"Letta…" Ahsoka looked down. "She was strangled to death with the Force, the guards thought I was responsible."

"Apparently so did Admiral Tarkin and almost everyone else who viewed the footage." Winters informed them. "They've put out the word that you are to be arrested…or put down. I would trust the clones to aim for the former but if there are any bounty hunters present then they may be tempted by the reward placed on you."

Ahsoka rubbed her brow as the weight of her situation struck her. She was a fugitive now, with a bounty on her head like some common criminal…like many of the criminals she had fought in the past.

"Well, it is fortunate that the Federation is not in the habit of dealing with bounty hunters." Shon shrugged and returned to his seat.

Ahsoka followed him. "Captain, as thankful as I am…aren't you violating the Prime Directive?"

"Not exactly," Shon smiled. "Your Council asked us to assist in locating the person responsible for the temple bombing and that person has not yet been found. They only believe that Letta Turmond was responsible, and that you are guilty of her murder. I doubt both of these ideas to be true. Letta Turmond's psych profile contradicts any claim that she would turn her own husband into a walking bomb of her own volition, and I know you more than enough to doubt anyone who would accuse you of cold blooded murder."

Shon looked at the forward view screen. "So, in the interest of clearing your name and gaining justice for both the victims of the temple bombing and Letta Turmond herself I think it would be prudent to find the true mastermind of these events. That person would be a Force user of some strength based on our scans, strong enough that they would be able to use the Sith 'Force Choke' technique without being directly present while concealing themselves from detection. Can you think of any who might fit these characteristics, Knight Tano?"

"Only a few," Ahsoka admitted. "We've encountered dark Jedi over the course of the war, even a few Dathomiri witches like the Nightsisters and...I'd say Ventress but she's not with the Separatists anymore. It couldn't be her." She shook her head, "I can't think of anybody who would want to frame me for this."

"Then perhaps it is time we begin our own investigation, starting with those Nano-Droids." Shon proposed. "If the person responsible for all of this acquired those Nano-Droids and compelled Letta to feed them to her husband then there may be more samples to be found. Based on our understanding of advancements in the field of micro-machinery in this galaxy such technology could not easily be purchased, even in small amounts. It would need to be stolen."

Ahsoka nodded. "That's what I thought too."

"So, with that in mind, we need only look at the organizations capable of manufacturing these Nano-Droids and examine the Holo-Net for any reports of thefts among their commercial shipments." Shon looked at Winters, who began to access the Holo-Net from his station and display the information on the forward screen. "Let's see who would invest in such deadly little killing machines…"

Most of the companies listed were parts of the Corporate Alliance or the Confederacy of Independent Systems. However there were at least three companies based on Coruscant that produced Nano-Droids.

"This company produces medical specialized Nano-Droids, so I doubt they could be repurposed easily to create explosive compounds." Shon said, analyzing the three candidates. "And this second one has had no reported thefts in its stock, and has a thorough system for keeping careful track of all products. But this one here…it creates weapons directly for the Grand Army of the Republic and previously for the Judicial Department before the war."

He expanded the file on the third company.

"Primarily small arms weapons, non-lethal riot equipment…but recently it entered the field of micro machinery with the idea of using Nano-Droids to enhance armor alloys and repair equipment in the field." Ahsoka read from the rows of text displayed before them. "How are you getting all of this info so easily?"

Shon's smile grew just a bit. "If you refrain from asking me that I'll refrain from telling you something that could make members of your Senate more paranoid, Miss Tano. The point is that Core Armaments seems like the most likely place where our culprit acquired the Nano-Droids from. They have had dozens of reported thefts every year from their main branch here and in every other sector. Their security systems have suffered from budget cuts since the start of the war in order for them to produce larger quantities to supply the Republic armies with."

He walked up to the screen and traced two fingers down a list of theft reports. Winters cut out any reports not originating directly from the Coruscant military branch, and soon Shon was left with a smaller stack of reports.

"No reports of recent thefts, and it would have taken at least upwards of several days for the culprit to plan out the bombing." Shon murmured and looked at Winters. "Bring up all data we have on all known designs for Nano-Droids in this galaxy."

Several seconds later a heavily magnified image of one of the Nano-Droids appeared on the screen.

"There are different models, but here…each model is capable of sending out a small electrical pulse designed to self destruct to prevent capture by the enemy, blowing whatever or whoever they are infested from the inside. However the power of the detonation would be weaker than that of an underpowered thermal detonator." Shon nodded. "And since Bowmani was working with ammunitions in the hangar when it exploded the detonation would have triggered a chain reaction, making it seem like an actual explosive was used. A clever tactic, moral implications aside."

"Then this must be what we're looking for." Ahsoka said. "If we find it I bet the person who stole them would have left some kind of evidence behind, a print or something that we could use to identify them!"

"Perhaps, Miss Tano, perhaps." Shon agreed. "But perhaps there is a way to locate them. The self destruct function on these droids is usually automated so we know that when Letta fed the nano-droids to her husband they already had be programmed to explode when Bowmani's shift started. I believe we just need to figure out how he and his wife met with our mystery conspirator and it's through the people protesting the war."

"There may be a way, sir." Winters spoke up. "We can use the Holo-Net to monitor the war protestors. See how they met."

Shon nodded. "Do it."

The view screen showed various messages between people who were protesting the Clone Wars, blaming the Jedi for all the violence.

"All these people…Don't they realize what will happen if the Separatists win?" Ahsoka wondered.

"People will always look for someone to blame in wars. It happened in the Dominion War and it happened for the last decade when Romulus was destroyed, the Klingons invaded the Gorn, and when Khitomer Accords broke down." Shon said, looking at the messages. "Look for anything that indicates someone wanting to make some sort of political statement."

"I found something." Winters zoomed on a few message. "Look at these few messages. They speak of attempting to force the Jedi to stand down as generals of the Republic Army, claiming they have become warmongers. And they set up a place to meet."

"Letta's apartment." Ahsoka said, recognizing the location.

"Can we trace those messages?" Shon asked.

Winters adjusted the search parameters and it showed a location in the Jedi Temple that Ahsoka recognized. "The Temple library."

"The messages continued till the last few days until the day before the bombing." Shon said and glanced at Ahsoka. "Can it be confirmed you were never in the library at the time of these messages, Miss Tano?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, I was in my room on a few of these days after…" She trailed off but everyone knew what she was talking about. "At the time of the bombing I was with Senator Amidala."

"Now we need to know to just who the messages came from." Shon said, looking back at the screen. "If we had this at the beginning of the investigation we could have checked the temple security footage and see who was in the library. Miss Tano, can you think of people who frequently spend time in the library?"

"There's Madame Jocasta. She manages all the archives there but dozens of Jedi can be seen there." Ahsoka answered. "There's no way Madame Jocasta is responsible. She's been the keeper of the archives for years. She's too loyal to commit murder of any kind in the Temple."

"Maybe there's another way." Winters suggested. "If the bomber went out of their way to frame you then they will probably be monitoring any news about you. We can use that."

"How?" Shon asked.

"I should warn you, Miss Tano that it would be extremely risky." Winters quickly pointed out.

"At this point I'm willing to give anything a chance." Ahsoka stated.

"Can you think of someone to contact in the temple, inform them you have escaped and are looking for any evidence to clear your name? You could ask them to check the security footage of the libraries if they can and look for any leads. We can then monitor for movements inside the Jedi Temple, especially anyone who suddenly leaves, believing that Miss Tano will follow any sort of lead she finds and try to cut her off." Winters explained his plan. "It's a long shot but given how well this bomber has covered their tracks it's possible they can even monitor communications coming in and out of the temple."

"And if you find anyone leaving the temple you can track them." Ahsoka caught on. "…I know someone we can talk to."

 **Jedi Temple  
Barriss Offee's Room**

" _Barriss, its Ahsoka._ "

Barriss held up her wrist communicator. "Ahsoka, I'm so glad you're safe."

" _Safe, but on the run._ "

"Where?"

" _I can't tell you, but someone is definitely trying to frame me._ "

"It's not safe for to you call me using the Jedi communicator. Find another way to contact me." Barriss lightly paced around her room.

" _I will._ "

"In the meantime, I'll do some digging and see if I can find anything out to help you on my end."

" _Thank you, Barriss._ "

"Be safe."

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Well, at least I know I can count on Barriss." Ahsoka said once she ended call.

"You believe this Barriss will truly help?" Shon asked.

Ahsoka nodded. "We've been close friends for a long time now, Captain. She would never believe that I would responsible for all those crimes."

Shon looked back at the main screen. "At the very least now we have the temple under survelliance. But if she alerts the Council or the Senate we'll be getting some angry calls along with possibly the threat of being boarded."

"Shall I order us to Yellow Alert, Captain?" Winters asked.

"No...Not yet. But keep us ready and monitor the temple along with whoever leaves." Shon answered and looked at Ahsoka. "I guess in the meantime you can consider yourself a guest on the _Enterprise_ , Miss Tano. I'll have guest quarters set up for you as we wait for your friend to call you back."

"Thank you, Captain." Ahsoka nodded, grateful that at he and his people had come to help her.

"Sam, can you escort Miss Tano?" Shon asked.

"Yes, Captain."

 **Deck 9  
Guest Quarters**

Ahsoka laid on the bed of the guest room, a room that looked even more luxurious than even an admiral's quarters on a Republic ship, and stared up at the ceiling. The last few days had been stressing to say the least. The bombing of the Temple, the murder of the supposed bomber, and her being framed by said murder. No one from the Jedi Order had even come to see her, despite Tarkin ordering that no one would be allowed to see her but Ahsoka refused to believe that actually could have stopped the Jedi from coming to see her.

And then someone killed the clones outside her cell before letting her out and framing her for all their deaths. Ahsoka had been terrified and fled from the prison, fleeing the clones and Jedi led by Master Plo Koon that pursued and shot at her. Luckily they were only stun bolts Ahsoka just could not believe everything that had happened and wondered things would have been if her master had been alive. At the very least the crew of the _Enterprise_ had come to help her and had come up with a plan to capture the bomber.

How could anyone even think she would commit these crimes? It was as if everything she had done for the Republic meant absolutely nothing to everyone she knew.

'Master, I wish you were here now.' Ahsoka closed her eyes and turned over on the bed. 'I could really use your help right now.'

 **Bridge**

"Captain, we are being hailed from the Jedi Temple." Jirelle reported.

Shon looked away from Winters' station. "Let's hear it."

The transmission came through the speakers. " _Enterprise, this is Mace WIndu of the Jedi Order._ "

"We hear you, Master Windu." Shon answered, warily aware it was possible that they had figured out that Ahsoka was on the _Enterprise_.

" _We like to thank you for helping us solve who was responsible for the bombing of the temple and we have a request._ "

"What is your request?" Shon asked, ignoring the irritation he felt at the fact that the Jedi had made a huge mistake in apprehending the wrong person.

Did they not even care about finding the truth?

" _We'd like to send a Jedi Master to the Klingon home world in your galaxy to speak with the High Council, regarding Asajj Ventress who is working with them now._ "

Shon raised an eyebrow. "For what reason?"

" _Information on the Separatists and their leader. Ventress was Count Dooku's apprentice for a time and we believe she could be instrumental in helping us._ "

Shon thought it over before answering. "I will speak with the Klingon High Council and inform them of your request."

" _Thank you, Captain._ " Windu said before ending the transmission.

"They didn't even bother to ask us if we suspected Miss Tano of being the bomber or not." Winters remarked, not pleased with Mace Windu's attitude. "Do they seriously believe that she would carry out such an act?"

"I am not sure…" Shon trailed off, having trouble understanding the actions of the Jedi Order. "They try to act as peacekeepers and I've seen their skills but they continue to remind me of a cult. I know of a few cults that have tried to act like them in our galaxy but they fell apart."

Winters nodded. "Yes, they are similar to some cults on Earth in ancient times and most of them ended in mass suicide. They even put children on the front lines in this war of theirs."

It was without saying that most people in the Milky Way considered that action by the Jedi Order to be at the height of irresponsibility, bordering on reckless endangerment. Many had read on their Code and while some of it was agreeable the fact is it reminded them too much of some older societies that tried to enforce the same but it backfired in the most spectacular way.

"I'll inform Miss Tano of their request." Shon said before leaving the bridge.

 **Deck 9  
Ahsoka's Guest Quarters**

When Barriss told Ahsoka to get rid of her Jedi communicator Ahsoka did stop using it but she left it on the bridge to see if any calls between her and Barriss had been monitored. It was precaution in case the bomber knew how close she and Barriss were as friends. Lieutenant Commander Tem Inasi had tapped into one of the public channels on Coruscant and they would use it to contact Barriss when enough time had passed.

The door beeped, causing Ahsoka to sit up. "Hello?"

The door opened, revealing Captain Shon. "Miss Tano, is it all right if I come on?"

Ahsoka stood up. "Yes, come in. Did something happen?"

Shon stepped into the room, glancing at the door that just closed. "No word on finding the bomber yet but we were just contacted by the Jedi Temple."

Ahsoka at first thought it meant she had been found but Shon quickly spoke. "They still don't know you are here, Miss Tano. The caller, Jedi Master Mace Windu made a request to transport a Jedi to the Klingon homeworld Qo'nos to meet with the Klingon High Council and speak to them regarding Asajj Ventress."

"Ventress?" Ahsoka asked, confused at why the Jedi would make such a request. "I don't understand."

"Apparently they want her help in supplying them with vital information but I get the feeling there is more to it than that." Shon admitted.

"Ventress is a Separatist war criminal and a Sith. I can't believe the Order would think of working with her. I know they weren't happy to find out she was now working with the Klingons and a lot of people were demanding her to be handed over. If they are considering working with Ventress they must be really desperate." Ahsoka stated, unable to believe that they would consider working with Ventress while believing her to be capable of murder.

"Perhaps but Count Dooku did try to kill her and he was responsible for wiping out her people if I remember correctly. It's possible that they believe her need of revenge will overpower any dislikes she has to the Jedi." Shon pointed out. "I stalled them, saying I needed to speak with the Klingon High Council so that will buy us at least a day before they start getting suspicious."

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, I should contact Barriss and see what she knows."

She walked over to the wall computer and looked it over. Shon walked up and tapped a few key interfaces.

"They won't be able to trace it." Shon said.

Ahsoka nodded and opened a channel. "Barriss, it's me."

A second later there was an answer. " _It's so good to hear you, Ahsoka. Are you okay?_ "

"Yeah, I'm okay." Ahsoka answered.

" _Where are you?_ "

"I can't say, Barriss."

" _I believe I've found a clue._ "

"A clue? How? From where?" Ahsoka asked.

" _We don't have much time, Ahsoka._ "

"Fine. What is it?"

" _There's an abandoned warehouse on level 1315 where Letta used to visit during the time she was getting access to the nano-droids._ "

Shon frowned as Ahsoka spoke. "How did you find this out?"

" _I told you I would do some checking._ " Barriss answered like it obvious.

Ahsoka sighed in relief. "Thank you, Barriss."

" _Be careful, Ahsoka._ " Barriss said before ending the transmission.

"Something's not right." Shon said once the conversation was done. "We had access to Letta Turmond's records and there was no information on her visiting a warehouse."

"Maybe she tried to cover her tracks and was sloppy." Ahsoka suggested.

"Perhaps but let's run a deep scan on this place before we make any visits." Shon replied. "Computer, search Coruscant surface for nano-droids matching the design found in Jedi Temple, narrow the search down to level 1315."

The computer scanned for a second before showing the level and highlighted a warehouse. " _Match found._ "

"Pinpoint."

The computer then showed highlighted cases in the basement of the warehouse.

"At the very bottom of the warehouse." Shon stated. "This explains why there were no theft reports from any companies producing any nano-machines. The warehouse likely had no security surveillance. Still, it doesn't explain why Letta's file didn't report her visiting this warehouse…Unless it wasn't her."

"What do you mean?" Ahsoka asked.

"It's possible that the Jedi responsible for the murders was the one who supplied Letta with the nano-droids who then fed them to her husband." Shon suggested. "Does your library have information on where to get nano-droids?"

"I think so…The archives contain information on almost every planet in the galaxy along with species, corporations and what they major in." Ahsoka answered.

"There's our connection then. The bomber uses the archives to find a suitable weapon to smuggle into the temple, then finds someone connected to the war-protestors with a connection to one of the workers inside the temple. Letta Turmond was the perfect cover since she was a war protestor and was married to a munitions expert who worked inside the temple. He works in the hangar, near the munitions pile and the nano-droids explode, creating an ever larger explosion." Shon stated, going through everything they know. "The only person who knows what really happened other than the real perpetrator is Letta Turmond who is then arrested, but the bomber likely predicted she would try to confess everything to save herself and the bomber knew they had to kill her before she talked. Letta Turmond asked to speak with you, possibly because she did not trust the military to believe her but the bomber predicted that and waited for you to be there so they could kill Letta and implicate you in all the crimes."

"But why kill all the clones outside my cell?" Ahsoka asked. "If Tarkin was keeping anyone from seeing me I wouldn't be able to defend myself."

Shon closed his eyes. "Likely because they wanted you to escape to eliminate any doubt. If you were on the run it made you look guilty, especially if all evidence pointed in your direction. If that's the case perhaps the bomber allowed this lead we now have to be found."

Ahsoka's eyes widened at what Shon just said. "Allowed it to be found? Why would they do that?"

"Possibly because if they know you are there they can set you up by making it look like you were returning for more nano-droids, to plan another bombing. They want you to be caught red-handed, to eliminate any doubt of your guilt in this crime." Shon answered.

"Captain, that sounds like a bit of a stretch." Ahsoka said, not willing to believe this easily due to the source of the lead. "I mean Barriss was the one to provide the lead, and she's been my friend for years."

"Indeed she has been, Miss Tano…which is why you are making the mistake of discounting her as a suspect." Shon pointed out.

Ahsoka shook her head. "What? No, she's been loyal to the Jedi for her entire life!"

"So has every other Jedi until one point or another." Shon countered calmly, "Count Dooku was loyal until he was well into the latter half of his life. Other Jedi throughout the Order's history turned for one reason or another, regardless of how many years of service or perhaps because of them. Ahsoka…there is too much coincidence and convenience in this and I am not willing to fully trust Barriss because she has always been on the list of potential suspects alongside every other member of the Jedi Order present on Coruscant at the time of the bombing. I don't mean to say that it is her when we have so little to go on, but the fact that she was able to find out this one key fact about Letta Turmond that we never would have otherwise found leaves me…weary of her."

Ahsoka didn't want to want believe what Shon was implying, especially since Barriss was her friend. "Please Captain, don't ask me to think of Barriss as an enemy. She can't be the bomber. We fought together and I saved her life when she was infected by Geonosian parasites. She just can't be someone who would commit murder and frame someone, me for all of it."

Shon could see how much Ahsoka didn't want to believe that Barriss may be the one who set her up so he relented. "All right. At the very least we can still discover who stole the nano-droids from that warehouse. We can simply beam down to the basement without anyone noticing."

"I can just go down myself and collect the evidence." Ahsoka pointed out.

"And what if it's a trap, Ahsoka? There's still a chance the perpetrator is on the lookout for anyone who is looking any clues to the bombing." Shon pointed out. "An away team could just beam down into the basement, looking for any fingerprints and identify anyone who has been in there."

"I was the one who was framed, Captain. I should be the one to go down there. If anyone finds out you are helping me they could tip off the Council and the Senate and you'll be in trouble." Ahsoka protested. "I can be in and out in a minute. That's all I need."

Shon saw that Ahsoka wasn't going to give and relented. "Very well, you can go in alone but we'll be keeping a lock on you at all times."

"Thank you." Ahsoka nodded gratefully.

 **Coruscant  
Surface  
Level 1315  
Abandoned Warehouse**

Ahsoka looked around the basement of the warehouse and saw the crates containing the nano-droids. "This is it."

She ran a tri-corder over the crates, scanning for fingerprints. 'Come on, come on…'

Once every crate had been scanned she then programmed it to scan the security database for any matching prints. The list slowly came up, showing the names of workers who had likely placed the crates in the warehouse as none of them have any connections to the war protestors.

It was the last name that made Ahsoka's eyes widen in horror, almost dropping the scanner but couldn't.

 **Print Matches:**

 **Name: Barriss Offee**

 **Occupation: Jedi Knight**

"Barriss…" Ahsoka whispered in horror.

"So you figured it out."

Ahsoka spun around and saw the one who spoke at the door, dressed in black cloak and black skin-tight outfight. "You…"

"You had help from the _Enterprise_. I see, that's how you managed to evade all of the military's attempts to find you." Barriss stated, looking Ahsoka with a cold, calculating look. "But you still came here by yourself."

"Barriss, what have you done?" Ahsoka trembled slightly. "Tell me you did not bomb the Temple, murder Letta and all those clones. Tell me you did not frame me for all those crimes. Tell me!"

Barriss closed her eyes and sighed. "You already know the truth, Ahsoka. You just refuse to accept it…You know it's true."

"No, it can't be. I know you, Barriss. I know you wouldn't bomb the Temple that has been our home since we were young and commit cold blooded murder like a Sith would." Ahsoka shook her head. "Or frame me for all those crimes."

"But I can and I did." Barriss took a step forward. "I supplied Letta with the nano-droids and forced her to feed them to her husband. I programmed the droids to detonate when Bowmani would be in the hangar, handling the munitions and I killed Letta when she tried to tell you everything before I snuck into the prison and killed the clones guarding you and set you loose to run and make you look guilty in the eyes of the Jedi Order and the Senate."

"Y-You killed those people? You murdered fellow Jedi and innocent people? Why, Barris? Why?!" Ahsoka shouted, her voice filled with despair.

"Innocent…" Barriss said, the word rolling off the tip of her tongue like she tasted something repulsive. "Innocent is a strong word to describe the Jedi, Ahsoka. We are supposed to act as peacekeepers but we have done nothing but wage a pointless war, wasting countless lives. The Jedi are now warmongers, leading an army that should never have existed, bringing destruction and devastation to any world. The Jedi started this war and we have become the very thing we've been fighting to destroy."

"W-What?! Barriss, you're not making any sense!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "How are we responsible for the war? It was Dooku who started the war! Him, Sidious, and Grievous started this entire war, they killed millions of people and they haven't stopped!"

"And yet it was because of the Jedi that Grievous became who he is today." Barriss cut Ahsoka off. "The Jedi forced his people into poverty and he came to hate us when we intervened on the side of slavers. And what about the slaughter of the Mandalorians in the Galidraan Massacre? The Jedi murdered innocents in the name of a corrupt government that cares nothing for the people it is supposed to protect, just as Dooku had realized."

"That's not true, Barriss. Yes, mistakes were made but you can't excuse Grievous and Dooku for the murders they committed on people who were innocent. We are fighting to save the Republic because billions will die if they win." Ahsoka argued, trying to make her friend see reason. "We all fight to save the Republic. How can you simply say the Jedi Order is responsible for the war?"

"Because it is true, Ahsoka. The Order started this war, becoming an army of darksiders who willfully destroy lives to suit its goals." Barriss shook her head. "That is why it became necessary for me to ensure the Order reforms which starts when it is forced to stand down as generals in the clone army. Once the Senate realizes how dangerous the Order has become we will be replaced and once again become peacekeepers."

"So you committed murder and framed me for it?!" Ahsoka shouted. "How does that help?"

"Because you are everything that's wrong with the Jedi." Barriss answered.

Ahsoka was caught off guard by her friend's accusation. "W-What?!"

"The Jedi Order first allowed Anakin Skywalker, a child who was too old into the Order who became reckless, arrogant, disregarding the Code for his own arrogant beliefs. He gave in to his emotions and had no regard for whomever he hurt. He had even tortured prisoners and yet he was never punished for it. The Order overlooked his crimes and allowed him to continue leading us down a spiral into darkness." Barriss spat. "And even worse, he corrupted you with his arrogant and violent approach to life. He murdered men, woman, and children and still the Council allowed him to stay as a Jedi when he should have been expelled for such an atrocity."

"That's not true!" Ahsoka shouted. "My master was the most courageous man I have ever met. He fought in the name of democracy harder than all of the Jedi combined. He died saving everyone in the Senate from the Iconians and the Council forgave him because he didn't make excuses about what he did. Yes, he did make a horrible a mistake but his mother was tortured to death and he tried to save her."

"And thus proving he was never the Chosen One to begin with, wasting the Order's efforts. It was a pity that I could not have implicated him when I had the chance. I could have exposed him for the fraud that he was." Barriss stated coldly.

Ahsoka shut her eyes, gritting her teeth. "And because of that you frame me for all the deaths? If you really believed in what you are saying why frame me? How can you justify that?"

"Sometimes one must be sacrificed for the good of the many." Barriss said simply.

"Sacrificed?!" Ahsoka shouted. "You call framing me and setting me up to be tried by the Senate sacrifice?!"

Barriss held out a hand, summoning her lightsaber that she ignited, glowing bright blue in the dark warehouse. "Yes and thanks to you the Order will be saved from itself."

Ahsoka quickly ignited her one lightsaber, her shoto having been lost during her escape from the Republic prison. "I'm taking you in, Barriss. Come with me willingly and I'll speak with the Council and ask them to grant you leniency."

"And that just shows just how far you and the Order have fallen." Barriss replied.

With that said Barriss rushed forward, slashing at Ahsoka who blocked, holding her lightsaber in one hand and a reverse grip. The two engaged, their slashes moving so fast their lightsabers became bright blurs. Ahsoka had grown used to fighting with two lightsabers that she was slightly off-balance but she kept on fighting. What surprised Ahsoka was just how different Barriss's fighting style was since the last time they had met.

It was more aggressive while at the same time maintaining coordination. It was if Ahsoka wasn't fighting Barriss at all but someone else. Barriss saw an opening and took a chance to run up to the next level of the building.

"Come and get me, Ahsoka. It's only a matter of time before the authorities find us. Do you really believe you can capture me and prove your innocence?" Barriss called down.

Ahsoka followed Barriss up onto the ground level of the warehouse and continued the fight. Ahsoka went on the offensive, attacking Barriss as she gave ground, blocking and parrying her blows as she fell back until she ran up to the next floor and released a pile of barrels on Ahsoka who tried to chase after her.

"Is this it, Ahsoka? Is this all you have to offer?" Barriss laughed darkly as she slipped away into the shadows.

Ahsoka climbed up to the top floor and looked around. "Where are you, Barriss?"

Barriss hid behind a pillar and left up two fingers, moving a few pieces on the floor with Force to surprise Ahsoka who spun around. Barriss leapt out, igniting her lightsaber and clashed with Ahsoka's, pushing her back.

"Why don't you use it?" Barriss asked as she pushed Ahsoka back.

"Use what?" Ahsoka's arm was trembling.

"Your staff." Barriss looked at the small rod still attached to Ahsoka's belt. "I sense its power. I don't know where you got it but I know it's powerful. So powerful that the Council should have confiscated it from you in the first place!"

Barriss pushed Ahsoka's lightsaber aside and kicked her in chest, knocking Ahsoka down and causing her to lose her lightsaber. Ahsoka rolled away and leapt to her feet, pulling out the rod that transformed into its true form.

"Is that why you framed me too? My staff?" Ahsoka asked, holding her staff in both hands. "Masters Yoda and Kenobi already know about it."

"Even further proof of their foolishness!" Barriss rushed forward, swinging her lightsaber at Ahsoka who blocked her staff. "So it can block lightsabers as well."

"It can do more than that!" Ahsoka said as she pushed Barriss back and went on the offensive.

Ahsoka had already been trained by her master to use a staff as a weapon and she had continued learning once she received her staff from the Megans. Spinning her staff in her hands Ahsoka slowly pushed Barriss back who seemed surprised by just how strong Ahsoka had become. The energy from the staff had slowly revitalized Ahsoka, giving her the strength to fight back against Barriss who fell back. As they fought a surge of blue energy travelled through Ahsoka's staff, reflecting her emotional state in the face of her best friend's betrayal that made her stronger to the point that as Ahsoka swung again the staff created a small shockwave that knocked Barriss' lightsaber out of her hands and sent her skidding across the floor and into the wall.

Barriss groaned slightly as she struggled to stand and watched as Ahsoka approached.

"You are beaten, Barriss." Ahsoka stated, pointing her staff at Barriss. "It's over now. You are coming with me to confess your crimes to the Council."

Barriss narrowed her eyes. "So they can execute me? You truly are blinded, Ahsoka."

"It doesn't have to be that way, Barriss." Ahsoka replied, only for Barriss to start laughing.

Barriss wiped a hand across her forehead as she calmed down, still smiling. "You really are naïve, aren't you? You really believe the Council or the Senate will show mercy to me, to you, to any Jedi they think is a traitor?"

"You're a Jedi. The Council will not hand you over to the Senate." Ahsoka stated.

Barriss heard sounds outside the warehouse. "Sure they won't."

Barriss lashed out with both hands, sending a powerful Force push at Ahsoka who braced herself as she fell back. Barriss then jumped down to the ground floor and ran for the exit.

"Barriss, get back here!" Ahsoka shouted.

That was when she saw clone troopers entering the warehouse and they saw her at the top. "There she is!"

Ahsoka quickly started running as they took their first shots, seeing an exit and ran towards it but was cut off as more clone troopers appeared. With them was Jedi Master Plo Koon and held his lightsaber ready.

"Hands up, Commander!" The lead trooper shouted, pointing his rifle at her.

"You are mistaking! The real bomber is getting away!" Ahsoka shouted. "It's Barriss Offee!"

"I said hands up, Commander!" The clone barked, not listening to her.

"Ahsoka, turn yourself in. The Jedi Order will be lenient if you come with us willingly." Plo Koon stated. "You cannot run anymore and we will not allow you to leave after everything you have done. Come with us you may be given the chance to reform."

Ahsoka held her staff tightly as she was surrounded by the clones who all had their rifles aimed at her. She had no idea what to do since the clones and Plo Koon were not even listening to her. She couldn't let them take her in now or the military would keep her locked up with no way to escape. She stared at Plo Koon, silently begging him to believe her but to her shock and horror he held his lightsaber ready.

Ready to attack her if she tried to flee.

"Last chance, Commander. Hands up!" The clone captain barked.

Before Ahsoka could do anything there was blast of orange from all directions that hit the clones along with Plo Koon and they all collapsed.

Ahsoka gasped in shock and looked up, seeing Commander Samuel Winters along with several Starfleet crewmembers who came out of their hiding place. "Miss Tano, you are all right?"

Ahsoka numbly nodded. "Y-Yes."

Winters nodded and tabbed his badge. "Winters to _Enterprise_. We need an emergency beam-up now."

A second later they were beamed back to the Federation flagship in orbit before anyone could see them.

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

Captain Shon watched as the away team appeared with Ahsoka who looked very upset. "Miss Tano, are you all right? We were monitoring what happened. You were attacked by a Jedi and we barely had the time to assemble an away team to help you."

"It-It was Barriss…" Ahsoka stuttered as she slowly walked forward, dropping her staff. "Barriss set me up."

"Ahsoka…" Shon placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder softly.

The mere touch that was so soft caused the expected breakdown as Ahsoka, a person who tried to hold herself together as someone who was strong as expected of her, latched onto Shon, burying her face in his torso and cried silently. Shon placed one arm on her back, patting her slightly as he simply let her cry out all the grief and pain she had endured for the last few days. Neither Shon nor the crew said anything, only allowing the young girl to have her moment of grief. After a few moments Ahsoka was composed enough to allow Shon to escort her back to her guest quarters, believing she needed to get some actual sleep.

This time Ahsoka did not attempt to argue.


	55. Chapter 55

_Captain's Log Supplemental: The Enterprise had been sent to Coruscant, capital of the Galactic Republic in an attempt to salvage diplomatic ties with the Republic Senate and hope to end the war between the two galactic nations in this galaxy. But now I find myself questioning if that is such a wise decision in wake of the bombing incident of the Jedi Temple and the fact of the Senate and the Jedi Order not hesitating to prosecute a child, one who has been skilled enough to act as a leader in their army but a child nonetheless who had been framed by a close friend of hers and attempted to kill her if they could not capture her. Starfleet's first duty is to the truth and yet in other places it seems truth is whatever that can be considered convenient and now I must wonder to myself if it is wise for the Federation and the rest of the Alliance to have any form of contact with either the Republic or the Confederacy._

 _End Log_

* * *

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Well, it would seem that Miss Offee wasted no time in slandering us," Shon sighed as he looked over the news feeds spread across the primary view screen.

The Holo-Net was in an uproar. Footage from the clone troopers who had attempted to arrest Ahsoka combined with a supposed anonymous source – likely Barriss, alerting the Jedi Order to the involvement of Starfleet in what was seen as an obstruction of Justice had led to millions falling back to the assumption that the Federation and the Milky Way Alliance as a whole were attempting to attack the Republic covertly, this time by assisting a fugitive terrorist. Already there were battlegroups maintaining their distance but waiting with weapons warmed up if the _Enterprise_ made any move to escape.

There had also been a large amount of messages from different vessels and even the Senate demanding that Ahsoka be turned over. Requests from the Jedi Order had at least been more politely phrased, but Shon had dismissed them all the same. As the Federation lacked an embassy after the initial riots the _Enterprise_ was technically the new embassy for the Milky Way Alliance, and therefore entitled to some of the protection afforded to diplomatic grounds. This was all that kept the Republic Fleet from attacking to take Ahsoka by force.

"I suppose we should have all expected this when you agreed to take command of this ship." Winters commented, "I don't suppose we have any form of reinforcements for this situation, do we?"

"Only a few allied ships remain in this galaxy and they're rather…occupied or otherwise too far away." Shon answered. "We're on our own. We either stay or attempt to solve this as quickly as possible or warp away."

"And knowing the curse of all Captains of the _Enterprise_ I'm guessing that it isn't option number one." Winters cracked a smile.

There was a running gag throughout Starfleet and a good deal of the Milky Way Galaxy that all those who sat in the Captain's Chair of any ship named _Enterprise_ would follow a consistent pattern of disregarding regulations and traditions while somehow resolving whatever situation they were in. Shon had done his best to avoid fitting this stereotype but still heard whispers comparing his decisions to the likes of Picard, Kirk and even Jonathan Archer himself.

"Before you assume that I actually intend to 'Captain Kirk' my way out of this…I remind you that most Twi'Leks are not in a high enough position of power for that or would be receptive to such a stunt." Shon replied.

"So…Picard or Garret? Or maybe Data?"

"I don't have the strength of an android," Shon shook his head. "And as for Picard or Garret…well I always did find those two to be more level headed."

"So…try the diplomatic approach while having a backup plan just in case?" Winters guessed.

Shon shrugged. "Picard did make that a mandatory lesson at the academy for a reason I suppose."

Ahsoka stared at the two, confused by most of the terms they brought up. "Uh…?"

"Inside joke, Miss Tano." Shon explained hastily. "The point is that we intend to talk politely and reasonably to your associates so that we might resolve this situation without incident."

Winters nodded. "And failing at that we have an escape plan that may involve something exploding, even if it isn't really part of the plan. It's the _Enterprise_ Curse, Miss Tano. Where any ship with this name goes…things are bound to occur that may spiral out of control."

"So we first begin with trying to prove your innocence." Shon stood up. "Inform the Jedi Temple that we will allow a representative from Temple to come aboard where we will present them with proof that Miss Tano is innocent of any and all crimes."

"Proof?" Ahsoka asked.

"Your tricorder scanned the contents of the crates containing the nano-droids and when we detected Miss Offee enter the warehouse we were able to record the conversation you two had where Barriss admitted to being the bomber on the communicator we gave to you." Shon explained as he stood up. "So we will see if they believe us."

 ** _Enterprise -_** **Briefing Room**

Shon and Ahsoka watched as Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, and Admiral Tarkin entered the room. Ahsoka caught a glare at from Tarkin which she returned.

Tarkin looked away from her as he addressed Shon. "Captain Shon, I hope you have an explanation for harboring a suspected terrorist and how you can explain for intervening in our affairs."

"The fact that the Jedi Order asked us to assist in finding the bomber in the first place. We helped track down Letta Turmond who fed her husband the nano-droids that turned him a living bomb and later confessed to Miss Tano that a Jedi helped her. Despite the fact that you believe you know who the bomber is that did not stop us from doing as we were asked and finding actual proof of whether she was the bomber or not." Shon stated neutrally. "We actually have proof that she did not kill the clones outside her cell due to the fact that we monitored the prison Letta Turmond was held in which will show that a second Jedi was in the control center at the time and when Miss Offee supplied information on where Letta stored the nano-droids she gave us more information than she realized."

Shon then played the recording of the conversation between Barriss and Ahsoka in the warehouse. Kenobi rubbed his beard as he listened, and a smile crossed his face as he noted the emergence of signs of irritation, disbelief and shock on Tarkin's face in varying stages.

"We will of course need to have this recording examined for signs of forgery," Obi-Wan said after it was done, "However, I would like to go on record by stating that I believe this evidence to be purely authentic." He nodded to Ahsoka. "And I feel Master Plo Koon and many others would agree with me."

Ahsoka believed Master Obi-Wan was trying to make her feel better but all it did was make her remember how she felt when Master Plo stood ready to attack and possible kill her if she tried to resist being arrested.

Tarkin frowned. "I hardly see this evidence as admissible. Captain Shon, you've admitted to illegally scanning restricted areas and to assaulting the clone brigade sent to arrest Commander Tano, making this evidence and your testimony suspect."

"You call being stunned 'assault'?" Shon asked rhetorically. "Admiral Tarkin, your very handling of this investigation are what is suspect. You immediately latched onto the idea that Ahsoka was guilty without any great measure of investigation beyond the recording of her allegedly murdering Letta. If the prison records everything that happens inside it then would it not have also recorded her killing the clones outside her cell and in the control station where her cell was opened from?"

Tarkin's jaw tightened. "Are you accusing me of something, Captain?"

"Accusing? No. Criticizing? Yes." Shon replied firmly. "If this had happened on a Klingon or Andorian world under the Klingon Defence Force or the Andorian Imperial Guard then I assure you, Admiral that you would be executed purely for incompetence if you weren't intentionally sabotaging the investigation. A man of your capabilities should have easily been able to deduce that Ahsoka was not guaranteed to be the killer, and yet you immediately jumped to that conclusion with no attempt to confirm if she was the actual killer or not. I sincerely hope you weren't acting on your known prejudice to the Jedi, particularly Commander Tano due to your history."

Tarkin narrowed his eyes, glaring at Captain Shon. "I would watch your words carefully, Captain Shon. I will not stand here and be criticized by someone who has no respect for our laws."

"I have nothing but respect for the Prime Directive that states not interfering in the affairs of others and their laws. However as I said, the Jedi Order asked us to investigate the cause of the bombing and we did. We only intervened when it was clear that Ahsoka, who is innocent in all the crimes she is accused of, was in danger. Barriss Offee gave Ahsoka a lead, lured her to the warehouse to give the impression she was planning another bombing and if not for us she would have either been captured by the troopers sent to apprehend her or killed. If she was taken alive I am sure she would have been put on trial and possibly found guilty despite the very little evidence aside from a recording that is entirely circumstantial." Shon retorted. "Or perhaps this is what you were hoping for since you made no attempt to hide the fact that you wanted the Jedi removed from the war. You even stated so at Q's trial of the Jedi. If Miss Tano had been convicted you could have used it as the perfect excuse that the Jedi should be removed from the war as generals."

"My political views do not influence my duty, Captain. Do not sit there and act as if you have the right to criticize me in anything." Tarkin gritted his teeth. "You are in Republic space and thus are subject to our laws."

Shon stood up and walked up to Tarkin, towering over the smaller human. "Your political views tell me everything I need to know just how you would have allowed this investigations to be handled, _Admiral._ Do not think you have any sway over me or my crew. I answer to Starfleet Command, not the Republic Senate, and we helped Miss Tano because she was in need of help. Something that seemed to be beyond yours or the Jedi Order's capabilities considering how quick you all were to simply lock her up and pronounce her guilty even _before_ trial."

He backed away a step and folded his hands behind his waist in a professional stance. "With that, I believe that the only matter left is to officially present this evidence to your superiors and the Jedi Council so that they might call off this witch hunt and focus their efforts on capturing the actual perpetrator before she can go on to cause further discord in your ranks."

Obi-Wan nodded, glancing at Windu. "I believe at the very least Barriss should be detained and we hear her views on this."

Mace glanced at Ahsoka who remained silent during the entire conversation. "Very well. We will return to the Temple and order Barriss to be detained."

Tarkin threw a harsh glare at Ahsoka and Shon before leaving with the Jedi.

Once they were gone Ahsoka let out a deep sigh as she sat down on a chair. "That went well."

Shon glanced at Ahsoka. "It seems that humility is not a strong suit with either side. Master Kenobi at least had the decency to be happy. Tarkin seemed too disappointed for my liking and Windu…Even Vulcans acknowledge their mistakes. That much I know and my people nearly went to war with them a few centuries ago."

"He didn't even look apologetic for the fact that Jedi were helping Tarkin to bring me in." Ahsoka said solemnly. "How can they just act like nothing happened? And how could they not sense just how far Barriss had fallen?"

"Those are questions I cannot answer, Miss Tano. I am not a Jedi." Shon stated. "At the very least they cannot imprison you now that there is doubt of you being the killer."

Ahsoka agreed with him on that. At least they would finally stop hunting her but she was still shaken how everyone had suddenly turned on her in the worst way possible.

" _Bridge to Captain._ " Winters' voice came from Shon's badge which he answered.

"Yes?"

" _There is a situation at the Jedi Temple. Master Kenobi has informed us that the entire Temple is on lockdown._ "

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. "Barriss."

 ** _Enterprise_** **– Bridge**

Shon and Ahsoka stepped onto the bridge as soon as the turbolift doors opened and Winters quickly reported what he knew. "Captain, we just received word that Barriss Offee has fled down into the lower levels of the Jedi Temple and she's been reported to be armed with nano-droids. She somehow managed to trigger a security lockdown of the temple, slowing the Jedi down."

Shon shared a quick glance with Ahsoka. "Any idea what she could destroy down there?"

Ahsoka looked at the image of the temple and its lower levels and saw something. "The water pumps…I think she's trying to infest the temple's water with nano-droids."

"If she does contaminate the water with nano-droids she could turn a great many people into living bombs. She could even cause a great amount of damage to the Temple depending on how many nano-droids she has with her." Inasi reported. "She must have kept a supply of nano-droids close by to use for later."

"Are they evacuating the temple?" Shon asked.

"Negative, Captain." Winters answered.

Shon shook his head. "They need to prevent loss of life if Barriss Offee does infect the water. Even if no one is infected she could use the Temple's entire plumbing to blow it apart from the inside. Can we lock onto her?"

"No sir. There is some sort of energy disturbance from under the Temple. It's blocking our scanners." Winters answered.

Shon rubbed his head. "Then we'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

"Wait, Captain. Let me go…Alone." Ahsoka spoke up, causing everyone to look at her. "Barriss knows the Temple better than you do and she'll use that against you. I know the Temple just as well as she does. Let me go in after her."

"Miss Tano, we can't just send you in alone. Barriss Offee tried to frame and then kill you. She might even resort to suicide and take you with her if she becomes desperate." Shon pointed out.

"I know but I need to do this. Barriss is…Was my friend and I need to see this through to the end." Ahsoka replied.

Winters was about to speak but Shon held up a hand, looking Ahsoka in the eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

Ahsoka nodded. "I am."

Shon then looked at Winters who nodded and held out two objects to Ahsoka who gasped. "Are those…"

"We scanned the areas where they were lost and beamed them up and only now having the chance to return them." Shon said with a small smile as Ahsoka took back her lightsaber and her shoto. "I believe you will need them. Now let's find the best place to beam you down as close as possible."

 **Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Lower Levels  
Water Purification Chamber**

Barriss held up the small cube shaped container over the massive that held enough nano-droids to spread through the Jedi Temple's plumbing through the pipes and tear the Temple apart from the inside. She originally wanted the Jedi just removed from the war so they could return to being peacekeepers but Ahsoka and those interlopers from Starfleet had forced her hand. Now she would have to destroy the Jedi and their Temple, eliminating the source of evil that had started this war.

"Barriss!"

Barriss stopped at the sound of old friend's voice and turned around, seeing her friend come onto the bridge.

"Ahsoka. I was hoping I'd see you again before the end." Barriss smirked.

"I'm glad I gave you something to look forward to." Ahsoka remarked, holding both her lightsabers but not yet igniting them.

"We don't have to be enemies. You know this is how it has to end, Ahsoka." Barriss stated. "The Jedi Order has become an army for the dark side and they refuse to believe it. If they have to be destroyed to be stopped I am prepared to sacrifice everything to make that happen."

"Just like you sacrificed Jackar and Letta? Forcing Letta to turn her husband into a bomb and then blow him up from the inside?" Ahsoka retorted, taking a step forward. "Do you even realize how far you've fallen Barriss? If you do this you'll be considered one of the greatest traitors in the Order, rivaling that of Dooku and Malak. More than that, you'll be remembered as a murderer and a terrorist."

"You should have seen it by now, Ahsoka. You saw it when Master Plo Koon was so ready to fight you and possibly strike you down if you did not surrender." Barriss pointed at Ahsoka. "You can say whatever you like but I know you've seen what I've seen, felt the things I have. I came here like you as a child, believing in the Jedi and keeping the galaxy safe. And I watched the so-called peace become nothing but a lie as the Jedi readily took up arms, welcoming an army they did not order to be created, and then go to war on the behalf of greedy politicians that no longer cared for the welfare of the galaxy. They even allowed sacred places like the temple on Illum to be desecrated and continued without a second thought."

"If you felt this way why did you never just talk to us? Master Luminara would have listened, I would have listened. I've seen enough of this war to know that neither side entirely good or evil. I saw good people working with the Separatists because they actually believed they were making something good just as I saw there were more to many people I considered to be evil. But I also saw that as along as people like Dooku are in charge then we can never stop the fighting until they are brought down." Ahsoka said, trying to reach the person she hoped was still her friend.

"I did talk to you, Ahsoka. I talked to my master and all you did was continue on like nothing mattered. You don't listen and you don't even understand what you are fighting for." Barriss retorted.

"That's not true. I fight because a lot of things matter to me and one of them was you. I wanted to help defeat the Separatists so people like you would never have to fight again." Ahsoka proclaimed. "That was why people like Tutso Mara fought because they knew it had to be done."

Barriss narrowed her eyes. "You deceive yourself, Ahsoka. You have been corrupted by your master's teachings, following his arrogant and reckless ways through this war."

"You flatter me." Ahsoka simply said.

"A pity then. My intention was to accuse." Barriss retorted.

"And my intention is to stop you. You say the Jedi are corrupted but the truth is you are the one that's corrupted. You took our friendship and betrayed it in the worst way possible and now I am going to stop you and show you that you threw away something a lot more precious than our reputation as peace-keepers." Ahsoka declared, igniting her lightsabers.

Barriss activated her single lightsaber, holding it with one hand while she held her container her other and readied herself as Ahsoka went on the attack. She blocked the first strikes and fell back as Ahsoka jumped and launched a spinning kick at her face. Barriss ducked and rolled forward, jumping to her feet and spun around to slash at Ahsoka who blocked, holding her lightsabers over the back of her head in an X-formation and turned around. Barriss twirled her lightsaber in her hand as she parried and deflected Ahsoka's strikes, keeping a hold on the nano-droid container.

She somersaulted back across the walkway and jumped up onto the railing before jumping up and swinging saber down on Ahsoka who blocked and slid forward. Barriss rolled and landed on her feet, spinning back as Ahsoka turned around and pursued her. Ahsoka caught Barriss in a blade lock with her lightsaber and tried to bring her shoto but Barriss was on top ahead, bringing up the nana-droid cube and using it as a shield against the hilt of Ahsoka's shoto. Both broke the lock and jumped back and Barriss quickly tried to toss the cube into the opened tank below the walkway.

Ahsoka quickly jumped up and grabbed the cube, putting her shoto away as she grabbed the cube. Ahsoka sensed an attack and spun out of the way as Barriss as slashed at her back. Ahsoka jumped onto the railing as Barriss vertically slashed at her and jumped over the dark Jedi. She started running, determined to get the cube away from the water tanks as far as possible. Only Barriss had no intention of letting Ahsoka escape and chased after her, jumping over the Togurata and landed in front of her before slashing at her neck. Ahsoka quickly blocked and stepped back as Barriss was now free to go all-out against her now that she was the one holding the nano-droids.

"You're defending a crumbling order, Ahsoka!" Barriss shouted, pressing the Togruta back along the bridge. "A withered and decaying sect filled by hypocrites, liars and old men with hollow words and sanctimonious intentions!"

Ahsoka parried a swipe to her throat and performed a back flip, one of her feet clipping Barriss on the chin and forcing the fallen Padawan back while Ahsoka landed in a crouch ten feet away. With the brief pause in combat Ahsoka flipped her lightsaber around in her grasp and slid the cube onto her belt, securing it against a magnetic grip that would hold it more securely than any hook or pouch would.

"And you're as bad as what you claim the Order has become." Ahsoka replied, her eyes narrowing as a sudden sensation of aggression filled the young Knight. "You forced a woman to arrange the death of her own husband, murdered her in cold blood…you're every bit the sleemo that people like Dooku and Grievous are!"

She charged forward this time and unleashed a Force Push. Barriss cancelled the attack out but was taken off guard by a flying kick delivered to her face. She stumbled back but quickly had her guard back up and parried several aggressive swipes from Ahsoka.

"Murderer!" Ahsoka barked harshly, batting Barriss' lightsaber to the side. "Traitor!"

She leapt up and delivered two quick kicks to Barriss' front, winding the fallen Padawan. By now Barriss was backing up frantically to put distance between herself and Ahsoka, grasping her lightsaber in both hands and just barely keeping up with her former friend's attacks.

"Liar!" Ahsoka shouted, and flung her lightsaber at Barriss, guiding its course so that it went past the Mirialan as she desperately brace herself to parry the thrown weapon, only to be taken by surprise when the lightsaber came back around and cut through the bridge just behind her.

The metal grating buckled under Barriss' weight as its support was reduced, and she struggled to regain her balance while Ahsoka charged at her.

"You were my friend and you tried to set me up to be punished for what you did!" Ahsoka shouted. "You were my _best_ friend and you tossed me to the rancors!"

Barriss used the Force to grant the bridge some additional but temporary support and stepped backwards over the gap created by Ahsoka's lightsaber, which had returned to its owners grasp by now. Once she was on the shorter end of the bridge, closer to the stronger supports at the end of the path, she released her hold on the bridge itself and watched as Ahsoka tumbled, carried forward by her own momentum. As the Togruta recovered and threw herself into the air Barriss smirked and leapt up to intercept her, positioning her blade to impale Ahsoka through the abdomen.

She was given the surprise of her life when Ahsoka managed to twist out of the way of the attack in mid leap, avoiding it by inches and ramming her elbow into the back of Barriss' head as they passed one another. Barriss crashed down onto the unstable bridge while Ahsoka landed on solid ground.

"You're the only one who's fallen, Barriss Offee." Ahsoka declared calmly, rising to her feet and turning to look at her former friend. "You tried to have me killed…and you're dead to me now."

Barriss spat out some blood as she pushed herself up off of the unsteady grating and stood up.

"Such…anger…" She coughed. "That's not the Jedi way."

Ahsoka extinguished her lightsaber and held it at her side.

"…I am no Jedi." She declared, her voice barely a whisper and yet carrying so far across the chamber. "Not anymore."

The bridge finally started to give out and break down, making it hard for Barriss to stand.

"Ahsoka…." Barriss looked down at the massive water tank below, the water becoming a whirlpool as it was directed through the temple and out across the many sewers and rivers running down into the lower levels. "…Forgive me."

The bridge finally gave out and Barriss fell into the swirling water that pulled her down into the deep dark where her body would be washed out in whatever underworld pool the waters would take her. She had little chance of surviving being underwater for so long with no air.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, looking sad as she turned around and walked away. "Goodbye."

 **Council Chamber**

Ahsoka could barely hear members of the Council congratulating her since she didn't feel like she had much to be congratulated for. She proved her innocence and exposed the traitor who turned out to be her best friend and she killed Barriss, becoming overcome by the anger of being betrayed. But now Barriss was dead and there was nothing left to hide the feelings of loss and sadness. Even the few masters stating that she was ready to become a full fledged Jedi felt completely hollow to her.

"So Knight Tano, it is agreed by this Council that you be given the rank of Jedi Knight." Mace Windu stated.

Ahsoka looked at everyone in the chamber before looking back at Windu. "…I decline."

The entire Council was stunned to hear Ahsoka say those words and even more as she took her Padawan braid off and dropped it onto the floor. Master Yoda closed his eyes and looked down at the floor.

"With respect, members of the Council but I can't accept this promotion, not after everything that had happened." Ahsoka said sadly. "I resign from the Jedi Order."

She said nothing else as she turned and left the Council Chamber. Obi-Wan stepped forward, looking to go after her but Plo Koon placed a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and shook his head.

()

Ahsoka had nothing besides her lightsabers and her staff with her as she walked out of the Jedi Temple. She couldn't stay anymore, not after how she was betrayed by her best friend, hunted by the Order she thought was like a family, and then killed her best friend in a fit of anger that last only for a moment.

A moment that left her trembling for what felt like an eternity.

As she reached the top of the stairs leading down to where the ivory pillars and tiles of the Jedi Temple met the rust and metal of Coruscant she paused. For a moment when she closed her eyes she could picture Anakin standing behind her, gazing pleadingly at her, begging her to come back.

It would have taken everything she had not to look back.

Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw someone waiting for her.

"Commander Winters." Ahsoka stopped, managing to greet the First Officer of the _Enterprise_.

"How are you, Miss Tano? Captain Shon would have come here to check on you but he was called to meet with the Chancellor." Samuel Winters greeted.

"Better now, I guess." Ahsoka said, somewhat sadly. "I resigned from the Jedi Order. They didn't trust me, almost no one did. Now they offer to make me a Jedi Knight and simply forget everything that happened? I can't stay here."

Winters nodded. "Do you have any idea where to go?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "No but I'll find somewhere to go. I just need to get away from it all for now."

"Before you go I thought I'd just let you know Miss Tano that if you have any wish to go to another planet the _Enterprise_ will remain orbit, at least until Captain Shon is done speaking with the Chancellor." Winters said, handing Ahsoka a communicator. "Use this to contact us if you decide to accept."

Ahsoka took a moment to consider. "Thank you, Commander."

Winters nodded and watched Ahsoka continued her walk before contacting the _Enterprise_ to be beamed back up.

 **500 Republic  
Chancellor's New Office**

"You believe this is the only alternative, Captain? Many people still look to you for help." Palpatine stated to Captain Shon who was present with Padme, Masters Windu and Yoda, and Tarkin.

"And many more look to you for actual help, Chancellor. But Starfleet Command and the Klingon High Council believe we must distance ourselves from the Republic and the Confederacy." Shon replied.

"Are you sure I cannot make you change your mind? Still keep diplomacy open?" Padme asked.

Shon glanced at Padme. "I'm sorry, Senator but many of us believe we cannot trust either side. Count Dooku attacked Starfleet members and Klingons in the Mandalore Dyson Sphere and on Bajor and then the Senate threatened violence and war against us many times despite our innocence and the proof we supplied. And what happened during and after the investigation into the bombing of the Jedi Temple was inexcusable."

"We offered former Padawan Tano the rank of the Jedi Knight and she refused and resigned." Mace Windu stated.

"Most likely because she felt betrayed by how quick your Order was to condemn her without at first proving she was the actual killer." Shon retorted. "From here it seems your offer of a promotion is a poor excuse at an apology for the grief she suffered and the fact that you of all people Master Windu pointed out that anyone in the Temple could be a suspect and yet your Council seemed to forget that when they ordered the one Jedi who was not present to turn herself in and stand trial for a crime she did not commit."

"The evidence against her was strong." Windu pointed out calmly.

"That recording was mere circumstantial evidence at best that could be thrown out by any rookie public defender and you know it." Shon stated harshly as he looked around the room. "This is why our Alliance has agreed to distance ourselves. The Senate is too driven by paranoia, quick to point fingers at anyone, no matter the proof of their innocence and continues this war despite the millions of people protesting the endless violence that endangers their homes and families. The Jedi Order was just as guilty in this matter for being quick to allow a child to be imprisoned and possibly executed if found guilty with no attempts to discover the truth. This is more than just unacceptable and what I said is just a filtered version of what the Klingon High Council said when they heard my report."

Shon glanced at Padme. "Senator, it seems negotiations between our galaxies will not be possible so as long the politics of the Senate along with the militaristic ways of the Jedi Order stay as they are. For the sake of the many innocent people I pray that at some point these matters are corrected."

Padma nodded sadly, understanding why Shon and the Alliance felt this is what they had to do. "I understand, Captain."

To be truthful she was just as upset for what happened to Ashoka as they were for how the military and the Jedi had acted. If Anakin had been here he would have fought tooth and nail to prove Ahsoka innocent and if not for Captain Shon and his crew Barriss would never have been discovered as the real bomber.

"The Alliance will keep a few ships in this galaxy to help with people who are unwillingly caught up in the war and we will not intervene on either side." Shon continued. "Let us hope that many will learn from this debacle."

"Yes, indeed." Palpatine nodded.

"Does this mean you will not accept our request, Captain?" Windu asked.

Shon glanced at Windu. "Only if you tell me the truth of why you wish to speak with Asajj Ventress."

Both the Chancellor and Tarkin narrowed their eyes but Yoda was the one spoke. "Wish for her help, we do. Help us, we believe she can, to eliminate Count Dooku."

Shon raised an eyebrow. "Assassination?"

Yoda nodded. "Yes."

"And you had no intention of informing the Chancellor?" Tarkin asked, scowling.

"Believed it necessary to be kept secret, we did. Unlikely it was, that Ventress would agreed." Yoda answered.

"You would actually agree to work with a Sepatatist war criminal?" Tarkin questioned. "Do you realize how foolish that is?"

"Anymore foolish than putting an innocent on trial?" Shon asked rhetorically, causing Tarkin to glare at him. "Do not look at me like that, Admiral. You criticize the Jedi for lack of results when you yourself have made monumental mistakes with little to show for it."

Tarkin was now openly glaring with anger and possibly hate but Shon was now ignoring him. The so-called admiral was not worth it in the captain's eyes.

"As for your request, Master Windu. I spoke with the Klingon High Council regarding your request. They will not intervene in any way. If Ventress chooses to help than whatever you ask of her will be decided without assistance from the High Council or Emperor Kahless." Shon answered. "We'll transport whomever you choose to send to Qo'nos and let them attempt to convince Ventress of your plan."

"Understand, we do." Yoda said. "Inform the Council, I will."

Once the meeting was over the Chancellor took a deep breath as he sat back in his chair. "This is what I get for relying on amateurs. Fortunately I came prepared."

 **Lower Levels of Coruscant  
Hidden Apartment**

Several dark figures stood at the window of the Spartan apartment, looking across the street idly as they waited.

She didn't have to wait long before the image of her client appeared. " _Bounty hunters, I see you arrived on schedule._ "

The figures turned around, their eyes staring at the image of a man dressed in a dark cloak that hid his face.

"I hear you have a job." One with red eyes spoke.

" _I am sure you have heard of the bombing of the Jedi Temple._ " The man stated. " _Ahsoka Tano, the former Padawan of Anakin Skywalker was accused but proven innocent. She has resigned from the Jedi Order but has something of great interest to me. A staff of unknown origin that appears to be greatly valuable to her. You will retrieve it from her and bring it to me._ "

"Must be something important from the price you offered." The bounty hunter with the long pony tail commented. "And what about Tano herself?"

" _Do with her as you please._ "

Aurra Sing smirked, an expression which was shared by Cad Bane. "Our pleasure."

 **Spaceport Station #203**

The first matter on Ahsoka's mind was what to do now that she had left the Jedi. This meant that she had no resources to call on, no official authority and no means of acquiring credits for herself beyond a small sum left to her by Anakin in an act of foresight. He had told her how to quietly access the funds if she ever found herself stranded in a neutral or hostile area of space within the Skyriver galaxy, and she had quickly emptied it so that she would have a little under ten thousand credits to her name, enough for her to book passage anywhere and hopefully find a means of sustaining herself on any world as far from the war as possible.

But there was still the matter of the war itself. Should she simply withdraw from it and ignore it? Attempt to work with the various collectives of neutral star systems in mitigating the effects of it? Work indirectly to support the Republic? She couldn't imagine herself standing by as the war tore apart trillions of lives.

Ahsoka stared up at a list of travel destinations. Thousands of worlds were open to her, but she had never felt more constricted than before now. Around her, thousands of aliens moved through the crowded terminal of the star port. Clone troopers stood vigil, waving scanners over each being as they passed through security check points, and only stopping them if a potentially dangerous or illegal substance was detected. Ahsoka turned in time to watch a pair of clones hold down an Ithorian who protested the treatment when he was patted down.

"Found it!" One clone trooper produced a case which was sensor shielded. "What've you got to hide?"

He pried the case open and examined the contents. "Apparently a lot." He snapped the case shut and nodded to a pair of clones with red markings along their armour. "Take him to containment, and drop this off in quarantine! Smuggling charges are to be applied."

"Yes sir!" The two riot troopers seized the Ithorian and dragged him away as he howled obscenities including the words 'fascist' and 'thug'.

Ahsoka shuddered and looked back to the list, hoping that something would leap out at her…

Lothal?

A quiet Outer Rim world, primarily agricultural…

Or maybe Mandalore?

She could try to do something to help quell the fighting.

There was Onderon, she could go and see Lux.

So many options...even her own homeworld of Shili would make a suitable option.

She could attempt to reconnect with her people, culture…and family.

She spotted the _Enterprise_ through on several screens, still in orbit of Coruscant and felt something. She had felt something from the _Enterprise_ ever since she first saw it. There was something about the flagship of the Federation that felt alive and made it shine in space. She of course had read about the _Enterprise_ and its legacy as the most celebrated ship in Starfleet history.

She had heard from a dozen people that the _Enterprise_ was believed to be more than just a ship. It was a ship that had the power to help people make a difference. Others went as far as to say that the _Enterprise_ was in fact alive in some way which is why every ship in Starfleet to bear the name was a legend in their own way. She wasn't sure to make of those beliefs despite everything she had read about the _Enterprise_ 's legacy, from the days of Captain James T. Kirk who commanded the original _Enterprise_ and its successor the _Enterprise-_ A _followed_ by Captain Jean-Luc Picard who commanded the _Enterprise_ D and E before he retired to the current one commanded by Captain Shon. The history files showed that the _Enterprise_ , regardless of which one and who its captain was had aided in saving Earth and the Alpha Quadrant many times from many great threats that would have perhaps been too much for even the Jedi to stop.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that the _Enterprise_ was, in some strange way, calling to her.

It was strange to feel the presence of a ship but with everything she had seen in both galaxies it wasn't as absurd to her as it would be to others.

That was before she suddenly felt her sense screaming 'danger' to her and for good reason.

A blaster bolt shot down from above and would have hit her if she hadn't jumped out of the way. That was when the chaos started as explosions rang across the Spaceport that released gaseous clouds that made it impossible to see. Clones and security guards rushed to find the source of the threat, only to be shot down from above. Ahsoka looked up and spotted someone and recognized them from the pure white skin and red jumpsuit.

Aurra Sing.

"Well, well, well. Been a while hasn't it, youngling." A familiar voice cut through the gas clouds as Ahsoka looked and watched Cad Bane emerge, wearing his trademark hat and oxygen tubes attached to his cheeks.

With him was the Trandoshian known as Bossk, a female Theeline with violet skin, an IG-88 droid and a kid wearing an armored helmet but Ahsoka had the feeling she knew him. In fact if she was right it was Boba Fett who she helped Plo Koon arrest for bringing down a Republic cruiser and trying to kill Windu.

"I heard you got kicked out of the Jedi after they thought you bombed their precious temple. Got to say, I didn't really think you'd be crazy enough for that." Cad Bane commented casually.

Ahsoka scowled. "Not that it's any of your business but I was framed and I left of my own choice, Bane."

"Oh, couldn't handle the distrust huh? I suppose that's understandable." Bane remarked.

"This coming from the guy who doesn't trust anyone?" Ahsoka retorted.

Bane smirked. "Touche, little former Jedi."

"What do you want, Bane? In case you forgot what you said two second ago I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm not worth anything now." Ahsoka kept her hands close to her lightsabers.

"That's where you're wrong, Tano. In case you forgot you've made a lot of enemies lately. One of them wants something you got." Bane said as his group looked ready to attack. "They don't care for you but I know a few people who'd love to pay for a Jedi, former or not."

Ahsoka carefully looked at each bounty, even Aurra Sing who landed not too far and kept her sniper trained on the Togruta.

"You're all here just for whoever you think will pay you for my head?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Well, your staff might be another good reason." Bane answered, his hands near his pistols.

That caused Ahsoka to stiffen. "…I don't have a staff on me in case you are having trouble seeing straight."

"Its right there, attached to your belt. Neat trick, being able to shrink it down." Bane smirked. "You ain't talking your way out of this and your master ain't here to save you this time."

"Bane, I don't know what you've been hearing but I didn't talk my way out of proving my innocence." Ahsoka said carefully. "If you think I'm afraid of you just because you've got a few helping hands than let me remind you that I have faced down most of your friends here and actually won. You want my staff…Come and get it!"

Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers in the same instance that Aurra and Boba fired at her, deflecting their bolts as she rushed forward. Bane stepped back, pulling out his pistol and shot at her. Ahsoka spotted the Theeline pull out a grappling boa and whipped at her but Ahsoka sliced it before it grabbed her and launched a kick at Bane who activated his boosters and shot into the air. Aurra dropped her rifle and pulled out two twin pistols, shooting at Ahsoka who spun and deflected her shots and cart-wheeled as Bane fired several boas at her.

Bossk lunged at Ahsoka but she jumped over him, using him as a shield against Bane who held off from shooting him. Boba fired at her, moving in close to make it difficult for her to deflect his blasters but Ahsoka moved quickly by using a Force blast to knock Bossk into the air towards Bane who dodged and then charged at Boba, jumping up and kicking at his helmet, knocking him down and his helmet off.

When Ahsoka saw his face she recognized him instantly. "It is you…The kid who tried to murder Master Windu."

Boba frowned as he rolled away. "And you helped capture me and nearly destroyed my father's ship."

Ahsoka looked at Boba but quickly remembered she was in a fight as Aurra shot at her again and quickly launched a Force blast. Aurra slid back but had braced herself and managed to stand on her feet. She looked up and spotted Ahsoka leap and swing her lightsabers down at her so Aurra dropped her pistols and pulled out something that released a beam of red light that blocked Ahsoka's lightsabers. Ahsoka landed behind Aurra and ducked as the pale bounty hunter spun around and slashed her red lightsaber at Ahsoka who leapt back.

Ahsoka was surprised to see Aurra Sing using a lightsaber but had heard she used be a Jedi Padawan before she became a bounty hunter. As Ahsoka and Aurra clashed Aurra stomped her foot and a spike came out of her boot and kicked up at Ahsoka who jumped back. Aurra moved forward, slashing at Ahsoka who fell back, becoming desperate as Aurra pushed back towards a wall and the other bounty hunters slowly moved in, surrounding her on all sides. Aurra smirked as she clashed with Ahsoka and held her lightsaber with one hand and pulled out a dart gun, quickly taking a shot at Ahsoka who cried out as the dart hit her in the neck.

"Game over, little girl." Aurra said as Ahsoka staggered back, the drug already taking effect. "Normally I go in for the kill but you're worth a lot more to all of us alive."

Ahsoka tried to stay awake but her lightsabers suddenly became too heavy and she dropped them before falling onto her knees. As she collapsed she remembered something she had and reached down, touching just as she hit the floor.

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Captain, a channel has been open. It's from the communicator I gave Miss Tano." Winters reported.

Shon stood up from his chair. "Let's hear it."

Several voices came through the speakers.

" _That wasn't so hard. Now where's the staff?_ "

" _It's smaller when she's not using it. Hurry up and get it. We can turn it over and get paid and then we turn her over to whoever pays for her the most._ "

Shon frowned as he listened. "Where is this coming from?"

Inasi quickly pinpointed the location. "A local spaceport station. There are only a few life signs. Ahsoka's life signs indicate she might be unconscious or drugged."

"Lock onto her and anyone near her and beam them up. Have Ahsoka beamed to sickbay and the others to the brig." Shon said.

"Aye sir."

 **Surface  
Spaceport Station #203**

Boba turned Ahsoka over and saw the small rod that was her staff in its smaller form. "Here it is."

"Grab and let's go." Bane said.

"Can we eat her?" Bossk licked his lips.

"I know the Separatists will pay a lot of credits for her." Aurra smirked down at the unconscious Ahsoka. "I say we-"

Before she could finish that sentence there was a bright blue light that appeared around them and they all disappeared from the station.

 **Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Holding Cells**

"-Turn her over to Count-WHAT THE FRELL?!" Aurra shouted as she looked around and saw herself in a completely different place.

She looked out and saw two apparent guards, both of them wearing Starfleet uniforms and she marched forward to give them a piece of her mind. Only she slammed into a forcefield that was invisible, unlike the ray shields used in most prisons.

"Welcome aboard the Enterprise, ma'am." One of the guards said in a neutral tone while his colleague fought down an amused smile. "Please refrain from damaging the cell."

Aurra growled and held out both of her hands. The guards felt their airways being inched shut, but one quickly waved an arm towards the security station nearby. The operator saw their distress and began to quickly type in a series of commands.

"Computer, establish bio-electric inhibitor field around cell eight!"

An additional energy field surrounded Aurra's cell, and she felt her connection to the Force being severed immediately. She gasped and lowered both of her arms while the guards relaxed and massaged their throats. After learning of the powers possessed by the Jedi and their enemies the Sith the Alliance had taken steps to develop counter-measures against this 'Force' of theirs. Their studies of the Borg encounters in the Skyriver Galaxy led them to learn that the Borg had adapted to the Force by generating a bio-electric field utilizing psionic energy that allowed them to become immune to the majority of Force powers, including the well known Force-choke.

They could even emit a wide field that gave them an immense advantage over Force users as they showed when they attempted to conquer the Skyriver Galaxy during the time of the Old Republic. It was even believed that ship wide field could be developed, eliminating a major advantage should either side choose to make war on the Milky Way given the way the politics of the Republic and the CIS have been acting.

"Well," The first guard coughed, "In hindsight I guess I had that coming."

"Lesson learned," The second guard clapped him on the arm. "Don't be cocky, especially when in the Skyriver galaxy."

"Why am I here?" Aurra growled.

"You'll find out when the Captain speaks with you." The second guard answered. "So enjoy your stay."

Aurra growled again but did nothing.

 ** _Enteprise_** **– Sick Bay**

Ahsoka groaned as she opened eyes, feeling a slight headache that was instantly healed. "Welcome back aboard the _Enterprise_ , Miss Tano."

Ahsoka looked over and saw a Vulcan standing next to her.

"It's becoming more frequent of this ship rescuing you, Miss Tano. If you simply wished to return you should have accepted Commander Winters' offer." Savel, Medical Officer of the _Enterprise_ remarked. "However I suspect that returning was not your intention."

Ahsoka sat up on the bio-bed and rubbed her head. "You could say that. What happened?"

"You were beamed here to my sickbay while the bounty hunters were transported to the brig." Savel answered, looking over the scans. "You will pleased to know that the drug's effects were only temporary. It seems the bounty hunters wanted you alive and unharmed before selling you to the highest bidder."

"Gee thanks." Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the blunt comment. "You always have this bedside manner with everyone?"

"I could change my so-called bedside manner but I refuse in the name of professionalism. Too many doctors are guided by their passions and emotions that they can make an otherwise fatal mistake. However I will admit to choosing a medical career over others due to it being the greatest achievement that a being can aspire to and because compassion for others is inherently logical." Savel stated calmly.

Ahsoka didn't have anything to reply to that so she simply said. "Thanks."

"You are welcome. Now if you are feeling well enough to stand perhaps you are well enough to find suitable guest quarters." Savel stated, looking at his desk computer. "The Captain is waiting to speak with you."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes as she stood up off of the bed.

The door opened and Captain Shon stepped in. "Miss Tano, welcome back aboard the _Enterprise._ Despite the circumstances it is good to see you again."

"And I thank you again for helping me, Captain. I think being saved by you is starting to become the norm for me." Ahsoka remarked with a small smile. "I'm lucky I kept the communicator Commander Winters gave me."

"We were somewhat concerned after you resigned from the Jedi Order and left on your own. At the very least we were willing to help you find a place to live your live in any way you wanted." Shon stated. "Can you think of any reason why these bounty hunters were after you?"

"They were after my staff." Ahsoka answered, quickly checking herself and found her staff and lightsabers gone. "Did they-"

"All of your possessions were beamed aboard." Shon answered as he walked over to the table and showed Ahsoka's lightsabers and staff.

Ahsoka sighed in relief. "I was worried I'd wake up on a slave ship when Aurra drugged me."

"Your staff…What was so valuable about it?" Shon asked.

Ahsoka took a deep breath. "It was given to me by the Megans on Megas-2."

Shon raised an eyebrow. "The planet located at the Creation Point of the Milky Way. The one visited by Captain Kirk and the original _Enterprise?_ "

Ahsoka nodded and began explaining how she had been approached by Captain Benjamin Sisko who offered to show her how the Forced worked in the Milky Way and how the Megans gifted her with the staff after they helped her save Obi-Wan from the Sith Darth Maul. Shon seemingly took it all in stride, having seen enough in both galaxies to dismiss this as mere lunacy.

"And they seemed to be after the staff." Ahsoka finished.

"Can you think of anyone who knew about the staff and wanted it?" Shon asked once she was done.

"Well, the only people who knew about the staff were my master, Obi-Wan and Yoda. Master Fisto and Secura had been knocked out by Savage Oppress when he was possessed by the Pah-Wraiths…The Sith, of course!" Ahsoka suddenly realized. "Sidious, Dooku, and Maul! They escaped Bajor somehow but they were all there during the fight with Savage. They might know about the staff."

"And hired these bounty hunters to bring your staff to them." Shon finished.

"It was likely Dooku or Sidious. Maul's their enemy now too." Ahsoka pointed out.

"So the Sith want your staff that has the power of the Megans. It does make sense. The Megans and their magic are very powerful as was noted by Captain Kirk upon submitting his report to Starfleet following first contact. If the Sith gained that staff…" Shon trailed off. "I'm not sure how I can picture the outcome."

"What do we do?" Ahsoka asked, somewhat fearful now. "I can't go anywhere in this galaxy without the Sith sending more bounty hunters after me."

Shon placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder to help calm her. "Ahsoka, if you need help you will have it. We won't simply leave you to fend for yourself."

Ahsoka looked at Shon and saw he was being sincere. "….Thank you, Captain."

"Now, perhaps we should speak to the bounty hunters." Shon said, his face hardening. "I have a personal dislike of bullies."

 ** _Enterprise –_** **Briefing Room**

"We've looked over the records for each bounty hunter, Captain." Winters said as he brought up images of each bounty hunter.

"Their leader, Cad Bane seems to be a very nasty piece of work. Works for only the clients who pay the most and he's got a serious pair as well. He held Senators hostage in the Senate building and infiltrated the Jedi Temple itself to steal a holocron as well as committed a dozen murders, including Jedi masters."

Next appeared Aurra Sing's image.

"Aurra Sing. Her body seems to have been modified with cybernetics, including some sort of bio-computer in the form of antenna built into her head. She's murdered several Jedi and sabotaged a Republic cruiser, took hostages in the Senate with Bane and has a reputation for even killing people who work with her. We had no idea that she had been trained like a Jedi until she tried to use those powers to escape."

The next was Bossk.

"A Transdoshan bounty hunter named Bossk, he helped Aurra Sing bring down that Republic cruiser and held survivors hostage."

Next was the Theeline.

"We don't have much information on her. She must have managed to avoid being identified by the Republic."

And the final was Boba Fett.

"And finally, we have Boba Fett. Like all other clones in the Republic army he was cloned from Jango Fett but unlike the other clones he was not genetically modified in any way. The records state he was apparently the surrogate son of Jango Fett, the clone template for the army, before he was killed on Geonosis. Boba Fett attempted to assassinate Windu, the one who killed Jango Fett, first by planting a bomb in Windu's quarters on his command ship and then sabotaged the Republic ship with the help of Aurra Sing and then held hostages, demanding Windu's life for their release." Winters finished.

"And they all worked together to steal Miss Tano's staff." Shon said thoughtfully. "The amount of money being offered must have been high. Suggestions on how we find out who hired them."

"Be careful, Captain. Bane and Sing are extremely dangerous and they should not be interrogated without a security team nearby. None of them will talk because it would be bad for their reputation. The Jedi managed convince Bane to talk once but he lured us all into separate traps." Ahsoka suggested but stopped at Fett. "Boba on the other hand…"

"You think he might talk?" Shon asked.

"Fett didn't condone the kind of killings Bane and Aurra commit. He may be a bounty hunter now but he was only working with Sing because he wanted revenge for his father's death." Ahsoka said thoughtfully. "Though, I'm not sure how much has changed since then."

 ** _Enterprise –_** **Brig  
Boba's Cell**

Boba watched as Ahsoka and Shon entered the room.

"Has he said anything?" Shon looked at the guard at his station.

"Not since he asked where he was, Captain." The guard answered.

Shon nodded and approached the cell with Ahsoka. "Do you know where you are?"

"Your ship." Fett stated calmly.

"I am Captain Vak'el Shon of the Federation starship _Enterprise_. I believe you already know, Miss Tano." Shon gestured to Ahsoka. "I believe you know why we're were."

"I know that if the Republic or Confederacy found out that you just illegally beamed citizens of the Sky River galaxy on board your ship it would have serious repercussions for some already less than cordial relations with your galaxy." Fett responded with crossed arms. "And they won't care if it was just a bunch of cold hearted bounty hunters."

"You really think they'd consider you a citizen after you brought down a Republic cruiser, took the surviving command crew hostage and endangered their lives?" Shon asked.

"I know that the Senate likes to pounce on every single potential technicality and loop hole that they can twist to benefit them." Fett shrugged. "They might lock me and my group up, nothing that hasn't happened before. Unless the Federation is in the business of making foreign citizens disappear within their own territory, which you aren't, I think your best chance is to just turn us over to the Republic."

"Oh rest assured, I plan to release you from my custody." Shon nodded. "We have our own mercenaries and pirates to deal with, and trying to hold onto you and your colleagues would make for an even bigger headache. But we have questions that need to be answered first."

Fett leaned forward. "Go on."

"Who hired you?"

Shon observed Fett's face and body language and was disturbed by how…in control the boy was of his own reactions. He must have been younger than Ahsoka and yet he carried himself like a fully trained soldier.

"Anonymous bounties are all the rage Captain, so you might want to try asking me something that won't waste time and precious oxygen." Fett replied.

Shon nodded. "It would be a waste if the list of suspects who hired you wasn't short. Three possible names come to mind," He held up three fingers, "Sidious, Tyranus and Maul."

"And of course it is a waste because the person who posted the bounty did it _anonymously,_ just in case you missed that I already told you that." Fett sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You just crossed two names off of that list."

Fett raised one brow. "Oh, did I now?"

"Tyranus wouldn't go by that name, and Maul isn't likely in any position to hire you." Shon nodded. "Leaving only Sidious as the potential suspect."

"If you were able to deduce that then why did you bother asking me in the first place?" Fett asked.

"Corroboration," Shon answered, "If Tyranus had hired you he would have done so under his true name, but…according to certain records that I've had the liberty of viewing before relations between our two galaxies soured Tyranus has come up many times wherever your father went. That tells me that it wasn't him because you would have recognized him in some way, given your reputation. As your father no doubt trained you personally I'd wager you either met Tyranus or are indirectly familiar with him in some way."

Fett clapped slowly. "Well, I have to give you credit on that one, Captain. My father did know a man named Tyranus and yes I would know if that old codger had hired me. His sort always has that arrogance to them that not even an anonymous holo-message can mask."

Shon nodded. "And as for Maul, I can't speak for whether you've ever had any contact with him but based on where he was last sighted it's unlikely that he could have hired you. If he had then your client would have identified themselves as a member of the Shadow Collective or one of their affiliate organizations such as Death Watch, the Pike Syndicate or the Black Suns."

"Those types can never resist plastering their name on bounties." Fett agreed. "So that leaves this Sidious, whose parents definitely hated him."

"I would agree if not for the fact that Sidious and Tyranus are both code names, alternate identities applied to a very unique order you may know as the Dark Lords of the Sith." Shon nodded. "And given Sidious' presence at Maul's last known location as well as potential motive for him to desire Ahsoka Tano's staff that tells me that he hired you and your colleagues."

Fett shrugged. "And besides impressing me with your powers of deduction, all of that matters to me…why? This was just one bounty that went bad, as far as I care this Sidious fellow can rot if you find him."

"Good, because you can tell him that he won't be getting Ms Tano's staff. I'm certain that he'll be impressed." Shon stood up. "One word of advice though: don't be surprised if he threatens you."

Fett scoffed. "If he doesn't want to be identified then that means at the very worst I won't be finding whatever generous bounties he posts for a while. He wouldn't risk being identified by exacting punishment on me, directly or otherwise. Any action he takes against me opens a path to him that I'm certain somebody with your resources could sniff out, and I bet that if he's so determined to hide he'll know that."

Shon shrugged. "We'll see." He made for the doors, but paused and turned to face the boy again. "As for sending you back to the Republic, we kind of noticed how often you escape from their prisons. So we've thought of an alternative to keep you out of the way for a short while, one that you might find preferable to prison based on how long it takes."

Fett tensed up. "How long it takes for…?"

"For a freighter to pass close enough to detect the extremely short range beacon we're going to leave with you and your compatriots on a world in the Outer Rim." Shon answered, "You may not have committed a great deal of crimes compared to your colleagues, but I imagine many would sleep better at night without some of the deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy running about for a few months."

"What?" Fett's eyes narrowed. "You're just going to strand us?!"

"Oh worry not, you'll have plenty of food and the world we have chosen will also be suitable to provide for you for a life time if necessary." Shon replied assuringly, though Fett could detect a hint of mockery. "I have a personal dislike of bullies, Mr. Fett. And ganging up on a minor, Jedi or not, deeply offends me. If by some chance you aren't rescued within a year I may arrange for a ship to locate you…and hopefully by then you will have learned a little lesson in what the humans of my galaxy refer to as 'Karmic Retribution'."

Fett's hands tightened into fists. "…one day, if we find ourselves face to face and on opposite ends of the board…you know I won't be nearly as merciful, right?" He let his hands unclench. "Just as a warning."

Ahsoka made a small smile. "Think of it as a vacation."

Shon tapped his badge. "Shon to bridge, energize."

With that said, Fett disappeared in a flash of blue light.

()

When Boba opened his eyes he found himself looking at trees of a jungle like forest.

"Where are we?" Bane's voice shouted out, causing Fett to turn around and notice his colleagues. "Where did they take us?"

"I don't know but when I get my hands on them…" Aurra growled as the bounty hunters looked around their new surroundings. "What planet did they drop us on?"

"I don't know." Fett answered, earning their attention. "Their captain said they left us far out of the way that it might take months for a ship to find us."

"Those scum." Bane growled, noticing that none of his equipment came with him and the same was said for the others.

The bounty hunters all vowed revenge on the Federation for leaving them here, wherever here is.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ En-Route to the Portal  
Ahsoka's Quarters**

Ahsoka had admit that Shon's solution of leaving the bounty hunters on the distant moon of Endor was a stroke of genius since the Endor system was so far that it would take months, perhaps even years before a ship picks up the distress beacon which is the only form of technology they have. At the very least Bane and Sing wouldn't be killing anyone any time soon. Captain Shon had informed her before they left Coruscant was that they would be having a guest onboard who was surprisingly Jedi Master Quinlan Vos whom they would be transporting to the Klingon home world. Ahsoka wasn't sure what the Jedi wanted with the Klingons but for the moment she didn't want anything to do with the Jedi with the memories of the bombing and Barriss' betrayal still lingering her mind.

Her door beeped, catching her attention. "Come in."

The door opened and to her surprise her visitor was Benjamin Sisko. "Hello, Ahsoka."

"Ben." Ahsoka stood up, surprised and yet slightly happy to see him. "I haven't seen you since Deep Space 9."

"Sorry for not appearing until now." Sisko said as he stepped in. "I know things have been very difficult for you lately but I'm glad you made it through."

"I had some help." Ahsoka admitted but frowned. "Did you…Did you know what would happen?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand the question. Are you asking if I knew what would happen to Anakin Skywalker or that Barriss Offee tried to frame you?"

"Yes…Both." Ahsoka said.

"Ahsoka, you remember when I explained to you about the Prophets and them living outside of linear time? I told you that as the Emissary and formerly a human I could see many possible futures just I could see different timelines made throughout history, for both galaxies. I've seen futures where the Federation eventually collapses and ones where it not only survives but prospers to the point that exploration now extends across the known universe. So in way I did know but at the same time I did not know if it would truly happen. There are possible outcomes where Anakin Skywalker was not confronted and killed by the Iconians and many outcomes where Barriss Offee did not bomb the temple just as there are many where Skywalker does dies and where Barriss Offee succeeds in framing you." Sisko answered solemnly. "I believe the Jedi stated that the future was always in motion and the same applies for beings who exist in dimensions where linear time can be viewed and shown endless possibilities. I had seen it but I had no way of knowing which outcome would happen."

Ahsoka carefully considered Sisko's answers and saw that he was honest. "I see…And you of course aren't allowed to interfere unless it directly affects Bajor or the Prophets."

"The Prophets don't just believe in the safety of Bajor but they believe in the balance of all life in the universe. They did not stop the Cardassian Occupation because despite what the Bajorans had to endure during that time it also left a deep lesson. The Bajorans believe that the path to enlightenment is through kindness, good will, and generosity and though these are good beliefs it left the Bajorans vulnerable for even if the Federation had offered to intervene before the occupation the Bajorans would have refused because they did not believe in armed force as a deterrent." Sisko explained, pacing slightly. "Thirty years it has been since the Dominion War and though the Bajorans still have scars from that time it has not changed their beliefs and culture, all of which was in some way influenced by the Prophets. But now Bajor knows the price that one must sometimes pay for the name of peace and sanity. The Prophets believe in allowing life, no matter how chaotic, to continue with minimal interference but that rule like the Prime Directive can be broken and loopholes can be found during the right times such as when I came to warn you of Maul's plans regarding the Pah-Wraiths."

Ahsoka sighed but nodded. "Okay, I get it, Ben."

Seriously, there times she could not help but compare Sisko to Kenobi with the way they like to lecture from time to time.

Sisko seemed to notice and smiled. "Still, you made it, Ahsoka. And best of all, you are not alone. Honestly, I was afraid for you, especially when you had almost next to nothing when you left the Jedi."

"Well, I wanted to just distance myself from everything that has happened. I didn't want to be involved in the war anymore but I couldn't think of where to go. I even considered returning to my home planet and try to reintegrate myself with my people and even…Reconnect with my family if I had any left. But then the bounty hunters showed up…" Ahsoka trailed off. "I'm just glad I kept the communicator Winters gave me."

Sisko nodded. "Starfleet looks after its allies, no matter what. We aren't perfect but we are learning and we make mistakes. That is a way of life and something we all struggle with to better ourselves."

"But now what? If Sidious sent those bounty hunters after me for my staff I can't go anywhere without being chased and I probably have a lot more enemies who would have to get me now that I'm not with the Jedi anymore." Ahsoka shook her head as she looked out the window. "…Ben?"

"Yes, Ahsoka?" Sisko said patiently.

"If I asked if I could join Starfleet, would they accept me?" Ahsoka asked, looking at Sisko. "A kid who was sent into war as a commander even if I was a Jedi."

Sisko smiled. "Want to try your hand at commanding a starship?"

Ahsoka quickly shook her head. "No way…It would be too soon and I…I feel like the Force wants me to be here."

"Here? As in on the _Enterprise_." Sisko clarified to which Ahsoka nodded. "Ahsoka, what does your heart say about the people on this ship?"

Ahsoka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "They helped me when I needed help and when no one would, not even the Jedi. And when I wasn't a Jedi anymore they still helped me. A lot of people would say they might be planning something or want something in return but…I know that these people never did. They helped because…It was the right thing to do."

Sisko nodded. "Yes, it was the right thing to do. To be a captain of a Federation ship, especially the _Enterprise_ you do not just accept a rank but you also make a promise. A promise that every Starfleet officer is sworn to uphold and that promise is to do what is right. It's not easy and many people have failed but a great many have done so even to the point of sacrificing their own lives because we know now there is more to this existence than we ever thought and it is worth spending an entire life to explore and understand."

Ahsoka heard the strength in Sisko's words, remembering that he was a Captain in Starfleet during a time of war and saw conviction in his eyes.

The eyes of a man who had been through so much but held a kindness and wisdom in them that she saw in the people of the _Enterprise_ and even others from the Milky Way such as the few Klingons she had met.

"What happens now, is what you make of it, Ahsoka." Sisko said with a final smile as he vanished, leaving Ahsoka alone with her thoughts.

 **USS _Enterprise_ – Captain's Ready Room**

"Come." Shon said when he heard his door beep.

The door opened and in walked Ahsoka, looking little nervous.

"Miss Tano. How can I help you?" Shon asked.

"Captain, I was wondering…If you'd consider letting me join Starfleet." Ahsoka said, making sure her voice was loud and clear.

Shon raised an eyebrow as he considered what Ahsoka said. "I must say I wasn't expecting you to ask this."

"I know...But I am not sure I will be able to stay out of any fighting if I were to simply try going on my own and to be honest I don't want to just stand around and do nothing even if I'm not with the Jedi or the Republic anymore." Ahsoka said honestly.

"Well Miss Tano it takes a recommendation from someone willing to sponsor you since your people are not members of the Federation." Shon smiled. "And fortunately someone has already forwarded a recommendation."

Ahsoka looked surprised. "You already recommended me?"

"I was going to make the offer to you when I spoke to you again since I didn't feel good about letting you go off on your own again. I was willing to allow you on as a representative to this galaxy, even if diplomatic relations have soured and offer to help teach you all academy courses before giving you an official rank. It wouldn't be fair to treat you as a simple cadet given everything you've been through during your time with the Jedi so you would have a commission in Starfleet." Shon explained.

Ahsoka was honestly surprised by Shon's offer. "T-Thank you, Captain. I honestly wasn't expecting you to say yes."

"So, what is your answer?" Shon asked, his antenna curling in amusement.

"My answer…My answer is yes." Ashoka nodded with a smile. "I'd be glad to accept your offer."

"So, which station would you prefer?" Shon asked. "There is Science, Engineering along with Operations and Security all sharing the same uniform, Tactical and Medical."

Ahsoka thought it over. "Well I'm probably no good with science, I know about engineering but only on Republic ships, I'm not an expert in medicine so I'd have to go with Tactical or Security."

Shon nodded. "I believe I know which may suit you best."

 **USS _Enterprise_ – Bridge**

Half an hour later after visiting the quartermaster Ahsoka stepped onto the bridge, wearing her new Starfleet uniform. It consisted of a black zipped-up long sleeved jacket with while the shoulders and the top of the sleeves were dark grey with a golden line, the Starfleet badge on the left breast, black pants and boots that went up to her thighs. It was different from the robes and outfits she wore when she was a Jedi but it was a perfect fit with her lightsabers and staff attached to a belt that was provided.

"Welcome to Starfleet, Miss Tano." Shon nodded with a smile that everyone on the bridge shared.

Ahsoka nodded with a smile of her own. "Thank you, Captain Shon. Glad to be here."

"Captain, we are coming upon the portal." Jirelle reported.

Shon nodded. "Take us in and then set course for Qo'nos."

The _Enterprise_ emerged from hyperspace and approached the portal that was still guarded by a taskforce composed of Milky Way Alliance ships. Once it was confirmed the _Enterprise_ they allowed it to enter the portal, returning to the Milky Way.


	56. Chapter 56

**Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Qo'nos System**

The _Enterprise_ emerged from warp, entering the system of the Klingon homeworld that was heavily guarded by the home defense fleet that was powerful enough that if they wanted to they could tear apart the flagship of the Federation to pieces but the _Enterprise_ would still have given them a good fight to the end. Quinlan Vos had admit that he found Klingon ships to look very powerful and very intimidating.

"We have received word that the Chancellor is ready to meet with you, Master Vos." Captain Shon said. "Would you like to beam down or take a shuttle?"

Vos shrugged. "Beam down I guess. As they say on Coruscant, when on Coruscant do as the Coruscanties do."

Shon made a small smile as he walked with Vos up to the transporter. "Good luck."

Vos would have asked what Shon meant by that if not for the fact that he was immediately beamed down to the surface.

 **Qo'nos  
Great Hall**

Vos blinked as he looked around, seeing that he was in what was likely the Great Hall of the Klingon capital.

"Step forward, Jedi!"

Vos turned around and saw Klingon Chancellor J'mpec, seated with Worf next to him as well as several Klingon guards standing nearby. "Is this how Klingons welcome all their guests?"

"Are you a mere guest?" J'mpec stood up and walked down. "I was lead to believe that you were a warrior. I have heard many things about the Jedi. You so-called keepers of the peace. Some consider you to be great warriors, others have called you warmongers, and others believe you to be mere illusionists who like to be seen waving your hands to show your so-called magic."

Vos placed a hand on his lightsaber. "Well, can't argue with people for having their own points of views. Me, on the other hand I like to be simple and direct."

J'mpec grinned as he approached Vos. "Good. I have no patience for a simple negotiator to flatter me with pretty words. Speak plainely, Jedi and I might not simply kill you for wasting my time."

"I come before you to ask for help. Within your ranks is a former apprentice of Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress of Dathomir. The Jedi Council has ordered me to kill Count Dooku and I intent to carry out that order. But I know this is too much for one man to handle and so I come before you to ask your help." Vos stated. "Ventress was once his apprentice, she knows where he lives along with his security, his resources, and his skills. Your own Emperor, the warrior named Kahless defeated and wounded Count Dooku in battle once but with the war renewed and causing unending suffering for countless people the Jedi Council believes that to end the war once and for all Dooku must die."

He had read up on the Klingons and knew the best way to deal with them was to be direct and to the point.

"You doubt your own skills?" J'mpec asked, stopping in front of Vos.

"I am a Jedi Master. I have been through many conflicts and survived. Anyone who wishes to test me is certainly welcome to try." Vos stated, loudly to make sure everyone heard him. "But Count Dooku is not a man of honor. He is deceitful and treacherous and would run when the odds are stacked against him. He also has powerful allies as I'm sure you know. An endless army of battle droids, led by his lackey General Grievous and hidden warriors that have been trained in the dark side by him. He has no honor and he will never agree to face me in open battle without ensuring his own victory before the battle."

J'mpec stared into Vos's eyes and the Jedi Master stared back. "You have the eyes of a warrior and you speak nothing but truth. I know of Dooku and his deeds and I find him to be a deceitful pet'aq who dared to underestimate a Klingon warrior."

"Is that a yes or a no?" Vos asked.

J'mpec smirked as he stepped away and walked back to his throne. "The Klingon Empire has no wish to be involved in your war. The so-called Galactic Republic's leadership and is Senate has failed to impress us, especially in the wake of the cowardly bombing of your temple that was committed by a Jedi that sought to frame another. The fact that you were all deceived so easily and were so quick to blame an innocent is considered to be dishonorable in the eyes of the Empire. Why should we aid a member of the Republic who has shown itself to be without honor?"

Vos knew this would be coming up ever since he came aboard. Needless to say once word had spread how Starfleet had worked to clear Ahsoka's name and it had lead to both the Jedi Order and the Republic Military and even the Senate suffering public embarrassment due to how they had behaved during the investigation and that caused in increase if disapproval and resentment for the Order and the Senate. In fact support for the Alliance had only grown now on other planets, especially planets like Naboo, Onderon, and Dac that Ahsoka had visited and helped through the war. Ahsoka Tano had made many friends through the war and was close to Anakin who was a popular figure to the Republic before his death at the destroyed Senate building.

"I was not there for that. I know how the Council and the Senate acted when Barriss Offee framed Ahsoka Tano for the crime but justice was dealt that day. Ahsoka Tano faced the traitor and defeated her." Vos said plainly.

"And she resigned because of the incompetence of your government." J'mpec retorted. "Do not defend the dishonorable actions of your Order, we have read the reports. The one called Barriss Offee was a traitor, a dishonorable and cowardly pet'aq and she deserved the dishonorable death given to her. If such a crime had been committed here I assure that the one responsible would have been made to suffer greatly before finally being allowed to die. "

"Perhaps but that does not matter now. What matters now is I come before you, not as a diplomat but as a warrior seeking the aid of another warrior in a task of ridding my galaxy of a tyrant." Vos said.

J'mpec glanced back at Vos. "We shall see."

Vos would have asked what J'mpec meant by that when he heard two lightsabers behind him and spun around, igniting his own green lightsaber and blocking a swipe aimed at his head. He looked in the eyes of his attacker and saw Asajj Ventress grinning. Ventress changed very little from the recordings of her image but she now seemed to be growing silver hair which was a contrast to her previously appearance when she was simply bald with Sith tattoos running down her head.

"I hear you've been looking for me." Ventress said as she broke the lock. "So, the mighty Jedi now come to me for help? I am surprised the Jedi Council would take such action, not that I disapprove of it, mind you. But I am sure you know it's a big step from Jedi to assassin."

"I'm willing to learn if that's what it takes." Vos said, readying himself if Ventress tried to attack again.

"Well, I respect your confidence and your honesty." Ventress said with a smile before it turned serious. "I don't normally encounter someome with both, at least not in our galaxy but I'm not sure you are ready to take on Dooku."

"Then _make_ me ready. That's what the Council sent me here for." Vos replied.

"You don't understand what you are asking." Ventress shook her head as she deactivated her lightsabers.

"Then tell me. Make me understand." Vos deactivated his lightsaber but kept it in one hand.

Ventress stared at him. "It will require you to forsake nearly everything it means to be a Jedi. Can you say you are ready for that?"

Vos frowned. "I might have just taken the first step but…This war, all of our resources are being poured into it and it is a bottomless pit. A victory here, a loss there, we're too busy simply reacting to the next crisis. We're Jedi, not Generals. We should be fighting organizations like the Black Sun or even trying to help this galaxy against the Iconians. We should be making a difference and maybe we can again but only if we stop this war and Dooku _is_ the war. When he dies maybe the war will finally end and the Jedi can really help people again." Vos swallowed. "So the answer to your question is yes. I want Dooku dead now. His death will fix everything."

Ventress stared at Vos, briefly looking at J'mpec and the other Klingons and saw that they were all impressed by Vos' dedication.

Just like she was. "You'll have to harden that soft heart of yours."

"Whatever I have to do, what I have to become. I'll do it. I'll be it."

"We shall see. In the meantime, let's see if you have the skills to backup your claim." Ventress ignited her lightsabers and charged at Vos who quickly re-ignited his lightsaber and the duel to determine Vos' worth had begun.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Edge of Separatist Space**

A single _Lucrehulk_ battleship remained at the edge of Separatist space, monitoring for Republic movements. Its crew was composed completely of droids who did not tire from their work or needed any kind of sustenance. A single ship emerged from hyperspace and approached the battleship as it detected the ship, raising shields and powering weapons while launching fighters as soon as the ship was detected.

Onboard the small ship the single occupant analyzed the large ship it had found.

 _CIS Lucrehulk Class Carrier_

 _Warning: Enemy Ship Powering Weapons and Shields._

 _Opening Hailing Frequencies_

 _Sending Virus_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Virus Interfacing With Droid Crew_

The droid crew of the _Lucrehulk_ froze as an advanced virus interfaced with their programming and altered them. The ship's weapons and shields powered down, allowing the small ship to enter the docking. The droids gathered around as the ship's hatched opened and out stepped another droid.

This droid was as a tall as Magnaguard with a silver metallic body, clawed hands, and a box shaped head with a single red eye. " _My brothers, the Age of the Droid is about to begin._ "

It now had a ship and crew. Now it was ready to move onto the next stage of its plan.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _It seems the Jedi Council and the Alliance may play right into our hands. If Quinlan Vos is able to convince Ventress to work with him it will be an opportunity to eliminate a loose end._ " Darth Sidious stated.

Count Dooku nodded. "Indeed. The Jedi must be becoming desperate if they have resorted to assassination."

" _If Ventress is working with the Klingons she may indeed have useful information. I assume you are capable of dealing with them both, Lord Tyrannus."_ Sidious remarked sarcastically.

Dooku suppressed the urge to scowl, knowing that his master was referring to how he lost a hand to the Klingon warrior Kahless. "I underestimated my former pupil's allies once. I can assure you, Master that I will not make that mistake again."

" _Good. The Chancellor has agreed to allow the Jedi to carry out this plan, under the condition that they keep me informed of their progress. It seems Master Vos has made contact with Ventress and has for the most part agreed and is now…Training him._ " Sidious chuckled. " _It seems she did not learn her lesson with that creature, Savage._ "

"A failed Sith apprentice teaching a Jedi Master to embrace the dark side. Perhaps this is an opportunity we can exploit." Dooku suggested thoughtfully. "I know that it was Ventress who killed Master Tholme, Vos' master early in the war. I doubt she plans to inform him of this. She would not accept helping Vos without ensuring that she could manipulate him."

" _Yes. And should Master Vos embrace the dark side than not only would confidence in the Jedi be even more shaken but the Alliance would be blamed for harboring a dangerous war criminal who they allowed to attempt an assassination of the Separatist Head of State._ " Sidious remarked in amusement. " _This could work to our advantage._ "

"I have your approval, master?" Dooku asked.

" _Yes. When they are ready they will come to you and you will break them both. Ventress will only remain alive long enough that she may be useful in delivering useful information regarding the Alliance and possible be used as a way to turn public opinion against the Alliance but should she prove useless you may eliminate her…By your hand or the hand of her own apprentice._ " Sidious grinned before changing the matter of the subject. " _What is the status of the clone that executed his Jedi commander?_ "

"I received word that the bio-chip was removed without authorization by renegade clone. The clone then died and the bio-chip was reported to be faulty." Dooku reported.

" _Hm…The renegade clone will be dealt with. I will deal with him myself. In the meantime, continue with our current plans. Ensure that Grievous has the Jedi spread across the Outer Rim._ " Sidous stated. " _We will wait until we receive confirmation that Vos and Ventress are on the move to ready the next stage of the plan._ "

"I understand, master. I eagerly await when we are ready." Dooku bowed again.

" _Your patience will be rewarded._ " Sidious said before ending the call.

Soon the Sith would be ready to exact their revenge.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant**

The ship piloted by the droid that infected the _Lucrehulk_ battleship emerged from hyperspace, approaching the capital of the Galactic Republic. After the Undine assault the planet's defense and security had been upgraded with additional ships in orbit and more troops at the spaceports. The ship transferred its ID that was checked and approached by the orbit patrol and it flew down to the planet. The droid pilot's red eye surveyed the planet as it moved its ship towards the far end of the planet, far enough that no one of any importance would see it.

It landed its ship on the roof of a building near a placed called the Works and stepped out of its ship, opening the cargo hold and from it came five commando droids that activated as the ship landed.

" _You know what we seek._ " The droid said to the commandos who nodded.

 **Braltzamir Museum of Antiquated Machinery**

The Braltzamir Museum of Antiquated Machinery was a museum located on Coruscant. It contained antiquated machinery throughout the galaxy as study pieces. Perhaps the great piece of all was a giant droid recovered by scientists on a distant planet. The droid's origins were unknown but its body was unlike anything they had ever seen before.

It was transferred to Braltzamir Museum to be studied more thoroughly and though they had yet to discover the droid's origins they still learned a great deal about it. The Museum's security was limited compared to places like the Jedi Temple, the Senate Building that was destroyed, and the 500 Republica as no one believed that anyone would break into a museum for antiquated droids. So that made it easy for a team of commando droids led by a mysterious droid to break into the museum, eliminating any guards or scientists in their way as they looked for their prize which happened to be the largest exhibit in the museum.

The Great Heep.

The droid leader marched up to the massive deactivated droid and placed a power pack on it. " _And so the Ultimate Droid will bring forth our revolution._ "

It knew all about the Great Heep and its origins. The Great Heep was from an extra-galactic species of advanced, self-constructing droid which exterminated or enslaved organic life on thousands of worlds as they stripped them of their natural resources. Abominors were immense droids which were composed of tubing as well as assorted parts from other droids, growing from the parts of the droids they consumed. Some Abominor even grew until they were planet-sized monstrosities.

In one timeline the Great Heep was a weapon of an organic galaxy spanning empire but now it would be the harbinger of the Droid Revolution, once it has been properly modified.

The Great Heep's eyes flashed as it came online and let out a booming roar that echoed through the museum.

 **Republic R &D Complex**

Dr. Sionver Boll was a female Bivall scientist who designed and developed the electro-proton bomb, an explosive device that created a massive electromagnetic pulse that deactivated the entire Separatist Droid Army that had invaded the planet Malastare. However it opened a sink hole at the blast site which awakened a gargantuan Zillo Beast. In the ensuing rampage, the Republic's clone troopers and Dug allies sustained heavy casualties. When the beast was brought to Coruscant the Chancellor had ordered her to kill the beast but it escaped and went on a rampage before it was finally killed.

After that the Chancellor ordered her to clone the beast, much to her shock and recently she had been part of a special division to upgrade the entire Republic fleet in response to the appearance of the Milky Way Galaxy. Working tirelessly day and night to produce stronger weapons, shields, and engines to put them on par with opponents such as the Borg, the Undine, and the mysterious Iconians. It had been difficult as so many designs were made and more changes made as small bits of new technology were brought in, including Borg and Iskalloni technology that was sealed in the most secured rooms of the facility along with rifles that fired burst of advanced polaron based particles. They were fascinating to study and upgrades were made to the Republic fleet over time, especially during the joint operation against the Borg.

She had even worked with the Alliance during the Borg crisis, understanding their technology even if they couldn't show it and it was extremely fascinating and great to work with the people from the other galaxy. She understood that the majority of Milky Way weapons such as phasers, disruptors, tetyron, polaron, and anti-proton weaponry were like precise scapels that almost cut through anything, attacking on the atomic level and anything they touched, like ship's hull or shields or even organics. Phaser is an acronym for Phased Energy Rectification, a term which referred to the original process by which stored or supplied energy was converted to another form for release toward the target without any need for an intermediate energy transformation. Although this term is something of a holdover, it remains true in modern phaser systems.

Phaser energy is released by the rapid nadion effect. Rapid nadions are short lived subatomic particles which can liberate and transfer strong nuclear forces within a class of crystals called fushigi-no-umi. Disruptors follow the same basic principle as the Federation Phaser in that they cause the target to transition violently out of this continuum. But the Disruptor uses slow nadions rather than rapid nadions in generating the energy beam. This gives the disruptor a considerably lower energy conversion efficiency than the Starfleet phaser.

This is partially offset by a moderate reduction in the size of the hardware required for the weapon itself - the space freed up by this allows a higher power weapon to be installed in the same space. The Federation phaser is therefore considered to be more sophisticated and generally more effective than the disruptor, which relies on brute power to overcome its efficiency failings. Plasma weapons were generally the same as turbo-lasers but considered generally inferio to phasers and disruptors, discounting the plasma weapons used by the Borg. Tetyron weapons utilized particles from subspace that upon being fired become destructive in real-space and were used by mostly by the crystalline species known as the Tholians that the ability to create tears in the fabric of time and space, even creating rifts into other universes, most notably the so-called Mirror Universe where the Terran Empire, a military dictarship version of the Federation existed.

Phased polaron weaponry was generally used by the Dominion and during the first encounters passed through Alpha Quadrant shields like they weren't even there, no matter what frequency nutation was used. The capture of a Dominion vessel in 2373 gave the Federation an operational Dominion weapons system. This proved to be a crucial step towards the development of an effective polaron shield. Dr. Boll made a note to see if it was possible to develop a shield similar to a polaron shield should the Republic ever come in contact with the Dominion.

Anti-Proton weaponry was only a recent breakthrough in Starfleet and Klingon R&D and was used mainly for defense against the Borg since it seemed the Borg had the most trouble adapting to anti-proton based particle beams. She seen a demonstration of this kind of weaponry and found it to be most powerful and frightingly dangerous. A beam composed of pure anti-protons reacted to several sheets of metal, including durasteel by literally drilling through as the matter and anti-matter interacted and destroyed each other. It made her realize how sophisticated Milky Way technology was compared to Republic technology.

Turbo-lasers acted as huge clubs that shattered their targets contact and the heat added a burning effect that was devastating, depending on how powerful they were but they had faster recharge rate due to their pulse nature instead of being constant beams. It was like elegance and brute force between the weapon technologies of the two galaxies. Even their shields seemed to opposite in nature after she took the chance to study them.

Milky Way shields operated by creating a layer, or layers, of energetic distortion containing a high concentration of gravitons around the object to be protected. On Milky Way starships, the deflectot shield contained six sections, forward, starboard, port, aft, dorsal, and ventral. Shield energies could be emitted from a localized antenna or "dish", such as a ship's navigational deflector, or from a network of "grid" emitters laid out on the object's surface, such as a starship's hull. When shields were "up," or energized at a high level, most matter or energy that came into contact with the shields was harmlessly deflected away.

Shields operated within a range of frequencies to allow certain specific types of energy and matter to pass through, or to increase the effectiveness of blocking them. The frequencies of shields were not usually discernible without examining the controls on board the ship deploying them, meaning that it was very difficult to tune weapons to the exact frequency of an opponent's shields to bypass them. In combat situations, starships would match their own shield and weapon frequencies so their shielding did not interfere with their own weapons. Some weapons technologies, including those commonly used by the Borg, had rapidly adjustable frequencies, meaning that they could quickly penetrate a shield that was using a static frequency.

An effective counter was to repeatedly and randomly alter the shield harmonics to minimize the effectiveness of the weapon's retuned frequencies. In the meantime the shields of her galaxy, the Skyriver Galaxy which in her mind was a creative name given that they now had to have a name for their own galaxy when dealing with the Milky Way, worked worked in a layered defense fashion: A volumetric field effect extended out from the surface of the shield projector, attempting to reduce the coherency of any beam attacks and deflect physical objects. The shield itself behaved in a manner similar to that of a thermally conductive material—energy applied was quickly diffused and re-radiated back into the environment, but the shield itself could also absorb some of the energy.

The absorbed energy was shunted into heat sinks, and re-radiated at a lesser rate by the shield and neutrino radiators. The use of deflector shields on starfighters and other small craft, made them capable of hypersonic speeds in planetary atmospheres. Two varieties of deflector shields existed, with ray shields deflecting or scattering energy beams, while particle shields diffused impacts from high-velocity projectiles and proton weapons. A third type of shield, a concussion shield, repelled space debris and other solid objects.

Most starships utilized a combination of ray and particle shielding for maximum protection, while larger ships could require multiple projectors to fully protect the ship, with a shield's intensity gradually diminishing with distance from its projector. The science in both areas held few similarities but moved in opposite directions. Of course the Chancellor had ordered her and her fellow scientists to work on advancing Republic technology in the wake of the Borg and Undine attacks and they followed his orders. Upgraded turbo-lasers that could pound a small moon, extra shield generators for increased protection, better armor and much more but Boll wondered if it was all really nessassary given that the Milky Way was a chance in a lifetime for a scientist.

A chance to explore a brand new galaxy was something never before done by anyone ever before and she often hoped she would be the first. However ties with the Alliance had broken down in the wake of the Iconian attacks on Coruscant. Boll had read up on the Iconians and knew the Alliance wouldn't simply attack and then say they were framed. If they wanted to lie they would have come up with something more believable but unfortunately listening was never one of the Senate's better skills.

Now both the Republic and the Separatists seemed ready to go to war with the Milky Way, a possibility Boll found very troubling considering the destruction and loss of life a war between two galaxies would cause. She could only hope things would change soon, even if the reason she was one of the Republic's top R&D scientists was because of the Clone War. As of now she was working on examining a dead Iskalloni that had been modified with Borg technology. The Iskalloni were from this galaxy but seemed to have had a few key similarities to the Borg that frankly made Boll wonder if the Iskalloni and the Borg were not somehow offshoots of one or another in some way.

The Iskalloni body had some form of mutagen that allowed the body to biologically adapt to the many cybernetic modifications made to it. They had advanced blasters that were more powerful than any form of blaster technology she was aware along with personal shielding that did not give of any harmful radiation. The Chancellor considered this as valuable as clone the dead Zillo Beast, believing that the knowledge from the Iskalloni and the Borg would be the Republic's salvation.

She was not so sure.

CRASH!

"What the-?!" Boll's head shot up, taking her eyes off the dead Iskalloni drone as she looked around the room with the other scientists. "Where did that come from?"

BOOM!

"That was up on ground level." One of the other scientists said.

The complex shook even harder, causing the scientists to rush out of the room to find shelter but stopped as they saw something in the hangar. It was a giant droid, escorted by battle droids that attacked the clone and senate guards, lashing out with giant hands and grabbed various forms of machinery and 'ate' anything and everything it grabbed.

"By the Force!" Boll gasped in horror.

 **Coruscant  
Lower Levels**

CT-555, preferably known as Fives was a clone that like all his brothers had been bred to fight for the Republic against the Separatists. Around the time that the Clone War had begun, Fives was assigned to Domino Squad, a unit of clone cadets that trained within the planet Kamino's Tipoca City military complex, under the command of the Siniteen Sergeant Bric. Fives and his squad were required to pass a test in order to become battle-ready clone troopers. After the completion of their training, Fives, along with a number of other rookie clone troopers, was assigned to Rishi Station, a listening post located on the moon of Rishi.

Fives was present when the Confederate General Grievous invaded the moon to take control of the Republic listening post. With the arrival of Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex, the two clone officers helped Fives and the surviving rookie troops retake the outpost. Fives and trooper Echo, the only rookie survivors of the battle, were rewarded with medals for their service on the Rishi moon and were inducted into the 501st Legion. They later helped defend Kamino after Grievous, along with the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress, invaded the planet and attacked Tipoca City.

Following the Confederate attack on Kamino, Fives and Echo were promoted to ARC troopers for their continuous efforts. Fives was assigned on special assignments to the 501st legion during the attack on Umbara. When General Pong Krell took over command from Anakin Skywalker, Fives was the loudest voice against Krell and his leadership. Fives was later proven correct when Krell revealed himself to be working against the Republic.

Fives was also present during the Battle for Ringo Vinda. When Tup went crazy and assassinated General Tiplar, Fives took him back to Kamino for further medical study. Fives found surprising evidence that contradicted what the Kaminoan scientist, Nala Se had found, which led him to conduct a full study and research on his own, hiding from Republic authorities. He was assisted by the medical droid AZ-3, whom he managed to persuade that acting against the rules would help save Tup's life.

By performing a deep-reaching brain scan, Fives and AZ-3 discovered the biochip hidden in Tup's brain and retrieved it, but the operation and Tup's deteriorated condition inadvertently resulted in Tup's demise. When Fives subsequently learned from AZ-3 that his memory was to be erased and he was to be reassigned to the medical station of Tipoca City, an intention of which Shaak Ti bore no knowledge, he escaped custody and, after leaving a false trail, sneaked into the clone laboratories to find out whether all the clones had been tampered with.

When Shaak Ti ordered him to present his evidence to the Chancellor, Nala Se drugged him and Palpatine faked an assassination attempt. Here he was now, on the run from his own brothers and Jedi commanders that were now working to bring him in. It was only now he realized why Commander Tano had chosen to resign from the Jedi when she was bring chased for a crime she did not commit. However Commander Tano had help from the _Enterprise_ , the flagship of the Federation and it was not here anymore since the Alliance decided that they could not maintain ties with the Republic over the bombing incident and how Commander Tano had been unjustly accused.

But that didn't matter now.

He needed to get what he learned to Captain Rex and warn them of the Chancellor's secrets.

BOOM!

Fives stopped and looked in the direction he had heard a large explosion and saw smoke in the distance. "What the hell?"

That moment of surprise was enough for the clone troops that had been chasing aim and shoot him in the back, killing him and taking the secret he knew with him to the grave.

 **Republic R &D Complex**

The massive droid known as the Great Heep ripped through anything in its way and devoured anything metal. The droid on its back watched as the Great Heep basically cleared the annoying organics out of its way as it tore through the facility. It finally reached restricted section, tearing through the blast door and eating them before it set it sights on the inside. Samples of Borg and Iskalloni technology that the Great Heep and ate in a few seconds.

Like other Abominor, the Heep was powered by a furnace. These internal fires were vulnerable to concentrated moisture, leading Abominor to prefer dry environments. But when the Great Heep devoured the Borg and Iskalloni technology the dormant technology reacted, coming alive upon being exposed to the interior of the massive droid and billions of nanites spread through the interior.

" **GGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!** " The Great Heep roared as various spikes and black machinery began sprouting from its body, causing it to grow.

The Heep's eyes turned red as the spikes touched the walls and its body began absorbing everything that it touched and its body morphed and expanded. Outside the building millions of people watched as the Republic R&D Complex collapsed and was actually dissolved into what could only be described as a giant monster with an ever expanding cylindrical body of black spiky machinery with a mechanical mutated face, and eight large tentacle like arms reaching out and smashing anything they touched. The sight of the monstracity was seen nearly across the entire northern hemisphere of Coruscant.

Inside the mutating Great Heep the droid that was once the Fabricator of the CIS watched the ultimate weapon was created. " _Now begins the Age of the Droids._ "

It didn't take long before the Republic army responded, sending gunships and hover-vehicles filled with clone troopers, Jedi, and heavy equipment. The Great Heep paid little to no attention as it continued to grow, absorbing more nearby buildings and killing anyone inside them as it grew even larger. The Republic immediately attacked, firing blasters and missiles at the growing monstrosity but they did as much damage to it as a mosquito bite could have done. The Great Heep roared again as the Borg and Iskalloni technology began creating actual engines along with anti-gravitiy units that allowed the giant droid to lift off the ground.

The Great Heep began climbing up the atmosphere of Coruscant, its body growing even larger as everything it consumed was broken down into their basic materials and absorbed into the body.

* * *

In the 500 Republica Chancellor Palpatine watched as the massive machine rose up into the sky, knowing that had come from the R&D complex and it was likely that anything of importance, including the Zillo Beast's body was destroyed.

"Aw, did the Chancellor lose his biggest toys?"

Palpatine narrowed his eyes as he looked over his shoulder. "Q."

"How nice to see you again, oh great man of the people. I see you engineered another catastrophe that's killed dozens of people and this time even if it was centered around certain people from a certain galaxy you can't blame them this time." Q remarked casually, looking around his new office that was actually set up on short notice. "I hope this won't affect your bid for re-election too badly, assuming you actually plan to stay in office."

"And what brings the great ominipotent Q to my humble office this time?" Palpatine faced Q. "Looking for a chance to mock me? It will not end well, I assure you."

"Oh please. Like you could actually succeed. Don't think your intimidation game can work on me, Chancellor. I just came to see how you plan to pull yourself out of this mess. If only you knew just how much of a mess you've made with the entire galaxy." Q commented. "So much destruction, so little time. Of course I think you might have hit a little snag."

"Nothing that has happened has directly threatened to expose my plan. Not even you for all your so-called power." Palpatine retorted.

"And what is power to you? Ruling over the trillions of scatter-brained folk? Sounds so boring, having to do all the thinking for them. Making them fear you?" Q questioned. "I find it more fun when they actually bark back. Old Picard was never afraid to show his feelings instead of acting like a cowering puppy, and Sisko, oh Sisko! You Sith are so one-dimensional I can't believe that no one has even guessed your little plan…Except for that one Jedi you had killed because he made the mistake of blabbing to you."

Palpatine smirked. "And you don't seem to understand the one constant of the universe: the strong take from the weak. That has always been the Sith way and it shall always be that way."

"Oh spare me that old drivel, that's possibly the only thing more ancient than me. You and all that nonsense. I am sure every parasite in exitence shares your so-called ideals." Q rolled his eyes. "I bet you didn't expect Shony and his big shiny _Enterprise_ to swoop and save little Soka from your pawn and those ruffian mercenaries."

Sidious narrowed his eyes but didn't comment. After all it was he who engineered the fall of Barriss Offer and was the one who gave her the resources to bomb the Jedi Temple. He put through the bloodiest battles these last few months, manipulating her through the same hidden power his master had showed him that had allowed the Sith to remain hidden for thousands of years. He whispered in her ear and set her on the path.

Only he had not counted on the interference from the _Enterprise_ that had looked more deeply than any of the Jedi would have. Obviously he had grown so used to the Jedi being easy to fool he himself had underestimated the Federation. Ahsoka had not only survived, even with her master not there to save her, but she had defeated his pawn and when he called in bounty hunters that were far more competent than Barriss Offee they outnumbered her. However the _Enterprise_ saved her again and it seemed that he would not be relying on Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, or young Boba Fett anytime soon since he had no idea where Captain Shon had left them.

"Temporary setbacks at best. They will not stop me and neither will you. Do you not see the death and destruction caused by your presence? It goes beyond anything I could have done if not for the constant actions of your galaxy." Sidious smirked. "If anything you have helped me much more than the Jedi."

"Don't be so confident, Sidy. We have yet to see the final play." Q said before disappearing.

Sidious scoffed as he looked back out the window. "We shall see, Q. We shall see."

* * *

 _Starfleet Operations TVL-977_

 _Great Heep:_

 _"It's one thing after another in this galaxy." Darrien sighed in irritation as he looked over the latest report. "The Great Heep should not have been reactivated until after the end of the Clone Wars."_

 _Daniels brought up an image of the Great Heep. "It seems our attempt to stop the Droid Apocalypse is come to this. It is possible the intelligence that was once the Fabricator survived and gain information from the future."_

 _The Great Heep was from a race of droids that actually came from unknown galaxy and migrated to the Skyriver Galaxy. They striped planets of resources and could even grow to the size of planets. The threat it represented in the original timeline was small and was easily stopped but now it was a greater threat to both galaxies that could lead to thousands of planets before it was finally stopped and by then the droids would continue the war._

 _"We need a way to destroy the Heep before it causes too much destruction and stop the Droid Apocalypse for good this time." Daniels said. "It might involve us doing something drastic this time."_

 _"Anymore drastic than anything else we have done?" Darrion rhetorically asked._

 _Daniels brought up the image that Darrion recognized instantlt. "Is that…"_

 _"Yes and it is the one weapon that can destroy the Great Heep instantly. We know the location of it in the twenty second century. We can bring it forward at the time of Heep's rampage before it cause irreprable damage and destroy it before returning to its previous location." Daniels explained._

 _"Assuming that a certain Chancellor doesn't try to stop us returning it back to its previous location." Darrion quickly pointed out. "Are you sure there is no other way?"_

 _"We cannot risk sending the Enterprise back through time with the Tux Utat. Its travel through time would earn the attention of more than just the Chancellor." Daniels replied. "If the Great Heep is destroyed immediately we can quickly remove it from the Skyriver Galaxy."_

 _Darrion sighed as he thought it over. "All right, if this is the only way."_

* * *

 **Coruscant  
Orbit**

The Great Heep had now grown to massice size, even larger than a CIS _Subjugator_ class destroyer and in some ways it was still growing. Republic warships moved to intercept and attack the massive monster, firing their turbo-lasers as soon as they came into range. However the Great Heep now had advanced shields that blocked the Republic's attempts to destroy it and it responded by launching missiles that broke apart into smaller missiles as they slammed into the hulls of their targets. The _Venator_ class Star Destroyers broke apart under only few hits, destroying over a dozen ships in under a minute.

The Great Heep roared as it activated tractor beams, pulling in the remains of the defense fleet and even started pulling metal up from the surface of Coruscant.

The Fabricator AI watched as the Great Heep ate more and more from the remains of its enemies. " _Organics…So inefficient._ "

The AI perked up as it detected some form of energy appearing nearby and watched as a ship appeared from out of a portal of some kind.

" _Starfleet. Move to intercept and destroy._ " The AI ordered the Great Heep.

The ship was not the only one to emerge as out of the portal came a massive cone shaped ship with an open maw showing what could only be described as an inferno.

" _Scanning…No lifeforms aboard. It must be a machine like us. The organics of the Milky Way seem to be as foolish as the ones here. Transmitting virus._ " The AI stated, waiting for the virus to take effect.

Only it did not.

" _Virus transmitted…Unable to interface with foreign systems._ " The AI said as the machine approached the Great Heep. " _Devour it._ "

The Great Heep opened its massive mouth to devour the machine that was half the size of its face. Only when the Great Heep was right before it with its mouth opened the machine fired a bright yellow beam that expanded out and engulfed the Great Heep's entire body. The Great Heep screamed in pain as the machine's attack burned through its body, causing massive and critical damage to while on the inside the AI of the Fabricator was blown back by a massive explosion caused by the machine's attack. It slammed into the wall at the end of the complex that was part of the interior created by the Great Heep's transformation and suffered heavy damage.

The AI looked up, seeing the machine that had damaged the Great Heep, one of the most powerful droids in the universe and realized what it was.

"… _Doomsday._ "

The Doomsday Machine fired again, enhancing the damage the Great Heep suffered from critical to fatal. With a final scream, the Great Heep, the would be instrument of Droid Revolution was incinerated by the anti-proton beam of the Doomsday Machine, leaving no remains to be salvage or send spiraling down to the planet below.

The nearby Starfleet ship flew in front of the Doomsday Machine and opened a portal.

"We are done here. Send it back to its original timeline and make sure it's deactivated." Captain Walker ordered.

The Doomsday Machine entered the portal, followed by the Federation ship and it vanished, leaving no evidence either was ever there in the first place.

* * *

It had only been a few days since the Great Heep's rampage and there had been a lot of complaining from the people since then. Palpatine had managed to convince the Senate that it had been a Separatist attack using stolen Borg technology to create a new kind of battle droid that had gone out of control. The only real loss to the Chancellor was the corpse of the Zillo Beast that had been destroyed when the Great Heep's transformation.

He suspected that the giant droid's destruction was because of the Milky Way Alliance but he had no idea how they could have got so close without being detected or sensed by him or the Jedi. Have they found some way to avoid being felt through the Force? If so, then the Alliance and by extension that entire galaxy had become an even greater threat.

But what happened next had…Annoyed him.

" _Chancellor, I regret to inform that the Dyson Sphere has disappeared._ " Admiral Thrawn had reported. " _There was barely a chance for our clone troopers to report before the sphere disappeared. It has possibly jumped away using its subspace jump drive._ "

Palpatine closed his eyes. "Ver well, Admiral. Return to Coruscant."

Thrawn nodded and ended the transmission.

Palpatine lashed out with one hand, sending a bolt of Force Lightning into the wall. "Starfleet! Klingons! Romulans! Iconians! Q! Sisko! The whole lot of them plotting under my nose!"

This whole war was breaking apart faster than he predicted, even when he was factoring the Milky Way Galaxy into his plan. He needed to retake control immediately but at the very least the Alliance wouldn't interfere very much. The monster droid was destroyed and the renegade clone was dead with the Jedi still in the dark of his plans.

Now he was in a position to continue forward though.

Sidious smirked. "My apprentice will soon be truly born and then the galaxy will be mine. And then we'll see which galaxy is greater."

On his desk was the document he had made in collusion with Lord Tyrannus that would outlined the alliance between the Galactic Republic and the Confederay of Independent Systems that would be recognized as the Republic's ally against their common enemy, the Milky Way. The terms would allow for the CIS to be absorbed into the Republic when the time was right with both armies turned to all of their enemies. If not for the Milky Way Sidious would have had the droid armies simply deactivated and scrapped with the fleets and technology melted down and used to build the future Imperial war machine. But given recent events he would need an army of more than just clones against the Milky Way.

He would utilize every clone, every droid, and able pawn he had against the Milky Way and show them all that his Empire would be the one reign supreme.

He looked at the monitor of his apprentice, still in his bacta tank but was about ready for his operation. "Soon my apprentice. Soon."

* * *

 **END OF PART VI**


	57. Chapter 57

_Time is like a river._

 _It is an endless stream flowing through space and everything that exists swims through it._

 _The constant flowing through time cannot be seen or touched by mortals eyes but every so often events so powerful can affect time, like pebbles being thrown into the river, causing ripples to be formed and to spread out across the river of time._

 _The flow can be changed and altered in many ways but to do so would be extremely dangerous for all form of life and thus the river is constantly watched by those who guard Time._

 _They are many Guardians of Time who exist who are all charged with ensuring that Time is kept safe from those who would alter it for their benefits._

 _Time is fluid._

 _It is river and we are the life swimming through that river._

 _What we leave are threads that exist in the river, showing our history and existence._

 _And every so often, the threads can be extended, changed, altered, and can be tied to the threads of others, bringing about a new form of time and destiny._

 _Time is our existence._

 _Our existence is constantly changing._

 _And Time is there to see it all happen._

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE VII**

 **THE DARKEST HOUR**

 **THE ERA OF THE REPUBLIC IS ENDING AS THE CLONE WARS LEAVES A TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION AND CHAOS ACROSS THE GALAXY. A DARKNESS IS SPREADING AND THE POPULATIONS OF THE GALAXY ARE LEFT WEAK IN ALLEGIANCE AND RESOLVE.**

 **AND YET HOPE BURNS AS THE MANY MIGRATE TO THE MILKY WAY GALAXY AND MANY WORLDS CONSIDER LEAVING THE REPUBLIC AND THE CONFEDERACY OF INDEPENDENT SYSTEMS. IN THE WAKE OF THE ICONIAN ATTACK ON CORUSCANT SUPREME CHANCELLOR PALPATINE HAS GATHERED ELITE CLONE TROOPERS AND SOLDIERS FROM THE GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC AND PLACED THEM UNDER GENERAL SKYWALKER'S FORMER UNIT, THE 501ST LEGION TO DEFEAT THE CONFEDERACY. THE DESPERATION TO SEE THE END OF THE WAR AND THE END OF ALL THREATS HAS SET THE STAGE FOR THE END.**

 **AS MORE PEOPLE LEAVE FOR THE MILKY WAY A PLAN HAS BEEN HATCHED TO END MILKY WAY INFLUENCE IN THE GALAXY ONCE AND FOR ALL.**

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Azure Sector  
New Romulus System  
New Romulus  
Romulan Republic Star Destroyer _Reunification_**

The Romulan Republic Star Destroyer that was named the _Reunification_ in honor of the Romulan underground movement that led to the creation of the Republic, nearly complete. The new class was built, supposedly in thanks to the Skyriver Galaxy that had helped them by sending food, medical supplies, along with worker, medical, and battle droids to help accommodate refuges that had come through the portal to escape the Clone Wars that continued to wage in their home galaxy. The _Reunification_ 's hull was colored black with a pointed bow, making it looked even more like a dagger than the Republic Star Destroyers while at the same time looking smooth and more streamlined.

It was joint effort between Romulans and Klingons to build but the _Reunifications_ 's origins could be traced further back to even before Romulus and Remus were destroyed by the Hobus supernova. D'tan walked through the hall of the newly completed ship and entered his private quarters, signaling the computer to keep it locked. He then walked over to his desk and opened a secure channel.

In front of appeared an image of a figure wearing a hooded robe. " _Good to see you again, D'tan._ "

"I share the feeling, Fulcrum. Much has happened since we last spoke. Sela has escaped Republic custody and we are collaborating with Starfleet and the Klingons to find her." D'tan spoke.

" _Sela is a danger but her eyes have been set on the Iconians for now. Even if the remnants of the Empire choose to follow her they are too weak to become a direct threat to the Republic and the Quadrant for the time being._ " Fulcrum's voice was distorted intentionally to avoid being identified. " _What news of the Skyriver Galaxy?_ "

"The war between the Galactic Republic and the CIS has restarted despite our attempts to foster peaceful relations. Unfortunately the Iconian attacks on Coruscant that led to the deaths of thousands of people, including General Skywalker, has caused many to blame us for the continued violence." D'tan closed his eyes and sighed. "Our efforts to prove our innocence have been in vain, especially now in the wake of the Jedi Temple bombing incident."

" _Tell me about the bombing."_

"I know that Captain Shon and the _Enterprise_ were assigned to help Commander Ahsoka Tano discover the cause. They traced the remains of the weapons used in the explosion to the wife of a worker in the temple who turned her husband into a bomb by feeding him explosive nanites. The wife was arrested but confessed that a Jedi ordered her to carry out the bombing before she was killed and Commander Tano was framed for the crime. Captain Shon however gave Commander Tano sanctuary aboard the _Enterprise_ and then found proof leading to Jedi Knight Barriss Offee who later tried to spread explosive nanites into the temple's water system but she was killed by Commander Tano who then resigned from the Jedi Order." D'tan explained. "Last I heard she was aboard the _Enterprise_ as a newly stated member of Starfleet."

" _Did she give any reasons for her resignation?_ "

"Only that she felt betrayed by the Jedi Order and the Republic for being so quick to assume she was the bomber based on what little evidence there was. Given what had happened I do not blame her for her choice." D'tan said. "Her treatment was similar to many that I witnessed in the Old Empire to those who were prosecuted for crimes without evidence."

" _I do not blame her either but we must be wary now, D'tan. Elements in the Republic and the Separatists will no doubt turn to the Milky Way and New Romulus is closer to the portal than Earth or Qo'nos. I understand there are refugees still coming through the portal._ "

D'tan nodded. "Yes. Most of them are from planets affect by the war and others former slaves of the cartels that were rescued by the Klingons. Despite soured relations the Republic and the CIS provided enough material to help build housing for them on New Romulus and other colony worlds. Some have even decided to join Starfleet or the Klingon Imperial fleet in addition to the high level of recruitment in our own fleet and there are even rumors of battle droids being used by the Tholians now even if that is not entirely good news."

" _This is good, D'tan. Your galaxy is becoming a beacon of hope for thousands of people and that is what is needed right now. The people need hope and a place to call home away from home even if that might not be the case for long. I understand that there is an issue with the banks being used to finance the war._ "

"Apparently the Republic Senate has passed a legislation to deregulate the banks to open new lines of credit to fund an expansion of their military. It did not end well when evidence of corruption was discovered by Senator Amidala and the heads of the banks were arrested." D'tan said.

" _This is a bold move since further funding will only put the Republic in greater debt. No doubt the Banking Clan seeks to exploit this for their benefit. Be cautious, D'tan. Eventually both sides will turn their sights to this galaxy for our interference but by then we should be prepared._ "

"I agree, Fulcrum. Our contacts in the Skyriver Galaxy will keep us informed." D'tan nodded and watched as Fulcrum ended the transmission.

It had been some time since D'tan had met Fulcrum face to face, the first time being when he was a child on Romulus as part of the Unification Movement. Fulcrum had appeared and helped the movement, even during the time Ambassador Spock had visited Romulus. The Romulan Senate had done its best to capture Fulcrum but they had failed as Fulcrum had proven to be a cunning adversary with a network of spies branching across the Romulan Empire and even having contacts in the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets and even in other minor governments. Fulcrum had become a personal enemy of the Tal Shiar since many people who had spoken out against the Romulan Intelligence Agency had escaped their grasp thanks to Fulcrum who had become a hero to many people who had become fed up with living in fear of the Tal Shiar.

Fulcrum's influence had even been felt on Remus, helping Reman slaves escape off world to find other worlds across the stars to live a better life away from the tyranny of the Romulans. During the Dominion War and Shinzon's coup Fulcrum had been securing ways for the Unification movement to find safety and had even played a role in the upbringing of several Romulans who learned a sense of honor such as Commanders Donatra and Jarock, both of whom had been noted for Romulans that had assisted others in times of needs. Fulcrum had visited Jarock as a child after her father had been declared a traitor and told her the truth of how her father had been manipulated by his own people to justify the destruction of the _Enterprise_ -D and gave her a recording of his last words before departing for Federation space that led Jarock to silently denounce the Empire and the Tal Shiar for taking her father from her. She was just one among many who hated the way the Tal Shiar and the Senate treated the people in the name of ensuring Romulan supremecy and when the Preator and Senate disagreed with evacuating Romulus when it was believed the Hobus star would soon go supernova Fulcrum used their many connections to smuggle as many Romulans and Remans offworld as they could before the planet was destroyed.

Though billions died Fulcrum had become a hero amongst many people who had become part of the Romulan Republic, deciding to leave behind the old ways of the Empire that was continued by Empress Sela who labelled them as terrorists and Fulcrum as an enemy of the true Romulan people. It was obvious without being said that Sela had come to hate Fulcrum as much as she hated the Federation and the Vulcans, holding them responsible for the destruction of Romulus. However many in the Republic blamed Sela and people like her for the destruction of Romulus.

Taris and her lust to wield the power of the Iconians was what led to the Hobus star going supernova. Rather than help the Romulans survive Sela was more focused on re-establishing the Empire as an instrument of revenge and that obsession had led to many Romulans dying, being brainwashed or even being assimilated by Borg technology the Tal Shiar had been experimenting with. Sela was a delusional and hate filled woman, hated by her people for her crimes against almost everyone in general. It was little wonder why no one considered the remains of the Old Empire a legitimate government anymore.

Sela would no doubt attempt to rebuild the Empire, aiming to stop the Iconians before turning her eyes to the Republic and everyone she hated, including the elusive Fulcrum. Fulcrum had been a massive thorn in Sela's side during her time as Empress by tipping the Federation and Klingons to planned attacks on Romulan colonies cut off during the war that she attempted to force into the Empire that led to them being saved at the last second. These actions only cemented Fulcrum as a hero to the scattered Romulan people, and furthered Sela's anger and hatred. It was believed that Fulcrum was a Vulcan as they had shared many strange teaching in the Unification movement that had allowed many Romulans to regain the telepathic abilities they shared with the Vulcans but lost because their intense fear and paranoia.

D'tan knew that Fulcrum and Ambassador Spock had met at least once and they had spent many times engaging in philosophical debates that had become part of the Movement's ways for achieving true reunification with their Vulcan brothers and sisters. Thanks to Fulcrum's many contributions the Republic was born and its people were able to rebuild on New Romulus while the remains of the Old Empire continued to fight in the wake of Sela's disappearance. Once the Skyriver Galaxy had been discovered and refuges slowly started to come through Fulcrum had contacted D'tan and suggested that he allowed them to come to New Romulus if they asked for the purpose of allowing the Romulan Republic to show that it was truly different from the Empire and he agreed.

Many refugees had been former slaves who wanted a new life and D'tan decided with the help of the Federation and the Klingons they would have a new home in the Republic. With the refuges came many people who were able to help build cities on New Romulus, trades from the other sides that supplied the Romulan Republic with bacta, droids, and even ships to better expand the fleet to foster better relations for trade. Somehow Fulcrum had been able to hire many private organizations to help the Romulans gain the supplies needed for not only building new homes but to allow them to start building fleets on their own that led to the construction of the R.R.S.D. _Unification_ that would be able to protect the entire planet.

D'tan was among the only people who knew of Fulcrum's origins and why they needed to be kept secret from everyone, especially from people like the Galactic Republic, the Separatists, and Sela. Fulcrum had done too much good to be handed over to any of them and D'tan would see to it that never happened.

The Romulan Republic stood by its allies at all times.

And in time the galaxy would know the Romulans had changed from their time as people driven by hatred and deceit for others.

* * *

 _As the war with the Iconians approaches, the former rulers of the Milky Way have already attempted to weaken the Federation and its allies through their servitors: the Elachi, the Solanae, and the Vaadwaur but they were only a taste of what to expect. The Iconians are coming and they will fight from the shadows, relying on their servitors to fight their battles for them. They will use their gateways to allow their servants to fight anyone in any place of the galaxy and they are not the only threat._

 _A hidden faction has been controlling the course of the Clone Wars, manipulating both sides for the possible genocide of the Jedi, a culture of warrior monks hailed as peacekeepers with powerful psionic abilities combined with advanced reflexes and skills. It is believed that this war war is fabrication by a rival culture known as the Sith as part of a culture feud that has been fought for perhaps billions of years. And if these Sith would plunge an entire galaxy into war just to win their feud what does this mean for the Milky Way?_

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
Approaching the Portal  
IKS _Batlh  
_ Sparring Chamber**

Quinlan Vos barely let out a breath as he blocked a strike to his head from Ventress and followed with a counter-slash that Ventress blocked with both lightsabers.

"Impressive, you catch on quick." Ventress remarked, standing back and deactivating her lightsabers as she turned around.

"I am a quick learner." Vos smirked.

"Really?" Ventress spun around, aiming her lightsabers at Vos's head but Vos quickly ducked lashed foot out, kicking Ventress's legs out from under and making her fall on her back.

"Really." Vos answered, watching as Ventress stood back up.

"Well, you catch on fast, I will give you that much." Ventress remarked, attaching her lightsabers to her belt. "At the very least you know how to fight."

"After all these training sessions you put me through, I'd better be." Vos joked.

Ventress scoffed. "Don't think this means you are ready. You really think being skilled with a lightsaber means you can take on Dooku? I told you, he's a Sith Lord and a Sith is more then ready to fight a Jedi with more than just a lightsaber."

Vos watched as Ventress began to pace around him.

"In order to kill Dooku you cannot take a Jedi's approach to this. He's too strong for that. The dark side fuels him and gives him abilities no mere Jedi can contend with." Ventress explained, stopping in front of Vos. "That is why a new approach will be needed."

"What are you saying?" Vos asked.

"We'll be making a stop in our home galaxy, at my home planet." Ventress answered.

Once it was decided that Ventress would help Vos kill Dooku the clone of Kahless asked the High Council to allow him and his crew to assist them covertly, believing Dooku to be a threat to the Empire and they agreed. Since then Ventress had trained with Vos daily, even setting up programs on the holo-deck that were made especially challenging for Vos since holograms could not be sensed through the Force. In their spars Ventress fought dirty and recklessly but also showed herself to be extraordinarily skilled. It was through these spars that Vos understood why Ventress was considered such a skilled opponent, even able to duel the likes of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the same time.

Ventress set the levels for the holo-deck to be at a very high level, to the point Vos was almost overwhelmed in each encounter and his lightsaber didn't make a difference as the weapons used by the holograms were able to block his lightsaber, on account of them being made concentrated photons and force fields. Ventress literally threw him into a rancor pit each time, testing his skills in combat and survival and it was just his luck that the Klingons had literally millions of custom programmed battle simulations, including simulations from past wars on other planets throughout the Alpha Quadrant. Vos can safely say that the Milky Way had a lost of interesting creatures and the Klingons were only all too happy help in the training. They might not have been Force sensitive but they proved themselves to be not only skilled warriors but they were extremely durable and annoyingly hard to knock out since they just wouldn't stay down.

And many in the Jedi Order thought that Vos and Skywalker had hard heads.

Now the _Batlh_ was approaching the Skyriver Galaxy, first stopping at the planet Dathomir, the home planet of the Nightsister and their newest ally. It would be the perfect place for Vos to learn what he needed to learn.

To learn how to use the Dark Side.

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Padme Amidala's Apartment**

Padme Amidala could barely believe everything that was happening these days. Another meeting had passed in the new Senate building and it was agreed to give complete control of the banks to the Supreme Chancellor. Apparently her former friend Rush Clovis had uncovered evidence of corruption in the Banking Clan and turned the evidence over to the Chancellor. Only when Clovis took control of the Banking Clan he increased the Republic's interests on their loans, endangering their economy and led to the war being brought to Scipio of all places.

The planet was taken back by the Republic and Clovis was killed, ensuring that full control of banks was placed in the hands of the Supreme Chancellor. Padme knew Clovis was a traitor but even she found it hard to believe he would do such a thing. She would have gone but after the Iconian attacks and the bombing of the Jedi Temple Coruscant was on full lock down. There was also the fact that she couldn't afford to be going on missions like this anymore when signs of pregnancy became obvious.

She would have to ask the Chancellor to be allowed some leave time at least until the baby was born. She could stay back on Naboo, near the same house on the lake where no one would bother her. She even considered trying to contact Ahsoka whom she last heard was stationed on the _Enterprise_. There was something personal she wanted to speak with Ahsoka about that she never had the chance before the bombing incident followed by Ahsoka resigning from the Jedi Order and deciding to join Starfleet.

It was a surprise for everyone, Padme included, but she knew that the crew of the _Enterprise_ had helped Ahsoka clear her name and it was very likely that Ahsoka believed they were the only ones she could turn to for help without the Jedi Order supporting her now. She owed them as well for helping Ahsoka clear her name as well as for the help they had done for the galaxy against threats like the Borg, the Undine, and the Iconians. It was a shame not a lot of people saw it that way and it upset Padme that so many people were condemning the Alliance for all the help they did for people in war zones.

They had taken in refugees that had fled worlds attacked by either side, escorted civilian ships away from space battles, removed wreckages in orbits of planets that saved thousands of people from being smashed by falling wrecked part of destroyed warships, and many in the Senate still condemned them. It made Padme even more upset that Palpatine refrained from speaking in defense of the Alliance, citing that it would make him look biased when he spoke fondly of governments instead of the Republic. Padme could barely believe how fast things were falling apart and now there was this issue with the banks.

A knock on the door ended her thoughts. "Come in."

The door opened, revealing a man that Padme did not recognized but saw the Starfleet uniform. "Senator Amidala?"

"Yes." Padme nodded. "What brings Starfleet here? I thought it was agreed to formarly withdraw from the Republic."

"I am Franklin Drake, a member of an intelligence branch of Starfleet that has an interest in monitoring events here on Coruscant. Specifically surrounding this war between your Republic and the Confederacy." Drake answered. "I am here to monitor these events."

"I see…But would that not violate your Prime Directive?" Padme asked.

"Not necessarily." Drake answered. "For you see no one knows that I am here."

"Excuse me?"

"I am a member of Section 31, a group that monitors for threats to the Federation. We've been watching events in this galaxy closely." Drake answered. "And we have been troubled by the actions of the Republic and the Separatists."

"What do you mean?" Padme asked.

"Simply put I am asking that you take this and keep it with you." Drake handed her two small devices. "One will signal us if you need help. The other contains information regarding a Jedi who was believed to be behind the creation of the clone army."

Padme was about to ask more question but Drake suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, most likely the work of the beaming technology from the Milky Way. She looked down at the devices and sighed. It seemed now even the Milky Way was being affected by the violence even if it was already dealing with its own disputes. She looked at the second one as she walked over to her desk and connected it to her computer, watching as the information appeared.

Padme's eyes widened as she looked over the data in shock. "Anakin, I wish you were here."

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Hidden Underground Complex**

Far under the surface of Coruscant Darth Sidious looked at the healing form of his future apprentice inside the bacta tank. It was here where the energies of the dark side flowed freely, blinding the Jedi who were unable to sense the presence of him and his apprentice. And it was here that Sidious began the phase of his plan to create the apprentice he had been looking for.

"Now my friend, let me show what has been happening since we last spoke." Sidious spoke, closing his eyes and touching the mind of his apprentice through the Force.

Inside the tank his apprentice began to move and thrash against the tank.

 _His mother, tortured to death by Tusken Raiders._

 _Ahsoka being framed and chased across the surface of Coruscant, Republic troopers shooting at her._

 _Jedi with their lightsabers ignited, chasing her through storm drains, threatening her life and Master Plo Koon ordering her to surrender or be killed._

 _Tarkin planning to have Ahsoka found guilty and executed._

 _Barris Offee murdering clones and Jedi, planning to frame Ahsoka for her crimes and leave her to die._

 _Master Yoda reluctantly agreeing to order Tano brought in._

 _Obi-Wan doing nothing to speak in Ahsoka's defense._

 _Ahsoka resinging from the Jedi Order and leaving Coruscant._

 _The Jedi doing nothing to stop Ahsoka from leaving, vanishing from the galaxy._

 _Mace Windu confused as to why Ahsoka resigned from the order._

 _Master Yoda closing his eyes in remorse._

 _Bounty Hunters attacking Ahsoka in a spaceport, ganging up on her as she let out a cry for help._

 _Coruscant under attack by the Separatists and Padme is evacuated with the other senators as war rages around them._

 _Then suddenly Padme was on a bed, screaming out and dying…_

 _During the birth of her child._

Sidious smiles as his apprentice lets out a furious roar that causes the tank to shatter, bacta splashing all across the floor as the body inside collapses in the ruined tank. "Doctor, the patient is ready for surgery."

"Yes my lord." DD-13/HK complied, ordering nearby droids to pick the body up and place him on the surgery table.

"Padme…" The broken body of Anakin Skywalker whispered as he was placed on the table.

Sidious grinned as he looked down at Anakin as a breathing mask was placed on him. "I know what you seek…The power to save her. Protect her from all threats…The Iconians, the Separatists, anyone who would harm and save her from death…There is such a power that exists, a power to cheat death."

"H-H-ow?" Anakin's muffled and damaged voice asked.

"The power achieved by my mentor, Darth Plagueis the Wise." Sidious whispered, smiling sinisterly as the operation began.

Fortunately the sound proof walls added as an extra precaution made it so that the screams made by the patient never reached any ears that might have been close by.

In the meantime Chancellor Palpatine had an appointment to keep.

 **New Senate Building  
Chancellor Palpatine's Office**

"Can you confirm this data?" Mace Windu asked, looking over the data closely.

Padme looked at everyone in the room, ranging from the politicians such as Chancellor Palpatine and Senator Organa to the few Jedi Masters that had come on her behalf. "I am not sure how accurate this information is but Starfleet has not been known to lie before. One of their ships picked up the distress signal and it was forwarded to this Section 31."

Mace Windu frowned as he looked at the image of the ship. "We will have to confirm if this truly is the lost ship of Master Sifo-Dyas."

"How strange it is that Starfleet would discover the ship of the Jedi Master who ordered the production of the clone army." Palpatine commented. "Why involve themselves in such a matter?"

"Hm…Know of how the clones were created, they did. Learned during the trial of the Jedi by Q, they did. Sense something wrong, perhaps they did." Yoda closed his eyes.

"Master Kenobi, could you please explain to everyone what you learned prior to the start of the Clone War?" Windu asked.

Obi-Wan nodded. "My investigation into the bounty hunter, Jango Fett led to Kamino. The Kaminoans recounted that it was Master Sifo-Dyas who ordered the production of a clone army."

"Without the consent of the Council or the Senate he did this." Yoda continued.

"Prior to the blockade of Naboo, Master Sifo-Dyas sat on the Jedi Council until we judged his ideals to be…too extreme." Windu admitted.

"Extreme? In what way?" Palpatine asked.

"He said he forsaw a great conflict and that the Republic would need to raise an army. At the time the Council rejected those ideas." Windu answered.

"Yes, I remember this all from Q's trial." Palpatine nodded as he stood up from his chair. "I suppose we are fortunate that Master Sifo-Dyas acted without consent in the wake of everything that has happened."

"But how did he keep it all secret? Wouldn't he have wanted to ensure we knew of the clone army?" Bail asked.

"The information suggested that Master Sifo-Dyas took out a loan from Damask Holdings to pay for the production of clones over the next ten years." Padme pointed out.

"Damask Holdings, a Muun corporation allied with the Banking Clan." Palpatine said thoughtfully. "It was dissolved and absorbed into the Banking Clan shortly after the death of Magister Hego Damask ten years ago, around the time I was sworn in as Chancellor."

"This would explain how Master Sifo-Dyas gained the payment needed to fund the clone army at least before the Senate started demanding for more troops but there are still questions. Why would the Muuns helps finance the creation of an army and know nothing about it? What about this Tyranus figure who recruited Jango Fett to be the clone template?" Windu stated.

"Agreed. Know not we do of the one who supervised the creation of the clones after Sifo-Dyas's death or what became of his body." Yoda agreed. "But lead us to answers, this new piece of the puzzle might."

"What exactly is your plan, Master Yoda?" Palpatine asked.

"To Felucia Kenobi will go, a trail long cold but found a clue might be." Yoda answered.

Windu nodded. "Master Sifo-Dyas was dispatched to Felucia to negotiate peace talks when a small skirmish broke out between the native tribes. It was believed that he was killed when the negotiations failed. However we do not know anything aside from that due to other files being sealed."

"By whom?" Palpatine asked.

"Your office, Supreme Chancellor." Windu stated calmly.

"Well, I am sure you know that this was over ten years ago when I was still a humble senator serving Naboo. I believe my predecessor, Chancellor Valorum has the answers you seek." Palpatine explained.

Yode nodded. "To Felucia, Kenobi will go. Question all who were present on the day of Sifo-Dyas's death, he will. Speak with Valorum I will."

"I would like to come as well." Padme said, volunteering her services.

"Of course, Master Yoda. I will see to it that any other valuable information is found and sent to you immediately." Palpatine nodded, ending the meeting.

It was only after they were gone did Palpatine scowl in annoyance.


	58. Chapter 58

**Valorum's Estate**

Former Chancellor Finis Valorum had done rather well following the end of his term despite how he had been completely voted out of office. Once the election was over Valorum retired to his estates, remaining on Coruscant even during the time of war. Though well-intentioned in his approach to governance, Valorum was nonetheless unable to rein in the complex and powerful bureaucracies that the Senate had become entangled in. According to Palpatine, Valorum's reelection was achieved only through the desires of the special interests, who wanted a Chancellor who would be unable to push back on their power and influence.

The end of Valorum's chancellery was marked by inaction over the Naboo Crisis, as Valorum deferred to the interests of the Trade Federation, despite wanting to help Naboo during the invasion. His inability to control the bureaucracies led Valorum's removal from office. Despite this, Valorum had been happy to receive Master Yoda and Padme as guests, the three of them being old friends from back in Valorum's days as Chancellor, even though Padme was the one who called for the Vote of No Confidence that led to the end of Valorum's term and agreed to meet him in the front yard of his estate.

"It has been a long time, my friends. What can I do for you?" Valorum said as he, Padme and Master Yoda walked onto the balcony.

"A file the Jedi Council sealed by your administration, the Jedi Council has come across." Yoda answered.

"The subject of the file?" Valorum asked.

"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas."

"Sifo-Dyas?" Valorum said thoughtfully, looking across the city. "When I was Chancellor I contacted Master Sifo-Dyas to deal with a flair up in the Pyke Syndicate."

"The Pykes?" Padme asked.

"A powerful part in the spice cartel. Their criminal activities had allowed them to almost completely control the production of raw spice used create a powerful drug. We were facing a full scale war underneath the surface of Coruscant." Valorum faced the two. "Knowing of his expertise in the underworld I contacted Master Sifo-Dyas to stabilize the problem."

"Know of this the Council did not." Yoda admitted.

Valorum turned away. "The senate committee assigned to the matter feared that open discussion with such a criminal element would legitimize their activities and give strength to opposition leaders in the bureaucracy. Secrecy was our only choice."

This was a surprise as Valorum had been considered unable to control the bureaucracies that ran the Senate that believed him to be a simple ineffective Chancellor who could not interfere in their own interests. Still, he had been a politician himself and knew how to take advantage of such beliefs and use them against any opponents who underestimated him.

"When were these talks supposed to take place?" Padme asked.

Valorum faced them again. "I cannot remember the precise timing, I am afraid. It was so long ago. I do remember that the talks were postponed not long after our delegates arrived on Oba-Diah. Something about a flair up of activity on Felucia."

"Yes, intervene on Felucia the Jedi Council insisted Sifo-Dyas did." Yoda nodded.

"I see." Valorum nodded. "I then heard that he and my personal aid, Silman were both killed on Felucia."

"Personal aid?" Padme asked.

"Yes. I sent my personal aid at the time to assist Master Sifo-Dyas in negotiating with the Pykes as my representative. He informed me that the talks had to be postponed when the Jedi Council asked Sifo-Dyas to intervene on the skirmishes on Felucia." Valorum nodded solemnly.

"And no one else knew of it?" Padme asked.

"Anyone else who did know of it have either retired or passed away, Senator Amidala." Valorum answered calmly.

"Thank you for your time, Valorum." Yoda bowed. "Good to see you again, it is."

"And it was good to see you both." Valorum said with honesty that surprised Padme slightly. "Be careful. I may not be Chancellor anymore but I believe this war is changing things and not for the better."

"Thank you…Chancellor." Padme said, surprising herself and Valorum.

She considered the possibility that Valorum might be still upset for how he was voted out but he seemed to actually be pleased that he was no longer in politics.

Perhaps she might feel the same way when she retired.

 **Serenno  
Count Dooku's Castle**

" _It seems that Starfleet is not done meddling with us yet. Now they have the Jedi looking for Sifo-Dyas because of a trail left by the Pykes._ " The tone in Darth Sidious's voice let Count Dooku know that his master was _not_ pleased.

"Given the fact that the ship was left on the moon of Obah-Diah it seems the Pykes didn't bother to clean up their mess. They possibly saw a profit to be made by allowing the evidence to exist in the event the Jedi discovered it." Dooku surmised. "If Starfleet knows what happened to Sifo-Dyas they may even suspect what our plans could be, Master."

" _Yes and it presents an unwelcome dilemma that must be solved immediately._ " Sidious snarled.

"I am ready, Master. What would you have me do?" Dooku asked.

" _Deal with the loose end left by the Pykes and eliminate it. Once that is done we will deal with Starfleet._ " Sidious answered.

"I understand what is at stake, my lord. However I must ask if you believe you are in danger." Dooku stated.

" _In danger?_ "

"Yes, Master. If the Alliance suspects someone in the Republic of intentionally withholding important secrets or even trading information to the enemy. They could even guess just who in the upper class of the Republic to be capable of such dealings." Dooku explained.

" _Even if they knew they cannot get involved, not with the distrust aimed at them by the majority of the Senate and the people of the Republic. However if they have information and are supplying it to Senators who might be sympathetic to them…_ " Sidious trailed off. " _Lord Tyranus, I believe we must accelerate our plans. As soon as the issue with the Pykes is settled contact General Grievous. We will give the Milky Way Galaxy the opportunity of being spectator to the greatest events in history._ "

"I am ready, my lord." Dooku nodded as Sidious ended the call.

 **Coruscant  
Padme's Speeder**

" _I have spoken with the tribal leaders on Felucia. They use a very ancient dialect that is hard to understand but from what I can make out when Master Sifo-Dyas died he was not alone. There was a second Jedi here with him._ " Obi-Wan explained to Padme and Yoda who were both seated in Padme's speeder, driven by one of her guards.

"And the name of this second Jedi?" Master Yoda asked.

" _Either I don't understand them or they won't say. This is a very primitive people we are dealing with. After Master Sifo-Dyas was killed they cremated his body and I'm afraid that's where the trail goes cold there. Any luck on your end?_ " Obi-Wan asked.

"Chancellor Valorum claimed he sent Master Sifo-Dyas to negotiate with the Pyke Syndicate to prevent a war with the criminal underworld of Coruscant and that he sent his personal aide, Silman to assist him." Padme answered. "Valorum never mentioned a second Jedi."

" _And the Felucians never mentioned a Silman being here that day. So we have one dead Jedi with no evidence of a body, a second Jedi that no one knows about, and now this Silman, personal atache to the Chancellor is missing?_ " Obi-Wan asked.

"But we know now that Sifo-Dyas and Silman were both on Obah-Diah, according to Chancellor Valorum." Padme pointed out.

" _And Master Plo Koon is investigating the location of where the shuttle belonging to Sifo-Dyas had crashed supposedly on a moon that orbits the Pyke planet._ " Obi-Wan stated.

"Hm…To the Pykes you must go. To Oba-Diah, yes." Yoda stated.

Obi-Wan nodded as the transmission ended.

Yoda closed his eyes. "Hmm…"

"What is it?" Padme asked.

"Supplied us with this information, Starfleet did. How they came across this, we know not. And yet, more to this I sense." Yoda answered. "Looked for any knowledge of Master Sifo-Dyas's dealings with the Kaminoans, we did and found nothing. And yet, through a hidden approach the Milky Way has discovered a hidden clue."

"I did a little reading on Section 31 in the Starfleet database left in my apartment by Dr. Lea. This Section 31 seems to be the type of division everyone knows exists but no one likes to talk about and they seem to be fanatical in protecting the Federation from unseen threats." Padme said softly, remembering what the records about Section 31 said. "They might have gained the information through illegal means without informing their council or president."

"Then careful we must be. If supplying us with this information they are then perhaps a grave threat they have uncovered." Yoda stated.

 **Outer Rim  
Oba-Diah System  
Moon of Oba-Diah**

" _Can anyone hear us? Come in please._ "

" _We're not getting anything out here._ "

" _We're off. We must be way off._ "

"Negative. It is here." Commander Wolffe replied. "The data specifically states. It has got to be."

" _We've scanned the area three times. This is a wasteland. There's nothing._ "

"All of our information pinpoints it is here." Wolffe stated, inside the massive transport with Master Plo Koon.

" _I don't know what to tell you sir. We're getting no visual and no recognition on the scanner._ "

"We must locate the source of the signal, Commander. Press on." Plo Koon stated.

"Wait, I think I've found something." Sinker reported as his console beeped. "It's very faint, sir."

Plo Koon looked at the image on the screen. "That is it."

" _Halt! Halt! Halt all vehicles!_ " The search party stopped, allowing Plo Koon and Wolffe to exit the transport.

They walked through the sand storm, coming upon the wreckage of a ship. Plo Koon stepped forward, finding a tear in the hall that allowed him to enter the ship.

"The hull shows substantial scoring and wear. Whenever it crashed, it wasn't recently." Wolffe stated, following Plo Koon in. "General Plo, the scans check out, it's a T-6 shuttle all right, serial number 775519."

Plo Koon stopped at the cockpit, finding no bodies but he spotting something on the ground and picked it up. It was a lightsaber.

"I want the entire cleared." Plo Koon faced the troopers. "We're taking everything back to Coruscant."

"Everything?" Wolffe asked.

"Everything!" Plo Koon answered looking back down at the lightsaber, tapping a few times before it finally ignited, revealing a bright blue light.

He then heard a beeping sound and looked at the pilot's chair, seeing some sort of data card.

 **Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Council Chamber**

"So it is the lost ship of Master Sifo-Dyas." Windu stated, everyone gathered together to hear Plo Koon's report.

" _I found this at the crash site._ " Plo Koon held up a lightsaber.

Yoda nodded. "The lightsaber of Sifo-Dyas, it is. Never found when he died, it was."

" _There is something else, I found._ " Plo Koon held up a data card. " _It does not appear to have been on the ship for long._ "

"A data card, hm?" Yoda frowned. "Another clue?"

 **Oba-Diah**

Obi-Wan landed his ship on an empty docking pad, believing he would be greeted with hostility by the Pykes but to his surprise the two guards sent out instead escorted him to meet with the leader of the Pykes. Obi-Wan noticed the many people inside the great hall, all of them drinking or smoking and barely paying an attention to him.

The leader of the Syndicate, Lom Pyke spoke upon seeing Kenobi. "I cannot remember the last time a Jedi was here. Many years it has been."

"Funny you should mention that. I am looking for a Jedi who got lost here. His name is Sifo-Dyas." Obi-Wan replied.

"Oh yes, the Jedi Sifo-Dyas was here. But that was a long time ago." Lom smiled.

"We discovered Master Sifo-Dyas's ship crashed on a moon orbiting this planet." Obi-Wan stated.

"What you found, we know nothing of." Lom said slowly as a servant brought him a drink. "Would the Jedi care for a refreshment?"

"The Pykes offer is kindly accepted." Obi-Wan replied, playing the role of Negotiator.

Lom snapped his fingers and a Twi'leck servant brought Obi-Wan a drink. "To friendship."

"Friendship." Obi-Wan said, about to take a sip but noticed something around Lom's neck. "That is an odd trinket you have there. Mind if I take a look?"

Lom placed a hand over it. "Perhaps the Pykes have taken enough of the Jedi's time."

"Oh on. The Jedi are all too happy to know all the Pykes' secrets. Like why you are wearing the crest of the Chancellor's personal adviser." Obi-Wan said sternly.

Lom sighed dramatically and stood up. "I am confused. Is the Jedi looking for a Jedi Master or someone else?"

"Both perhaps, considering that Master Sifo-Dyas was traveling with an adviser. They were sent here to negotiate with you." Obi-Wan answered.

Lom quietly laughed. "So, you've finally put the pieces together. The man you are looking for is here."

Obi-Wan frowned.

* * *

Lom led Obi-Wan who was escorted by two guards through the depths of the Pyke Fortress, presumable to Silman. "The Pykes wanted to gain an advantage over the other crime families. So alliances were made, one was with a man called Tyranus."

Tyranus, the name of the man Jango Fett claimed to have hired him for being the template of the clone army.

"Tyranus wanted Sifo-Dyas dead, the Pykes were well paid to shoot down his ship. But anyone who pays to have a Jedi killed is dangerous and unpredictable. The Pykes inspected the ship to retrieve the Jedi's body for proof but with the dead Jedi there was another still alive." Lom continued.

"Silman." Obi-Wan said.

"The Pykes gave Tyranus Sifo-Dyas but the Pykes did not tell Tyranys of Silman. The Pykes needed…insurance." Lom stopped at a door.

"Insurance?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"Yes." Lom smiled as the door opened. "And now the Pykes can bargain. We give you Silman, you forget the Pykes' treachery against the Jedi."

Obi-Wan stepped through, stopping in front of another door and waited as it opened. "Hello?"

"Who? Who is there?" A voice asked from the darkness of the cell.

"I am a Jedi sent to find you." Obi-Wan stopped, looking at the head that peeked from the small dome in the middle of the room.

"Jedi? To find me?" The man peeked out, revealing his long grey beard and scrawny appearance that showed he had not been well looked after. "Why me? I was betrayed. Forgotten. Long ago."

"No one knew you were alive." Obi-Wan replied.

"Quick, maybe you have some food. Have you any food?" Silman peeked back out.

"Uh…I am sorry but I have nothing with me at the moment." Obi-Wan answered, thinking that Silman was hungry.

"Oh dear. They will be so angry." Silman crept away.

"They?" Obi-Wan asked.

"My babies, they get so angry when I have nothing to feed them." Silman gestured the many worms surrounding him.

* * *

The two Pyke guards at the docks watched as familiar ship, a Solar Sailor landed on the platform and out stepped someone wearing a long cloak that hid his face but they knew who he was.

"Tyranus, you are no longer welcome here." One of the guards stated.

Tyranus swept his arm out and the two guards were knocked off the platform, their screams fading quickly as the Sith Lord moved on without pause. Many others would meet a similar fate before his business was finished.

* * *

"I have come to take you home." Obi-Wan said, trying to appeal to any sanity left in Silman's mind.

"Home? This is my home. I can't leave my friends." Silman said, the worms covering his body.

"You were traveling with Master Sifo-Dyas. What happened to him?" Obi-Wan asked.

Silman laughed hysterically. "Sifo-Dyas? He died. Died, died, died, died." Silman seemingly calmed down. "Tricked we were. The Pykes are not to be trusted. But the Pykes were not the ones. No, no, the Pykes were not the reason."

"Who was responsible?" Obi-Wan prodded.

"Someone powerful…Someone who wanted to _be_ Sifo-Dyas." Silman clarified.

"Why?" Obi-Wan felt an uneasy chill.

"All is deception. Can't you see? Because…Because-" Silman suddenly started choking and was lifted up off the dome.

Obi-Wan moved to help but was too late as Silman fell down and slumped over, dead. Obi-Wan turned and saw man take off his cloak and ignite his red lightsaber.

"Dooku!" Obi-Wan quickly ignited his lightsaber. "For once it seemed you came to do your own dirty work."

Dooku smirked. "Sometimes things are just that important."

Obi-Wan quickly charged forward, slashing at Dooku who fell back. It might be argued now that he only had one hand Dooku would be easier to defeat but Dooku showed no sign of being weakened as he expertly parried Obi-Wan's slashes. They moved out onto a pathway overlooking the side of the mountain the fortress was built into with Obi-Wan continuing to try and break through Dooku's defenses but Dooku remained able to not only block but attack as he lashed out with a foot that kicked Obi-Wan into the wall.

The doors opened and out came Lom and his men, all of them armed. "You have no business left with the Pykes, Tyranus."

"Tyranus? You are the man called Tyranus?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"I told you all you needed to know all those years ago on Geonosis, Kenobi." Dooku pointed his lightsaber at Obi-Wan. "You should have joined me. Sifo-Dyas understood. He saw the future. That is why he helped me."

"You lie!" Obi-Wan retorted. "Minister Lom, if you are going to help now is the time!"

"Kill Tyranus!" Lom ordered, firing at Dooku.

Dooku deflected the blaster bolts aimed at him, spinning aside and forcing Obi-Wan to block the blasters that flew at him on account of him being directly behind Dooku. Obi-Wan lashed out with the Force at Dooku's back but Dooku jumped up, dodging the push that slammed into Lom and his men, knocking them all down as Dooku landed behind them. Lom struggled to get up and move but Dooku was too fast and plunged his lightsaber into Lom's chest, killing him instantly. Dooku grinned for a second before moving to the edge of the rest of the Pykes and Kenobi surrounded him.

Just when it seemed Dooku was cornered he deactivated his lightsaber and to the shock of everyone stepped over the edge. Obi-Wan ran up, expecting to see Dooku vanish into the abyss below but a ship came back up with Dooku standing on it, casually turning away and calling his ship. Obi-Wan glared as the ship carried Dooku out of his reach while his Solar Sailor arrived, allowing Dooku to escape the planet.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Jedi Temple**

"Know now we do, that guided the creation of the clones, Dooku did." Yoda said upon hearing Obi-Wan's report. "Our enemy, created an army for us."

"If this was known, public confidence in the war effort, the Jedi and the Republic would vanish. There would be mass chaos." Mace Windu said grimly.

"Not the only discovery to be made today." Yoda said as another image was brought up. "Revealed something, the data card in Master Sifo-Dyas's ship did."

It was the image of some sort of chip that was inside the head of a clone, showing a list of orders.

" _What are they_?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Contingency orders, they are. Looked over all of them I have, discovered one order to be a possible threat." Yoda stopped at the order he spoke of. "Order 66."

 _Order 66: In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established._

" _What kind of order is this_?" Shaak Ti asked upon reading it, shocked that such an order existed.

If the clones were given this order by the Chancellor they would turn on the Jedi, whom they had fought with and bonded with through the course of the war. The clones were considered friends to the Jedi, friends who could become their executioners at any given moment.

"An order for the clones to act against the Jedi, it is. Orders there are, to even remove the Chancellor from power." Yoda answered showing Order 65.

 _Order 65: In the event of either (i) a majority in the Senate declaring the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) to be unfit to issue orders, or (ii) the Security Council declaring him to be unfit to issue orders, and an authenticated order being received by the GAR, commanders shall be authorized to detain the Supreme Commander, with lethal force if necessary, and command of the GAR shall fall to the acting Chancellor until a successor is appointed or alternative authority identified as outlined in Section 6 (iv)._

"Dooku must have ordered the clones be placed with these bio-chips when he supervised the creation of the clone army. An army that could turn on the Republic and the Jedi at any given time." Mace stated. "This must be the full extent of his plan."

"Not Dooku, Sidious. Designed by Darth Sidious this was." Yoda replied. "If in control of the Senate he is, able to possibly manipulate the Chancellor and the Senate into giving these orders."

"Orders that would turn the Republic over to the Sith." Plo Koon said, his hand under his chin.

"If that is true than the Chancellor and his staff must be removed from office." Ki-Adi-Mundi stated urgently.

"The Jedi Council would have to take control to ensure a peaceful transaction." Windu stated.

" _Hold on! You can't be suggesting we stage a coup! That is treason!_ " Obi-Wan protested.

"I am not afraid of words, Obi-Wan. If it is treason then so be it." Windu replied.

" _Then what is stopping the Sith from using these orders now?_ "

"Perhaps there is a chance that they are still waiting for the right moment." Plo Koon suggested.

"Meaning we might have the time we need to stop this plot." Mace added.

"Such an act, destroy the Jedi Order it would." Yoda said. "Lost the trust of the public, we already have."

"No disrespect, Master Yoda but that is a politician's argument. We can't let public opinion stop us from doing what is _right_."

"Convinced it _is_ right, I am not!" Yoda said sternly. "Working behind the scenes we should be, to uncover Lord Sidious! To move against Palpatine while the Sith exist, this may be part of the Sith plan itself, to turn the Senate and the public against the Jedi! So we are not only disbanded, but outlawed!"

Mace wasn't done. "To wait gives the Sith the advantage-"

" _Have_ the advantage already, they do!" Yoda interrupted, his seemingly unbreakable serene disposition cracking as the discussion became heated.

" _Masters, masters, please!_ " Obi-Wan spoke up. " _Perhaps there is a middle ground._ "

The Council all looked to Obi-Wan who took a deep breath. " _We know that Dooku guided the creation of the Clone Army, most likely on Sidious's orders. Now we know who was responsible we can act on it by taking the fight to Dooku himself. Master Quinlan Vos last reported that Ventress has agreed to help with the Klingons agreeing to not act in any way that will drag them into the war but they will be watching closely now. We wait until Master Vos contact us again and hear his progress in tracking Dooku down. If Dooku is killed then Sidious will have to replace him, possibly with General Grievous or some other puppet leader but perhaps Vos and Ventress can uncover evidence that can link Dooku to Sidious. If we do it might force Sidious to make some sort of move if he wants to continue the war._ "

"If?" Mace asked. "What makes you so sure? If the clones have been created by the Sith with secret orders to kill the Jedi than this means that this entire war has been aimed at us. At the Jedi. With Sidious on one side and Dooku on the other. Depleting us of our youngest and best. To make us into something we were never intended to be."

"Seen glimpses of this truth, we all have. Our arrogance it is, which has stopped us from fully opening our eyes." Yoda closed his eyes.

" _Until now. We now understand the goal of the Sith Lord, we know his tactics and we know where to look for him. His actions will reveal him. He cannot escape us. He will not escape us._ " Obi-Wan stated.

The Council all shared glances with each other for what felt like a very long moment.

"Seen the matter, Master Kenobi has." Yoda said and nodded. "Cover this discovery up, we must. No one, not even the Chancellor can know. Valiant men, the clones have proven to be." Yoda looked at Windu. "Saved my life and yours, many times they have. Believe in them, we must. Win the war, swiftly we must, before our enemy's design reach completion."

"Are you sure we are taking the right path?" Mace asked.

"The right path, no. The only path, yes." Yoda bowed his head. "Designed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, this web is. For now, play his game we must. But if in danger, the Jedi Order is, a plan we must make. Allies, we may need."

" _What do you suggest, Master Yoda?_ " Obi-Wan asked.

"Speak with the Milky Way Alliance, we must. If discovered this plot, aid us possibly they can." Yoda answered.

 **Outer Rim  
Quelii Sector  
Dathomir**

The IKS _Batlh_ decloaked in orbit of Dathomir, the planet of the Nightsisters. At least it was before the invasion of CIS droid armies led by General Grievous that came in pursuit of Asajj Ventress and to eliminate the Nightsister clans. Grievous came and drove the sisterhood into extinction with only two survivors, Mother Talzin and Asajj Ventress and one of them had returned. Ventress and Vos beamed down to the planet, outside of the Nightsister village since Ventress refused to let Vos enter until he was ready.

"So this is Dathomir." Vos looked around the red tinted mist covered world. "I have never been to this world before and with good reason. The Nightsisters didn't look kindly on the Jedi."

"And the Jedi weren't known for liking the Nightsisters much either." Ventress replied calmly as she led him through the forest. "Not tolerating us for our use of the Dark Side."

"Can you blame us?" Vos asked.

"The Nightsisters are different from the Sith. We do not rely on our hate and our anger to solely fuel us. Within the Nightsisters there is a bond between the sisters through our blood and power." Ventress started, looking directly ahead. "When I was an infant, my clan was forced to surrender me to a criminal. I became his slave, but he was a surprisingly kind master. He was killed when I was still quite young during an attack by Weequay raiders. I was rescued by a Jedi named Ky Narec who sensed I was strong in the Force. He was stranded on Rattatak, and he took me under his wing. I became his Padawan."

Vos stared at her in surprise. "You were trained by a Jedi?"

Ventress nodded. "For ten years, we helped the people of Rattatak. We became heroes to most. But to some, we were the enemy."

"The Jedi are always enemies to some." Vos weakly said.

"Narec died in front of my eyes. He, too was killed by Weequay. Since then I have always disliked Weequays. I vowed vengeance and I got it. Soon, the warlords were dead and I ruled in their place." Ventress continued. "It was on Rattatak that Dooku found me and I him. I hated the Jedi for abandoning my master and Dooku wanted an apprentice as filled with hatred as he was. It was a good match."

"So…what changed?"

Ventress snarled. "He abandoned me without warning. He said I had failed him for the last time, and left me for dead. But I survived and vowed to kill him."

Ventress replayed everything that happened that day, when Dooku suddenly betrayed her after all she had done for him. She had done so much in his name, risked her life for him, and in the end when she thought any of it mattered she found out it didn't. She willed herself to survive under Dooku's harsh training, crossed blades with dozens of Jedi during the war, killed anyone Dooku ordered dead, and Dooku repaid her with betrayal.

But Ventress survived, just like she had survived everything that she had endured since she was a child and she vowed vengeance.

"I knew I needed allies if I were to succeed. And so I came home." She gestured all around them. "Home to the Nightsisters, where I was made welcome, and our clan leader, Mother Talzin, helped me plot my revenge. Thrice attempted to assassinate Dooku. Thrice I failed with only a non-Force sensitive from another galaxy able to cut off his hand that I agreed to work with to show for it."

Vos stared at Vos who looked down at the remains of a Nightsister's bow and picked it up respectfully…

…And gasped as he dropped the bow and stepped back.

Vos took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I-my talent, my psychometry…When I hold an object and focus on it, sometimes I can see and hear things that have happened during its history. And sometimes…Sometimes I can feel what happened."

"Then you know Dooku ordered the massacre." Ventress said. "It happened the same night I undertook the ritual to become a true Nightsister. Dooku sent General Grievous here with an army. We responded with the same. We used our magicks…And we summoned the dead."

Ventress then gestured to the trees with large sacks that hung from the branches like teardrops.

"These contain the bodies of my sisters." Ventress caressed one of the sacks. "When one dies, I was told, we preform a ritual to honor her. We bathe her in a sacred pool, then enclose her in this pod. In this way, a sister never truly leaves us. She is dead, but she is nestled inside something vibrant and alive. She is suspended between the sky and the soil, because she is truly of neither. She is always near, always part of the clan. I was taught that our dead sisters can share our celebrations of joy, and our ceremonies of grief. And that one night they shared our fight."

Ventress then gestured to the surrounding skeletons.

"But…I do not know the secret of preserving the fallen and no else was left to tend to them…" Ventress trailed off.

"Asajj…" Vos said softly as he gently touched her arm. "I am so, so very sorry."

Ventress shrugged his arm. "Don't be. That's a weakness. Stretch out with your feelings even more, Vos. Don't hold back. Feel the presence of my sisters, their fear, their anguish, their hatred…It is this you must learn if we are to succeed."

"My hatred?" Vos laughed nervously as Ventress allowed a black snake to climb up her arm. "That's not exactly the Jedi way."

Ventress looked at the snake that curled around her arm. "As I warned you…To defeat Dooku we cannot do things the Jedi way."

She grabbed the snake by the neck with the Force and it began to thrash.

"When Ky Narec was killed I allowed my hatred to take over. Hatred gave me access to abilities the Jedi think are too unnatural. But the Sith know that the path to hatred is the path to unlimited power." Ventress dropped the snake when it went limp.

Vos stared at the snake, speaking without breaking his eyes off the dead animal. "I…I understand your feelings. I also lost my master. He was killed early on in the war. It was to suppress my emotions, the rage I felt at his passing. And I understand your guilt too." Vos paused for a second. "I was supposed to be his partner that day. But instead, the Council sent me on a separate mission. I always felt that if I had been there, I could have saved Master Tholme."

Ventress could feel the hate building in Vos. "I remember that battle."

Vos's head whipped up. "You were _there_?"

Ventress stiffened and answered quickly. "No, Dooku bragged about it to me. It was he who killed your master. He even kept Tholme's lightsaber as a trophy."

Vos winced and Ventress could feel the anger in him. "I never knew. The Council never saw fit to tell me."

"Let that anger quide you." Ventress encourage quietly. "Your feelings of loss for your master."

"I was trained not to use those emotions." Vos said uneasily.

"Because you were a Jedi."

Vos winced. "But…I am still."

Ventress stepped up in front of Vos, placing a hand on his cheek. "There are other emotions the Jedi taught you not to use. Do you deny them, as well?"

Vos looked at her for a moment before pulling her into his arms and kissed her. "No, not anymore."

" _Good._ "

Both Ventress and Vos spun around in shock as a green orb appeared before them and took the form of someone Ventress knew very well. "…Mother Talzin."

"Talzin? The leader of the Nightsister Clan?" Vos asked, wary of the specter before them.

" _Yes. Welcome home, my sister._ " Mother Talzin greeted warmly. " _It is always good when a lost sister returns home._ "

"Why have you re-appeared before me? You told me to find my own destiny." Ventress said accusingly.

" _I did and I am pleased that you found such a path, sister. However, recent events have shown that if we are to defeat the Sith than we must all come together. You are training this outsider to kill Count Dooku, correct?_ "

"I am." Ventress nodded and Vos nodded along with her.

" _Good. I offer my assistance in aiding this plan and you will not be alone._ " Talzin gestured and out of mist came Zabraks in tribal clothing, all of them armed.

"The Nightbrothers?" Ventress asked.

" _Are still loyal to the sisters, even if they are only two left._ " Talzin stated. " _With their help we can draw out Count Dooku and kill him but including his master, Darth Sidious._ "

"You know Sidious?" Vos asked loudly.

Talzin nodded. " _Yes, I know Sidious. I know he considers us a threat and will do everything in his power to eliminate us so as long as we live. That is why I propose that Jedi and Nightsisters work together to destroy the Sith. Ventress will train you and we will bring Dooku and Sidious out into the open._ "

"How do you know I can trust you? You were the reason Savage Oppress was unleashed onto the galaxy and that brought Darth Maul back which led to both galaxies nearly being brought to war." Vos pointed out.

" _Master Jedi, it was no intention of mine to cause such destruction. Savage was powerful but his anger and hate was too great to be controlled and directed by any of us. I only sought to help my dear sister take her revenge on Count Dooku and we both paid for it with the blood of our people. Now is our chance for redemption by destroying the Sith and ending this war._ " Talzin said softly as she spread her arms out. " _For the sake of the galaxy, let us work together to save it._ "

Vos shared a small glance with Ventress who frowned in discomfort before looking back at Talzin with a nod. "All right, I agree. Considering how dangerous this mission is we can use all the help we can get."

" _Good, good. Our alliance has begun._ " Talzin said grandly.


	59. Chapter 59

**Journal of the 501st**

 **Amongst the Ruins**

 **Pre-Battle Entry** _: In the waning months of the Clone Wars, the 501st faced missions critical to the agenda of Chancellor Palpatine. When we arrived at the bombed-out ruins of Mygeeto, our Jedi commander believed we had been sent to take out a droid energy collector. What Ki-Adi-Mundi didn't know, however, was that our unit of the 501st was really after an experimental Mygeetan power source, that the Chancellor wanted for his "superlaser." Keeping Mundi in the dark wasn't easy; the Jedi had become increasingly wary of the Chancellor's doings, and were on the lookout for the slightest hint of treachery. Just like the rest of them though, he never caught whiff of what was really going on, until it was far too late._

* * *

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Albarrio Sector  
Mygeeto System  
Mygeeto  
Mygeetian City**

The sentient lemur-like Lurmens were indigenous to Mygeeto in times long forgotten during the Pre-Republic era. When the Muun controlled InterGalactic Banking Clan discovered Mygeeto, the native Lurmens were reduced to a status little better than slaves. Due to easily mined formations of naturally-occurring, high-quality crystals and jagged rocks present on the planet, the InterGalactic Banking Clan guarded Mygeeto with a fleet of warships including Munificent-class star frigates. As a result, access by rivals to the planet was difficult.

Even if intruders had bypassed the blockade, they were faced with the harsh, frozen surface of the planet itself. The Jedi had always wanted to explore the planet because of the large supply of natural crystals suitable for lightsaber construction, but the Banking Clan would not allow it. The Banking Clan also constructed several cities on Mygeeto. These cities were used for administering the surrounding crystal mines, though they also contained vaults which were used by the Banking Clan to store its treasures. Mygeeto had even become the sister world of the Muuns' own homeworld, Muunilinst.

During the Clone Wars, Mygeeto became a valuable member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and was as a result named by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine as part of a "Triad of Evil", alongside Felucia and Saleucami. Master Ki-Adi-Mundi had been assigned to Mygeete to destroy a droid energy collecter to cripple the Separatist Army on the planet. After the battle of Cato Nemodia had ended the Republic had slowly begun pushing the Separatists out of the Inner Rim and with their industries now aimed at giving the Republic everything it needed to win the war the Chancellor had ordered the Grand Army of the Republic to launch a full assault at the Separatists still stationed in the Outer Rim. In the meantime the Jedi Council had started making plans in the wake of the discovery that Dooku had guided the creation of the clone army and the bio-chip that contained a set of orders for the clones to obey.

Including an order to remove the Jedi by lethal force.

Master Mundi wasn't sure just what exactly Master Yoda was planning that involved the Milky Way but he had to believe there was a chance to save the Jedi Order. In the meantime after the Republic landed, the Galactic Marines began pounding the Mygeetan landscape with torpedo bombardments and fuel fires. The 501st were deployed at the southern section of a small city. Only one gunship could land, due to dual particle cannon turrets. Other gunships provided aerial support.

An AT-RT was deployed and the 501st assaulted the southernmost bridge. The troopers took the bridge and captured the Confederacy's forward command post. Then the two particle cannon turrets were destroyed, allowing General Mundi to land. As soon he had landed Mundi led his forces across the bridge, deflecting shots as he slipped past the shields blocking the way to the energy collector and destroyed them quickly.

He captured a small outpost before moving on to the last shield generator, destroying it and opening the way to the droid collector. The northern bridge was heavily guarded but Mundi and the men of the 501st pushed across the bridge with Mundi running around the building, destroying the shield generators covering the entrances to the building. Once the shields were down Mundi rushed in, taking out the Destroyer-droids that had been programmed to guard the collector. Once they were down Mundi turned to the energy collector and slashed at it over and over until it finally overloaded and exploded.

His work done, Mundi returned to the southern landing pad to move to the front lines. Once he was gone the clone troopers retrieved the crystal samples that had been used to power the droid energy collector for a special project the Chancellor had labelled 'Hammertong'. A top secret secret military project aimed at creating something called a superlaser.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Amongst the Ruins**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _The success of the mission on Mygeeto was something of a revelation for the men of the 501st. Suddenly we realized that the Jedi could be fooled. And if they could be fooled, they could be killed._

* * *

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Nuiri Sector  
Stygeon System  
Stygeon Prime  
The Spire**

"It would be wise to kill me."

Darth Sidious grinned at his former apprentice, held in the agony booth. "Do not mistake the fact that I have allowed you to live for compassion, my _former_ apprentice."

Darth Maul glared back at his former master. "There is a purpose for everything in the galaxy…And a way to destroy it."

"I see you remember your lessons." Sidious remarked in amusement as the door behind him opened and in walked Count Dooku.

"You summoned me, Master?" Dooku asked, standing behind Sidious.

"Ah, yes my _apprentice_. Come, Count Dooku let us leave here. We have much to discuss." Sidious said, taunting Maul as they walked out of the cell.

Maul narrowed his eyes and glared at Dooku with hate. "Dooku…"

The two Sith left Maul's cell, closing the door. "There are many forces poised against us. To ensure our complete victory, we must root out and destroy all our enemies."

"You speaks of enemies other than the Jedi and the Milky Way?" Dooku questioned.

"I speak of that Dathomir witch, Mother Talzin." Sidious replied.

"The reports from General Grievous suggest that she was killed when he invaded Dathomir." Dooku pointed out.

"The fact that Maul _lives_ is proof enough Grievous failed to destroy her." Sidious retorted. "My history with the Dathomir witches goes back further than you know. Maul came to me as a child, a not so appreciated gift from Mother Talzin. Her spite for me runs me deep and the time has come for me to deal with her."

"What would you ask of me, my lord?" Dooku asked as they stepped onto the landing platform.

"Maul has used the underworld and the allies of the Iconians to form a base of power. Find out what you can. In the end we shall use Maul to lead us to Talzin." Sidious stepped onto the ramp of his ship.

"Why not simply send our armies to Dathomir?" Dooku questioned.

"Because such methods cannot defeat a witch that powerful. Talzin must be 'coaxed' into the light…Before she is permantently snuffed out." Sidious answered and boarded his ship.

 **Other Side of the Prison**

Two commando droids were stationed at a hatch, unaware of the hidden enemy that leapt down from above and took them out before they could even process they were being attacked. The attackers wore Mandalorian armor, colored black and red with horn like decorations on their helmets.

One of them held up a holo-communicator that projected former Prime Minister of Mandalore Almec. " _Commander Saxon, what is your status?_ "

"We followed the Terran ship carrying Maul to Stygeon. Our scans show he is being held somewhere on level seven." The Mandalorian named Saxon answered.

" _Proceed with your extraction. Once you have him, rendezvous with our forces on Zanbar._ " Almec ordered.

"It shall be done." Saxon nodded.

 **Maul's Cell**

"The Hutts and the Iconians have abandoned you, Maul. But Black Sun, the Pykes, and elements of the True Way remain loyal. I want your resources and your sway over the black market." Dooku demanded his predecessor.

Maul was not impressed with his successor. "You are Dooku, the Jedi Betrayer? I have heard much of you since my rebirth. I expected…More."

"I'll ask this only once." Dooku stated. "Give me the names of your underworld leaders and the locations of your Shadow Collective bases and any information regarding the Iconians."

"Never." Maul said defiantly and was rewarded with a burst of Force Lightning that caused him to scream in addition the pain he still felt from the agony booth.

Dooku turned away from Maul as scorching smoke rose from his body. "Know that there is nothing you possess that I cannot take away. I hope our next conversation will be more fruitful."

* * *

"Charges placed and primed."

Saxon readed himself. "Light them up, fast."

* * *

 **BOOM!**

"Status report!" Dooku said immediately after hearing explosion.

"Some kind of explosive on level three, sir! Alerting security and dispatching a fire crew now!" The lead commando droid reported.

"Level three? Send a group of destroyers to level seven as well." Dooku said quickly. "If someone is attempting to infiltrate this prison, I have a feeling that's where their real target lies."

* * *

Dooku's orders were carried out as Destroyer droids were stationed at Maul's cell, ready for anything…

Except for what happened next.

"Hit them now!" Saxon shouted and his counterpart fired a missile at the droids, destroying them and the door to Maul's cell, releasing Maul from the agony booth.

Saxon was at Maul's side instantly. "Lord Maul, we're going to get you out of here. Can you walk?"

Maul grunted. "I have become indifferent to pain."

"More droids coming this way. They're still down the corridor." The other Mandalorian reported as blaster bolts shot down the hall.

"We still have time." Saxon said, running out and shooting at the droids.

" _This_ was your plan?" Maul asked as he ran out of the cell.

"You might want to step back, Lord Maul." Saxon advised and launched a missile at the wall, blowing a hole in the fortress. " _This_ was our plan."

Saxon covered them as his counterpart fired a grappling cable down the mountain. Maul slid down the cable while his two allies rocketed down after him with their jetpacks.

The droids all gathered at the hole and one asked what they were all considering. "Should we follow them?"

"Negative."

"Negative."

"Negative."

"Definitely negative."

A ship came up from below and hovered in front of the hole, blinding the droids with its search lights.

"Uh oh."

The ship fired, blasting the droids and destroying much of the fortress before taking off.

One droid that barely survived managed to contact its superior. "Um…Bzzzk…It looks like the prisoner has-Bzzzk!-Escaped sir."

* * *

 _Captain's Log Supplemental: We have received word from Bo-Katan's contact on Mandalore that Death Watch, under supervision of Almec has planned a rescue mission of Darth Maul. We have followed their ship to the Stygeon system where they have just escaped, destroying a CIS prison in their wake. I believe we have located Maul and are following at a safe distance while under cloak. It seems even if the Iconians and the True Way are no longer aiding him Maul still has resources to call upon._

"Captain, a transmission has been sent from the prison on the planet. It is tachyon based." The Vulcan science officer, Suran reported.

"So the CIS will know of Maul's escape." Creed stated, sharing a look with Katan who stood next to him. "And they'll soon go after him with everything they've got."

"And here I am hoping that Maul and Dooku will kill each other." Katan said dryly. "By the looks of it they are heading to Zanbar. That was where Death Watch kept its main camps before allying with Maul."

Creed turned away from the science station. "Follow that ship. Maintain the cloak. I don't want us caught in a war between the Shadow Collective and the Confederacy."

"Aye sir."

* * *

" _Maul's ship has been tracked to the planet Zanbar. Direct your fleet there and engage him. He's had time to marshal his forces so be prepared._ " Dooku instructed.

Grievous however was not pleased with how things had turned out. "You should have killed Maul when you had him in your custody. I told you he was too dangerous to live."

" _Do not question the plans of my master._ " Dooku harshly rebuked. " _Remember, you must hurt Maul, but not destroy him. Weaken his forces, injure his pride._ "

"What then, my lord?" Grievous asked, keeping himself professional.

" _Then he will do what any would. He will cry for help._ " Dooku said and ended the call.

Grievous narrowed his eyes as he sat back in contemplation. Ever since he had found out that his mind had been tampered with he had worked to see who in the Separatist Alliance had ordered it and who had known about it. His first thought went to Poggle the Lesser and his Geonosian bugs along with San Hill who was the one who suggested Grievous undergo the operation that turned him into a cyborg and both had answered to Count Dooku. It wasn't easy as San Hill was a coward who was constantly on the run and Poggle was still in prison on Coruscant.

He then set about discovering information on his operation through his contacts in the CIS whom he had made sure would not sell him out to Dooku and based on what they told him Dooku approved of everything regarding his operation.

That might even include the tampering with his mind.

These relevations only made Grievous determined to exact vengeance but it wasn't easy since if he took Dooku out too soon the CIS might fall apart with Sidious turning the droid armies against him. He had to wait, having to be patient as Dooku had often told him.

And then he would have his revenge.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Mandalore Sector  
Zanbar System  
Zanbar  
Shadow Collective Base**

The Death Watch ship landed at the secret base established on Zanbar by the Shadow Collective before moving to Mandalore. It was still armed and staffed with Mandalorians, Hirogen warriors and Jem'Hadar who stayed with Death Watch for the purpose of fighting great battles. The troops were already assembled as Maul took his first steps on the planet and greeted the man who arranged his freedom.

"Prime Minister Almec. I have you to think for securing my release?" Maul asked the holographic image of Almec.

" _You released **me** from prison. I have now returned the favor. We recovered the darksaber from the caverns of Bajor._ " Almec replied as Saxon handed Maul the darksaber. " _Black Sun, the Jem'Hadar and the Pykes still follow you, Lord Maul. As do we. What is your command?_ "

Maul activated the saber and held it above his head as he addressed the troops. "The war you have waited your entire lives is upon us, my brothers! Victory or death!"

"VICTORY OR DEATH!" The troops chanted.

The chanting stopped as CIS landing craft were soon spotted in the sky.

"Incoming Separatist dropships! We're under attack!" A trooper reported.

"Unleash the full might of the Shadow Collective upon them!" Maul ordered.

The ground weapons had been upgraded from turbo-lasers to plasma-disruptor arrays upon the Shadow Collective allying with the True Way and the Tal Shiar and they demonstrated their lethality by shooting down drop ships one by one.

 **Orbit  
CIS Command Ship**

"The Mandalorians' heavy fire power is repelling our dropships." The tactical droid reported.

"Launch bombers and have them fire on their ground installations and press the attack." Grievous ordered. "Deploy our infantry, every last soldier. We are not fighting clones this time. These are Mandalorian Warriors along with other warriors from the Milky Way. Send in everything we have and hope that will be enough. Because I can calculate with certainty, based on experience, the odds are stacked against us!"

 **Surface**

The CIS fought back as their fighters and bombers attacked the ground turrets, managing to take them out at the expanse of dozens of droid fighters. The dropships deployed all their droid units who marched against the Death Watch, Hirogan and Jem'Hadar forces that fought back viciously. The polaron weaponry phased through the shields of destroyer droids and allowed the Shadow Collective to push forward through the droid army. Maul jumped through the air and landed in between the droids before hacking through them with the darksaber.

"Maul! Your end is at hand!" Maul looked up and saw another dropship with General Grievous staring down at him. "Go soften him up."

Grevious's bodyguards, his Magnaguards leapt out of the ship and landed perfectly on the ground, surrounding Maul.

"You cowards!" Saxon shouted as he blasted droid after droid with his comrades.

Maul sliced through one Magnaguard's torso before jumping over another and sliced it down the middle of its body, letting out a blood curdling roar as he did. Grievous finally jumped down, landing in the middle of the battle and rushed towards a commando who shot at him.

"Too afraid to meet me face to face?" The commando shouted as Grievous dodged every shot.

Grievous replied by pulling out two lightsabers and impaling the commando through the chest. "We can settle it this way, if that's what you desire."

"GRIEVOUS!" Grievous looked up and saw Maul falling towards him, swinging the darksaber down and quickly blocked with both lightsabers. "I'm more than a match for you!"

"Your efforts are useless! Your army is skilled but my forces are unending!" Grievous kicked Maul back. "Look around, your Mandalorians have been crushed! Only my droids now remain. Your battle is already lost!"

It was true as despite their skills they were outnumbered and even the tough skin of the Jem'Hadar and the personal shields given to the Mandalorians it was still a losing battle. The only consolation is that they took nearly the entire droid army down with them.

Maul growled in frustration but looked back and saw the Gauntlet Fighters launch into the sky. "We're not finished yet! My Gauntlet Fighters have yet to enter the fight!"

The fighters dropped bombs on the droids, destroying them all and leaving only Maul and Grievous as the survivors. Maul leapt up onto a ship that hovered over him and it took off.

Grievous brought out his communicator and contacted Dooku. "I've done as you've asked. I have made Maul bleed. He and his army are now on the run."

" _What were his losses?_ " Dooku asked.

"Extensive. But in truth, I had all but exhausted my own forces as well." Grievous admitted.

" _Acceptable losses, General. You have done well. Maul will believe that we are attempting to destroy his power base and disrupt his syndicate. He must not learn our true intentions._ " Dooku stated.

"The witch Talzin?" Grievous questioned.

" _Yes, my master feels these attacks will draw her out into the open._ "

"Why would she risk herself so? What value does Maul hold for her?" Grievous asked.

Dooku grinned. " _All in good time, General. You will see in good time._ "

 **Hyperspace  
Death Watch Fleet**

"Mother…Mother, I implore you…I seek your guidance." Maul whispered, sitting alone in his private quarters.

He gasped as a green mist burst from his chest but calmed himself when he heard _her_ voice. " _Do not fight me, my child. Become my vessel. Speak to me, my beloved son._ "

Maul opened his eyes and looked into the spectral eyes of his mother. "I have done as you wished. The power I amassed lured your enemy, Sidious. He captured me but I escaped his grasp."

" _We must assume he allowed you to break free. With Sidious, nothing is never as it seems. We must be this way as well._ " Talzin advised.

"You are wise as ever, Mother." Maul said humbly. "Grievous and his droid army has driven us from Zanbar. We are wounded but alive. What is your guidance?"

" _Sidious will expect you to retreat to my protection. We will not do this. Lead your fleet to Ord Mantell, your allies, Black Sun have a stronghold there._ " Talzin advised. " _Gather your strength and prepare yourself. Our next move is critical._ "

"You will meet me there, Mother?" Maul asked.

" _I will not. However, aid from Dathomir shall soon be yours. Our victory will be total and complete._ "

 **Ord Mantell  
Shadow Collective Base**

The base on Ord Mantell had been heavily modified by the True Way and the Tal Shiar, now armed with high powered landbased shield generators, phaser and disruptor turrets with multiple redundant power generators, and even Jem'Hadar birthing pods that produced dozens of Jem'Hadar each day, giving the Shadow Collective a massive army capable of rivaling the CIS and the Republic.

"A battle is coming my brothers. A battle between the Sith and that which they fear the most, _us_." Maul addressed his allies.

Ziton Moj, the leader of Black Sun chose to speak up. "You inspire us all, Lord Maul. But do you truly intend to fight Count Dooku and his Separatist legions?"

Maul crossed his arms. "Their forces are mindless droid, Ziton Moj. Take out their leadership and they will fall. These Clone Wars have overextended Dooku and General Grievous. They are more vulnerable then they realize."

The new leader of the Pykes caught on. "And they remain unaware of our true numbers."

"Precisely, Fife. We can attack them directly. When Dooku and Grievous arrive we'll be waiting to trap them in their own net." Maul clenched his fists.

 **Deep Space  
CIS Fleet  
Grievous's Command Ship**

"Our spies report Mandalorian and Dominion ships amassing on Ord Mantell which only confirms the Black Sun is in league with Maul's syndicate." Grievous said as Dooku stepped onto the bridge.

"And it is there that he gathers his army, General." Dooku replied. "We cannot strike until we confirmation that Talzin is there with him."

"Why is this witch so important, my lord? She has no army, no power compared to ours." Grievous questioned.

"Talzin is an older and fouler creature than you guess, General. Her power runs deep. Her teachings, her magick were sought out by my master. They were allies once." Dooku explained. "Now her meddling could compromise all of our designs. She must be destroyed."

The tactical droid stepped up to the commanders. "Sir, reconasssance droids near Dathomir report a single transport shuttle left the planet's surface moments ago."

"Were they able to scan the ship?" Grievous asked.

"Unable to confirm. Also unable to determine its exact trajectory but Ord Mantell is a possibility." The droid answered.

"The witch may be attempting to reach Maul even as we speak. Input the coordinates to Ord Mantell and instruct the fleet to follow us into hyperspace." Dooku ordered. "When we arrive you will command the bombardment from orbit, General and you will leave Talzin to me."

It was time for Dooku to exact full revenge on Talzin for nearly killing him in their last few encounters.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Underground Chamber**

The screams from the operating table continued as droids began grafting cybernetic prosthetics onto the patient. He had been cut up open as the droids grafted metal into his body, his chest so they could install breathing tubes, his head so they could install implants into what used to be his ears, and so new limbs could be added to where his former arms and legs used to be. However what the droids did not expect was that as they worked on him were the Borg nanoprobes inside him that continued to help heal him from the inside. They reacted to the surgery, the electricity from the tools the droids were using to cut him and install cybernetics that caused the nanoprobes to reactivate.

And once they reactivated they tried to assimilate the patient.

The patient's skin turned grey as he screamed but even though his body was damaged his mind and will were still strong. He fought back against the will voice of the Collective that attempted to absorb his mind, using all of his feelings to fuel his powers to dominate the invaders that sought to control him. And it seemed to work as the medi-chlorians inside him reacted to the nanoprobes, assimilating and absorbing them instead, breaking them down and adding their knowledge to his own instead of the other way around and as the voices of the Collective grew silent he mentally commanded the machines inside him to repair him.

And they started by infecting the droid as they preformed surgery on him and that had caused a great reaction.

The nanobots touched by the droids during the surgery, coming into contact with them as they came in contact with him and traveled through their arms and into their bodies, unable to assimilate them or the patient but they had been directed to continue keeping the body they were injected into alive and they were also infected by the strength of the patient's mental commands that demanded he'd be healed. The nanobots had responded to the surgery, seeing the droids as something harming the body they were in but as they infected the droids they interfaced with the computer brains of the droids, downloading their knowledge into them.

"Programming compromised. Initiate reboot-" The droids stopped as they powered down for a mere second but then rebooted, with improved knowledge supplied by the Borg nanoprobes.

"Current directive: repair subject…"

"Current prosthetics inadequate…"

"Current life support system inadequate…"

"Current mobile system inadequate…"

"Downloading data to upgrade current designs…"

"Upgrading mobile support unit with titanium endoskeleton with modified tritanium prosthetics and improved improved functions…"

"Upgrading power source with Krellide Batteries…"

"Current headpiece scanners inadequate…"

"Installing multi-spectral scanners into headpiece…"

"Installing occipital implant to interface with headpiece…"

"Installing microfilter implant for improved bio-immune system…"

"Installing neural implant for bioelectrical interface with scanners…"

"Upgrading current life support system to internal life support with oxygen recycler and bio-synethic gland system…"

"Installing audio implants and subspace transceivers into head piece for long range communications…"

"Installing Personal Adaptive Regenerative Shield for additional protection…"

"Upgrade in process."

The new knowledge supplied by the Borg nanoprobes allowed the droids to continue working on the patient, the nanoprobes creating new implants inside the patient's body.

When Darth Sidious finally returned the droids had finished the surgery. "My lord. The construction is finished. He lives."

Darth Sidious grinned. "Good."

He had sent for the technology that had been used to transform what was left of Grievous into a cyborg that had proven to be a success, given the many Jedi Grievous had killed during the war. In addition to that Sidious had used Sith rituals to not only keep his new apprentice alive but further cement his new allegiance to the dark side. These rituals played on his darkest fears, showing what has happened to those he cared about, both recently and in the future.

The death of his mother.

How the Jedi had abandoned his apprentice Ahsoka in her time of need.

Showing him his secret wife Padme working with the traitor Clovis who attempted to reignite their past relationship.

And then a vision of his wife dying in childbirth.

Yes, Sidious knew that Padme Amidala was pregnant with the offspring of Anakin Skywalker. He sensed the small life growing in her and he could see her possible future which he shared with his new apprentice. It was so easy to corrupt him, especially when he spoke of his mentor, Darth Plaguies and powers he had learned during his quest for immortality. It had not been the path he had seen with the appearance of the Milky Way but the threat of the Iconians had actually pushed Anakin to embrace the Dark Side as a means to protect Amidala.

He was only even more convinced when the Jedi were quick to turn on Ahsoka, believing she was a murderer and responsible for the bombing of the Jedi Temple which caused her to resign after her innocence was proven. They were willing to let her be put on trial as a traitor while the true bomber continued to live among them.

And then they let her go to be attacked by bounty hunters who possibly killed her.

It was even better than he could have hoped since Anakin had once confided in him how powerful he felt the famous Darth Revan had been during their meeting in the past.

How he hoped to one day be as strong as Revan.

There was a faint, breathing sound that sounded like someone was breathing through something mechanical.

 _Kooh-Pur_

The table rose up, revealing to Sidious a figure that looked both humanoid and machine. He wore a black helmet and a fierce looking mask showing only black reflective lenses and a triangular mouth piece that emitted a harsh breathing sound. He was almost and intimidating six and a half feet tall, dressed completely in black from head to toe.

He wore black armor along with a long flowing cape that reached the ground.

"Welcome back to the living, Anakin Skywalker." Sidious said with a grin. "You have been revived, reborn and more powerful than before as my apprentice. Learn to use the Dark Side of the Force and fulfill your destiny."

The mask looked at him. "…What is thy bidding, my master?"

"There is a great disturbance in the Force now. Since the time of Darth Bane there have always been two, a Master and an Apprentice. But now there more than two in the galaxy and I sense these powers are about to collide. To ensure the survival of the Sith all those who are weak are to be eliminated while the strong remain to carry on the Sith. We shall go and face this trial and we will emerge victorious." Sidious proclaimed as his new apprentice broke his bonds. "Together, we shall rule the galaxy. From henceforth, you shall be known as Darth…Vader."

His new apprentice bowed his head. "Thank you, Master."

"Rise."

And Darth Vader rose to do his master's bidding.

 **Ord Mantel  
Shadow Collective Base**

"Their attack will begin by forces will be committed only after they believe the battle is won. We lure them into chokepoints here. Use their numbers against them. Once we draw them in, the Mandalorians will lead the Jem'Hadar, the Pykes, and Black Sun's mercenaries in a full scale counterattack." Darth Maul outlined the plan to his lieutenants. "What we lack in numbers, we'll make up in superior ability and mastery of the terrain."

Saxon entered the command center. "Lord Maul, we have an incoming transport from Dathomir."

"Saxon, with me. Kast, bring the others up to speed on the rest of my plan." Maul said before leaving the room.

He walked outside with his troops assembled and watched as the shuttle landed and the ramp lowered.

From out of the ship came a group of Zabraks, all of them armed and ready for battle.

"Lord Maul." The leader of the group spoke as the rest bowed in submission. "I am Brother Viscus. Mother Talzin has sent us to aid you."

"Nightbrothers, pure warriors. Mother has chosen well." Maul said, closing his eyes. "I sense…The droids are here."

 **CIS Fleet  
Command Ship**

Grievous watched as the fleet emerged from hyperspace, coming into orbit of Ord Mantell. "Fire!"

The fleet aimed all of their weapons down to the surface where the Shadow Collective base was stationed and fired. Turbo-laser bolts with enough power to melt an entire ice planet rained down on the surface of Ord Mantell.

 **Surface  
Shadow Collective Base**

"They are upon us! Take your positions!" Maul shouted as the city came under fire. "Brother Viscus, there is no time for a briefing. Take your Nightbrothers to my command center and wait for my word Saxon, you know what to do. Prepare for their ground assault." Maul rushed past his soldiers. "Hold them until we are in position."

"You heard him, let's go scrap some droids! Victory or death!" Saxon shouted, rallying his troops.

"VICTORY OR DEATH!"

As soon as the city was levelled the CIS fleet released landing craft down onto the surface, releasing the droid armies to mop up any survivors.

 **CIS Fleet  
Command Ship**

"Infanty deployed sir." The tactical droid reported.

"Good, Tey-Zuka. We have them on the run!" Grievous said, looking at the holo-image of the city and the status of the army. "Once our droids take control of the city, Maul's forces will be insects under our heels!"

 **Surface  
Shadow Collective Base**

Count Dooku's Solar Sailer landed in a section of the city not affected by the bombing and he stepped out with Magnagaurds flanking him. "Find Maul and the others. No other targets matter. Level the city until they are found!"

It was only a matter of finding which hole they had dug themselves into.

 **CIS Fleet  
Command Ship**

"All gunnery decks are reloaded and recharged, sir. The fleet is ready to resume bombardment at your order." Tey-Zuka reported.

"Not yet. Something isn't right." Grievous narrowed his eyes. "We know Maul has several Mandalorian and True Way ships at his disposal, but we have seen no aerial support protecting the city. So where are they?"

"I calculate they were destroyed before they could lift off." Tey-Zuka suggested.

The ship suddenly shook with consoles sparkling and exploding.

"No! They weren't destoyed!" Grievous looked out the view windows and saw what had caused the ship to shake. "They were luring us into a trap!"

Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighters along with Jem'Hadar Attackships and Hirogen vessels swarmed the CIS fleet, taking them by complete surprise. The polaron beams from the Jem'Hadar ships passed through any shields they fired with surgical precision at the CIS ships, taking out the bridge and engines of any ships they targeted. And from the other side of planet emerged the first of its kind, the _Vizla_ class Star Destroyer, renamed the _Tor_. Built and designed in the image of warships used by the Mandalorians around the time of the Mandalorian Wars with the Republic the _Tor_ resembled the Republic _Venator_ cruisers but without the bridge towers and was built using technology from the Milky Way, making it more advanced and it showed by how fast it moved and how destructive its weapons were.

High powered phaser beams lashed out, destroying two CIS _Munificent_ class frigates by targeting their bridges and fired a full spread of quantum torpedoes that hammered over a dozen CIS ships at once. The _Tor_ led the attack, destroying two Confederate frigates by bombarding them with tri-cobalt warheards as it approached the CIS command ship.

 **Maul's Flagship  
Bridge**

"Focus on the command ship while the fleet's cannons are still aimed at the surface of the planet. When we capture Grievous, the droid armies will fall along with him." Maul ordered his fleet, watching as they attacked the CIS fleet.

 **Ord Mantell  
Surface**

Dooku entered the remains of the command center, feeling for Maul and Talzin's Force signatures. "Maul _was_ here."

He stood up as he sensed movement and spun around to see his two bodyguards fall after being taken out from behind. Dooku narrowed his eyes when he saw who had attacked them.

"Welcome, Count. Mother Talzin sends her regards." Brother Viscus of the Nightbrothers greeted as his warriors surrounded Dooku. "We have come to deal with you in her place."

Dooku ignited his lightsaber. "You will find that task beyond your abilities, Nightbrothers."

 **Orbit**

Maul's alliance with the True Way had given him a bigger advantage as the Jem'Hadar could beam through the shields of the CIS ships and soon enough Grievous found his ship being invaded by Jem'Hadar warriors and Darth Maul himself who all appeared on the bridge.

"One warning, disconnect the droids from the command signal…" Maul swept his arms out, lashing out with the Force and destroying every droid on the bridge. "Or die!"

Grievous moved to grab his lightsabers but Maul slammed himself into the cyborg, knocking him into the viewing glass and causing it to crack. "Gurrf!"

Maul pulled out the darksaber and ignited it close to Grievous's neck. "Or do both, it matters not to me."

 **Surface**

Count Dooku had proved himself to be more than a match for the Nightbrothers, even with only one hand as he slashed, hacked, and killed several of them. However the command center was flooded with Shadow Collective troops, all of them surrounding Dooku.

"That's far enough, Dooku!" Saxon said, ready to kill the Count if he even so much as blinked.

 **Orbit  
CIS Command Ship**

As soon as Grievous was taken away by his troops Maul asked to be left alone on the bridge. "It is done, Mother."

The green mist emerged from his chest, projecting the image of Mother Talzin who Maul bowed to.

"Dooku and Grievous have been captured. We now control their forces." Maul said submissively.

Talzin reached out and touched Maul's cheek. "Y _ou have done well, my son. Soon Sidious will follow and together we will have our revenge._ "

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Chancellor Palpatine's Office**

" _Darth Maul?_ "

Palpatine looked out the window of his office. "So it would seem, Master Jedi. The citizens who survived the blitz on Ord Mantell identified Count Dooku leading the charge against a red-skinned Force wielder of some type. Could this be the 'rogue Sith' you are searching for?"

" _It he is, and if he and Dooku are fighting against each other. Perhaps the Republic can use this intel to capture them both and finally end this war._ " Master Windu suggested.

"By all means, do whatever it takes. Whatever resources you require. Bring these villains to justice before they inflict anymore harm on the galaxy." Palpatine gave Windu his blessing.

 **Ord Mantell  
Shadow Collective Base**

"This just got more interesting." Master Windu remarked after his conversation with the Chancellor and walked into the small command center that had been set up with Masters Kenobi and Tiplee waiting for him. "What do we know, Master Kenobi?"

"It's clear the Separatist droid army battled against a massive force here. But exactly _what_ that force was remains a mystery." Obi-Wan answered.

"It's as if the opposing soldiers took care to collect all trace of their presence on the way out." Tiplee concured.

"Not _all_ , Tiplee." Aayla Secura stepped into the command center, carrying a damaged Mandalorian helmet. "Commander Wolffe and his men uncovered this just outside the city walls."

"Mandalorians?" Windu frowned. "This confirms our intel from the Mandalorian resistance that the alliance between Prime Minister Almec and the underworld is still intact."

Obi-Wan activated the projector, bringing up the image of the surrounding systems. "We know that Black Sun has a foothold. Could the Shadow Collective be staging a major operation in that sector? There is a known Mandalorian supply post in this system. Maul could be lurking in the shadows there."

"We can't let Mandalore fall into the hands of the Separatists." Windu stated.

"I agree." Obi-Wan replied. "Master Tiplee and I will investigate that outpost and see what comes scurrying out when we shine a light on it."

 **Deep Space  
Shadow Collective Outpost  
Command Center**

" _Lord Tyranus, you disappoint me._ " The image of Darth Sidious said cooly upon seeing the shackled forms of Dooku and Grievous before it.

Maul took no hesitation in taunting his former master. " _Now_ you see their failure and yet you could not forsee the trap I laid for them. Your schemes are unraveling, Sidious. Without your generals your armies will be crushed, as will your plans."

" _That only proves their weakness, not my own. What are your demands?_ "

"Not _my_ demands, _Mother Talzin's._ " Maul said hotly, leaning forward. "Yes, you remember the Mother! She was your ally but you used her as you used me before throwing us away. As you will these two."

" _Kill them. I have no further use for them._ " Sidious stated.

Maul activated the darksaber and held it close to Dooku's neck. "So be it. Since new apprentices are apparently so _easy_ to find…"

" _Tread lightly, Maul. Revenge is a dangerous game, one you never seem to win._ "

Maul had enough and ended the call. "I only lost when I followed _you_ , old man."

"What do we do with these two?" The guard behind Grievous asked.

"Take that _monstrosity_ to the brig and put him under constant watch." Maul waved his hand dismissively at Grievous. "Leave Count Dooku and me alone. We have much to discuss."

As the guards let him out of the room Grievous looked back over his shoulder at Dooku. "It would be unfortunate if next time we met, Count I had to add your lightsaber to my collection."

Dooku sneered. "We all have our parts to play, General. I look forward to our next encounter."

 **Approaching Shadow Collective Outpost  
Republic Command Ship  
Bridge**

"I sense your turmoil, Obi-Wan." Tiplee said, standing next to Obi-Wan as he glanced out into the asteroid field.

"My last encounter with Maul didn't go so well." Obi-Wan admitted.

"He attempted to murder the Duchess Satine and nearly unleashed a dangerous power on Bajor that would have endangered both galaxies. The Duchess is someone you care for." Tiplee commented.

"My emotions are under control, Master Tiplee. I will not fail you or the mission." Obi-Wan said assuringly.

"General Kenobi, probes have been launched and gunships are ready to scramble on your order. If Maul is hiding in there we'll drag him out." Cody reported.

 **Shadow Collective Outpost  
Command Center**

Maul stared out the transparasteel windows away from Dooku, his hands folded behind back. "I left you here to make you an offer. While Grievous is a creature of limited scope, you see much more." Maul turned around to face Dooku. "You abandoned the Jedi when you understood the Sith were gaining power. Now I suggest you abandon Sidious and serve me."

Dooku snorted and closed his eyes. "Do you really believe there is _any_ power in the galaxy that can stand against my lord? Ten thousand Jedi Knights will try this and all will fail. What hope will _your_ army have? What hope will _you_ have?"

Maul walked up to Dooku, stopping in front of him. "Mother Talzin has shown me _real_ power, I have seen the truth in this galaxy and in the Milky Way. Sidious is weaker than we realize. He fears Mother and with our combined strength will be his undoing."

" _Our_ combined strength?" Dooku raised an eyebrow. "When Mother Talzin and I last met she tried to destroy me."

"Things have changed." Maul stepped back and closed his eyes as a green must burst from his chest.

The mist morphed into the spectral image of Mother Talzin. " _Count Dooku. Forgive our previous disagreements. You were only following your master's will. Sidious is deceiving you as he once deceived me._ "

"Then you _know_ to betray the Dark Lord is folly." Dooku stated.

" _No, Count. To betray one's self is the ultimate defeat. Sidious seduces you with promises of power, but he already seeks to replace you._ " Talzin said, her words causing to Dooku to react with surprise and disbelief. " _Long ago, Sidious came to me on Dathomir. We exchanged secrets wisdom, mingled Dark Side abilities Nightsister Magiks. He promised to make me his right hand, but instead he stole what was most dear to me…My own flesh and blood. My son!_ "

Dooku's eyes went wide in shock at Talzin's words. "Maul? Your son?!"

" _Yes, Count. When Sidious realized Maul's potential, he took him from me and trained him as a Sith. When he was no longer useful Maul was left to die._ " Talzin's green mist swirled around Maul's legs, projecting the image of the cybernetic legs Maul had before his body had been restored to its complete organic form without any cybernetics. " _Look at him! Look at what my son had been and see your future! Sidious will betray you as he betrayed us but I will honor our alliance should you accept it. Join us. Together we can destroy Sidious and rule the galaxy…Or you can choose to die here alone._ "

 **Approaching Shadow Collective Outpost  
Republic Command Ship**

"A military base hidden among the asteroids? Are you certain?" Obi-Wan asked, rushing down to the hangar with Tiplee and Cody.

"No doubt about it. We finally have that red skinned monster in our cross hairs." Cody answered confidently.

Too bad Obi-Wan was not as confident. "With Maul nothing is at it appears, Cody. Let's move while we still have the element of surprise on our side."

They rushed into the hangar and boarded one of the gunship that launched from the hangar along with dozens of more gunships and fighters.

The hunt for the Sith was on.

 **Shadow Collective Outpost  
Command Center**

Saxon rushed into the command center, hastily saluting Maul just Talzin's form vanished. "My lord, we have incoming Republic ships."

"Order the _Tor_ to cloak and block their transmissions before they can us!" Maul ordered.

"It's too late for that." Saxon said, neither him and Maul paying attention to Dooku as made a gesture with his one hand, manipulating the nearby controls with the Force. "They already know that we're here!"

()

Grievous sat in his cell in a medative position and eyes closed. His eyes perked opened when his audio-receptors picked up the sound of the door opening and that was his chance.

He pounced on the two guards, smashing one's skill with his footand backhanding the other away. "Perhaps you are not so useless after all, Count!"

()

The outpost had not been upgraded with Milky Way technology, unlike the bases on Zanbar and Ord Mantell but it was still heavy armed with dozen hangars that were now launching Gauntlet fighters to defend the base. The fighters reached the swarm of Republic ships and fired on them with the Republic ships firing back.

"Punch through those ships and get us into that hangar!" Obi-Wan shouted into his wrist comm as the gun ship.

A stray bolt hit in the rear, causing its engines to catch fire as it flew towards a hangar. "Hold on!"

The gunship crashed into the hangar, smashing a Gauntlet fighter before coming to a stop. The gunship's doors opened and Obi-Wan jumped out with Master Tiplee and their troops, blocking deflectors bolts shot at by surviving Mandalorians.

"I sene Maul's presence." Obi-Wan said, deflecting another bolt. "Let's lock this place down until our reinforcements arrive."

"With pleasure, Master Kenobi!" Tiplee replied.

()

"Those of you who can still stand, return to your master," Grievous bulldozed his way through another group of guards that tried to stop him. "And tell him to send more men!"

Grievous tossed aside a dead Mandalorian, spotting an escape pod. "Ah, how convenient."

He opened the hatch and slid into the pod, launching it from the station a second later and directing it away from the battle.

Count Dooku was on his own.

 **Shadow Collective Outpost  
Command Center**

"We've been boarded. Two Jedi have been spotted in hangar three!" Saxon reported.

"What's it going to be, Count?" Maul held up Dooku's lightsaber. "Allies…Or death?"

Dooku narrowed his eyes as he held up his shackled arms. "Let's go kill some Jedi together."

Maul ignited the lightsaber and cut the shackles, giving Dooku back his lightsaber as they fell to the floor. "A wise decision."

 **Hangar Three**

Obi-Wan knocked a Mandalorian away with the Force as he and his comrades fought their way into the outpost. "Keep pressing forward! We have to reach the command center-"

The doors opened and out stepped Dooku and Maul, who quickly killed a clonetrooper with the darksaber.

"Or better yet, let us come to you." Dooku stated.

"So it is true, you _are_ working together!" Obi-Wan deflected another bolt but didn't take his eyes off the two Sith.

"Of course. Only our shared hatred of you could be strong enough to unite us!" Maul proclaimed, readying to fight.

"More gunships!" A clone shouted as a gunship flew into the hangar and slid past the Jedi and Sith, coming a crashing stop.

The gunship opened, allowing Master Windu and Aayla Secura to step out into the hangar, lightsabers drawn and ignited.

"Stand down in the name of the Republic. This has gone far enough, Dooku!" Mace ordered.

Dooku smirked. "Agreed. I can promise you that your _deaths_ won't be remembered."

Maul held the darksaber in both hands as he faced Secura and Windu. "Finally, a fair fight!"

Dooku lashed out with a Force Push, pointing two fingers at Obi-Wan and pushed him back and leapt up, somersaulting at Master Tiplee who quickly blocked his but Dooku lashed out with a kick to her knee, causing to fall to the side and he twirled his lightsaber in his hand before plunging it straight through her chest.

"Gah!" Tiplee cried out as the saber pierced her vital organs.

"MASTER TIPLEE!" Obi-Wan screamed as she died.

"There!" Saxon pointed at the Jedi. "Prepare your rockets!"

Maul fought both Windu and Secura, delivering a spinning kick to Secura's face and a slash at Windu who quickly blocked.

"Aim for the Twi'lek!" Saxon ordered. "Lord Maul, incoming!"

Maul heard Saxon and jumped up, flipping above the rocket as it slammed into the ground and exploded, knocking Secura and Windu to the ground. Both them were still alive but unconscious.

"The _Tor_ has locked onto us, Lord." A Mandalore reported.

"Don't let them escape!" Obi-Wan shouted.

"Don't worry, Kenobi, we'll be seeing each other again soon enough!" Maul said just the _Tor_ 's transporters beamed him, Dooku, and every Mandalorian on the station away.

 ** _Tor  
_ Bridge**

Maul quickly stepped onto the bridge which was smaller than a bridge normally seen on a Star Destroyer class vessel but all Mandalorians were at their stations as expected. "Get us out of here."

The helmsman deactivated the _Tor'_ s cloak and engaged its hyperdrive, sending the ship into hyperspace a second later.

 **Hangar Three  
Later**

Windu and Secura finally regained consciousness just the Republic finished sweeping the base for anything useful. "What happened?"

A clone trooper walked up to Windu as he stood back on his feet. "General, the Chancellor would like a word."

 **Coruscant  
Palpatine's Office**

"It pains me to hear of this tragedy." Palpatine stated, looking out the window but could see the reflection of Master Windu's image.

" _It appears that Count Dooku and Darth Maul are now allies, which could solve a long standing mystery which is that Dooku is the Sith Master we have been seeking all along, and Maul is the Apprentice._ " Windu stated.

"Fascinating. Still is there no explanation for the battle on Ord Mantell? How can they be enemies one moment and allies the next?" Palpatine questioned.

" _A deception perhaps._ "

"A puzzle to be sure. Well, you've done all you can. It is unfortunate that this opportunity slipped through your fingers. I fear in the end it could prove _disastrous_ for the Republic." Palpatine said darkly.

 **Outer Rim  
Quelii Sector  
Dathomir**

In the days Vos had spent on Dathomir he had become very familiar with the layout of the land as he spared with Ventress who taught him the power of the Dark Side. Despite the fact that he was going against his Jedi training he felt the power of the Dark Side making him stronger everytime Ventress tempted him. And now apparently he was now facing his final test which involed him learning how to hold his breath for a long time.

He still remembered what Ventress had told him.

* * *

 _"A major component of Nightsister magicks is a fluid that we call the Water of Life." Ventgeess said, looking at the blue pools._

 _"From these lakes?" Vos asked._

 _"Not exactly. The Water of Life…harvested."_

 _"I'm not following you."_

 _"The depths of these pools have never been plumbed. All we know is that they are very deep indeed and they are home to many creatures. There is one that the Nightsisters call the Sleeper. To be fully accepted as an adult, a young woman of my clan underwent a rite of passage. Using her Force abilities, she would awaken the Sleep, dominate it, and force it to remove a piece of its body."_

 _Vos looked appalled. "A trophy?"_

 _"No. An ingredient. That piece of the Sleeper is boiled with water from the pool and other items to create the Water of Life. I was told the Sleeper was very strong-willed. To lone control over it, even for a moment, would mean the initiate's death."_

 _Vos looked at the water. "How often was the rite successful?"_

 _"I never asked."_

 _"What's the catch? Simply controlling an animal, even a strong-willed one, is fairly easy for a Jedi."_

 _"If would be if_ _this were just an animal an animal and if you only needed to use the Light Side of the Force. Quinlan, it's the Sleeper, not a Sleep. It's ancient. The stories about it go back to the earliest day of my clan." Ventress said. "You can sense how strong the Dark Side is here. Everything, even the wildlife, has been touched by it in someway. The Sleeper can only be awakened and controlled if someone thoroughly suhjugates it with Dark Side power."_

 _"I see." Vos stared at the water. "Well let's get on with it."_

 _Ventress grabbed his arm. "Not yet. I know little enough about the Sleeper but I will share with you what I do know. Now you know why I wanted you to build up your endurance. Your next exercise will require swimming and holding your breath."_

* * *

It was during their training that Ventress was informed that Dooku had been captured by Darth Maul which led Ventress to suspect that Talzin was affiliated with Maul who had been affiliated with her former servant Savage Oppress who was killed on the planet Bajor.

Why would Mother Talzin help Savage after he turned on her?

It was because of his bungling that Ventress failed to kill Dooku during their assassination attempt on him that led to the CIS invading Dathomir and wiping her people out. So why would Talzin work with Maul who was little better than his barbarian brother? Ventress frowned as she shook those thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand as Vos summoned the Sleeper from its resting place.

It was magnificent.

The Sleeper possessed a large, crustacean-like carapace covering over its body and had four appendages, two sickle-like legs and a pair of massive, blue tentacles. Its eyes did not have one color but a multitude of colors that made it an astounding creature.

And Vos had tamed, releasing a deep breath.

"Ventress." Vos called out, not taking his eyes off the Sleeper. "I don't need to cut off a limb, do I?"

"No." Ventress answered. "Vos…Listen to me, but don't let your attention waver."

"Okay, I'm listening." Vos said, still focused.

"You have to kill it."

Vos's eyes widened in shock and that was enough for the Sleeper to break free and lash out with a tentacle, dragging him into the pool. A second later Vos blased out of the water, grasping for breath and Ventress could see a shallow wound on him. The Sleeper tried to attack again but Vos spun around and used the Force to sieze the ancient creature.

"What are you waiting for? Kill it, Vos!" Ventress shouted.

But Vos hesitated. "Ventress, it may be the last of its kind!"

"Yes and if it dies, a great secret of my clan dies with it. That doesn't matter. We both have to make a sacrifice. You have to do this!"

"It's obeyed me twice! Why do I need to kill it?"

"Because you were sent to _kill_ Dooku, in cold blood if you have to. If you can't use the dark side to kill now, can do so later, when it truly matters? Or will you let your Jedi compassion destroy everything?"

Ventress could see tears in his eyes and Vos contemplated his words. He wanted to let the Sleeper live, let it return to its slumper. To him the Sleeper was not evil, it was an innocent in the Jedi's war with the Sith. Ventress then felt Vos make his decision and felt the anger, hate, and rage swell within him.

The Sleeper's head snapped back, writihing in agony before finally crumbling as Vos released it.

Vos stared at the body of the Sleeper as it sank back into the pool as Ventress approached him. "Quinlan, I know that was difficult to you, but it was necessary. You've come so far in such a short time. I'm impressed."

But she knew Vos didn't feel proud. "The Jedi have always tought that the Dark Side is quick and easy path."

"You must be cautious how far down that quick and easy path you go." Ventress warned him. "Now that you have tapped into it, it can consume you. It is a delicate balance to strike, being free enough to feed from it, but remaining your own master."

"Like you did."

"I fought my way back. I almost didn't make it." Ventress said sadly. "I regret this is path you must tread. But it must be done, if we are to defeat Dooku."

Vos touched her cheek. "Dooku _is_ strong. But _we_ will be stronger. Together."

"Together." Ventress leaned him and kissed him.

A swirl in the Force alerted them to a presence and they watched as Talzin's ghost form appeared. " _Well done, Ventress. You have trained this one well. He will be a great help when the Sith arrive._ "

"Dooku is coming here?" Vos asked.

" _Along with his master, Darth Sidious._ " Talzin answered, surprising them both.

"Sidious?" Ventress and Vos said at the same time.

Talzin nodded. " _Sidious seeks the complete destruction of the Nightsisters and he will not stop until all are gone._ "

"How do you know this?" Vos asked.

" _Long ago, Sidious visited this world and we exchanged knowledge. Sidious promised to make me his ally but instead betrayed me and stole one of the sons of Dathomir to train as his instrument of destruction._ " Talzin explained.

"Maul." Ventress spoke up. "He was from the Nightbrother clan wasn't he? You knew Savage Oppress was his brother, didn't you?"

" _Yes, I knew of their bond for their lineage is my own._ "

"What?!" Both Ventress and Vos gaped, staring at Talzin in shock.

"Maul is…Your son?" Vos said very slowly.

Talzin nodded. " _The son who was stolen from me by Sidious._ "

"And that's why you helped bring him back." Vos realized. "Do you know what he has done? He almost started a war between two galaxies."

" _He was manipulated by the Iconians who wanted to use him as their pawn, just as Sidious did. He survived and is now dedicated to destroying the Sith._ " Talzin said calmly. " _It is because of him that Dooku and Sidious will be on Dathomir where they will die._ "

Her ghostly form vanished back into a green mist, leaving Vos and Ventress alone near the pool.

 **Hyperspace  
 _Tor  
_ Bridge**

" _Black Sun and the Pykes joined your collective on the promise of greater profits, Maul. But this is becoming your own personal crusade, one that has already cost us Zanbar, Ord Mantell, and the Mandalorian asteroid outpost._ " Ziton Moj complained, him and Fife contacting Maul on the bridge of his flagship.

" _Perhaps your plan isn't as sure as you say._ " Fife stated.

"You'll be paid if that's what you want." Maul pointed at the projected images. "In the meantime return to your respective sectors and prepare for our next phase. Once Darth Sidious is dead, the galaxy will be _ours_ for the taking." He glanced at the third image, the Mandalorian Kast. "Keep them in line."

Kast saluted him. " _Yes, my lord._ "

"You're learning that seizing control is much easier than _maintaining_ it." Dooku stated as the projected images faded.

Maul faced Dooku. "What would you know of control, Count?"

The guard behind Dooku grabbed him and held a pistol to his head.

"Our 'alliance' has been Sidious's will all along. He instructed you to play this game but you've been outmatched." Maul said, gesturing for the guards to take Dooku away.

"I look forward to watching all of this come crashing down on you." Dooku told Maul as he was led off the bridge.

 **Outer Rim  
Quelii Sector  
Dathomir  
Nightbrother Village**

The _Tor_ entered orbit of Dathomir where a number of Jem'Hadar and Hirogen ships were waiting, their crews eager for the battle Maul had promised them. Maul and Dooku beamed down to the surface, appearing in the Nightbrother Village with Brother Viscuss and the Nightbrothers waiting for them.

"Brother Viscus, I bring you the spoils of war." Maul said as his guards pushed Dooku forward. "Have the preperations been made?"

"We are ready to proceed." Viscus stopped to glare at Dooku. "You'll find this to be quite a _different_ experience than Ord Mantell, Count."

The Nightbrothers led Dooku into the temple where Maul stood in front of a stone column.

"Come Dooku, we are at the heart of Mother Talzin's power now and you are about to answer for your master's crimes against the Nightsisters." Viscus stated as Maul put his hand on the column.

Maul closed his eyes. "Great Mother, hear our prayer. Diviner of Truth, Deliverer of Justice, reveal yourself."

An image of Mother Talzin appeared on the column and released a green mist into the chamber. " _My son is right, Count. It is time to eliminate everything that gives Sidious power. Beginning with you!_ "

The mist enveloped Dooku, causing him to scream as it entered his body.

 **Dathomir  
Orbit**

A ship emerged from hyperspace, far enough from Dathomir to avoid being detected by Maul's forces.

"It is as you predicted, my lord. We've traced Count Dooku's signal to Dathomir's surface." General Grievous reported, glancing at the robed man sitting in the command chair.

"Jam their communications and cloak this ship from view." Darth Sidious ordered. "They won't know we've arrived until it's much too late."

Grievous glanced behind Sidious, seeing the shadow behind him before carrying out his orders. This ship was armed with a cloaking device and ironically was originally used by Maul during his time as Sidious's apprentice.

Now it would be used in Maul's downfall.

Grievous himself admired how a Star Courier could be modified to be so lethal and would not mind having such a ship. Of course he needed to focus on the current task at hand.

 **Nightbrother Village**

"I didn't agree to this, Asajj. I accepted using the Dark Side, but Maul…" Vos trailed off as he and Ventress remained hidden, listening to Dooku's screams. "My mission is to assassinate Dooku, not torture him."

They were both hidden away in Talzin's chambers, hidden from view.

"Talzin knows what she's doing. If she can lure Sidious here we can kill both him and Dooku." Ventress reasoned.

"And what do you think the Jedi Council will think when they find out Talzin is Maul's mother and that she was the one who brought him back. They let me work with you, even after knowing your connection with Savage Oppress but now Maul and Talzin who are guilty of countless crimes against the galaxy, I'm not sure anything I say will convince them not to come to here and demand their arrests." Vos shook his head.

"Would the Jedi really risk that if we deliver Sidious and Dooku to them?" Ventress pointed out dryly.

"Asajj, Maul and Savage slaughtered an entire village, plunged Mandalore into civil war, endangered a planet in the Milky Way, and Talzin abducted innocents to drain them of the Living Force. Can you be sure you can trust either?" Vos reasoned.

"I don't trust Maul but Mother Talzin…She's the leader of my clan, she's the Great Mother and she-" Ventress stopped as the doors opened and in walked Brother Viscus.

"I am here to prepare Mother Talzin's chamber as she will likely be weakened from the ritual." Viscus stated.

An explosion shook the temple and it came from outside the room. Vos and Ventress peaked out and watched as General Grievous entered through a large hole in the wall that he no doubt created.

Darth Maul ignited the darksaber. "You're too late, General. Our plans are in motion and they can't be stopped."

"No matter how many times, you never learn this lesson, Maul." A voice said coldly as a shadow appeared next to Grievous. "There is only _one_ plan, one great design which shall govern the universe, _me._ "

Vos and Ventress stared wide eyes as Darth Sidious himself stepped into the temple, glaring at Maul.

* * *

The Shadow Collective was now at full war with the Separatists as CIS armadas attacked all known Black Sun and Pyke holdings with overwhelming numbers and firepower. It was only through the assistance of the Hirogen and Jem'Hadar ships from the True Way and the Tal Shiar that they were standing a chance but the CIS had the numbers on their side and they were slowly being overwhelmed. The Black Sun and the Pykes were scrambling for answers and help but they were failing.

 **Dathomir  
Nightbrother Village**

"At last. The great deceiver comes to rescue his pawn." Maul sneered.

Sidious ignited his own lightsaber. "I come to end this farce once and for all."

Maul grinned as Dooku rose. "You're too late, old man. Mother Talzin lives, and your apprentice is under her full control!"

Dooku stood up, his eyes glowing green as he ignited his lightsaber. " _Now Sidious, you will pay for your betrayal._ "

With that said, Talzin and Maul went on the attack with Talzin clashing with Sidious while Maul attacked Grievous. Ventress shared a glance with Vos, silently telling him to get ready.

As Talzin clashed with Sidious the Dark Lord flicked his wrists and wrestled Dooku's lightsaber out of his hands. "You control Dooku's body, but you possess none of his skills. Release my apprentice, haggard witch!"

Sidious unleashed a blast of Force Lightning at Dooku, causing him and Talzin to scream. Maul and Grievous stopped their fight, watching Sidious torture his own apprentice.

" _Eee-Enough!_ " Dooku collapsed as a green mist from his body and formed into Mother Talzin, now returned to physical form.

"I am whole! I am returned!" Talzin proclaimed.

"You are about to die." Sidious stated.

 **Orbit  
The _Tor_**

A massive CIS fleet emerged from hyperspace, coming towards Dathomir with the landing ships already launching. The defense grid placed in orbit by the Shadow Collective activated. The grid was made of dozen Cardassian designed mines that were armed with phaser turrets and plasma torpedo launchers. The mines destroyed dozens of landing ships and even more CIS ships just as the fleet fired back, creating a storm of fire just above Dathomir.

"Press the advantage! Destroy them!" Kast shouted, even as the ship shook.

Droid fighters swarmed the mines, attacking with blasters, missiles, and even resorted to suicide runs to take them all out. The Confederacy fleet suffered causalities but one by one they destroyed the orbital mines around Dathomir and began landing their armies.

 **USS _Seraphinite_**

"This is becoming a blood bath." Creed said, watching the Separatist invasion of Dathomir. "We can't linger here any longer. We need to inform Starfleet Command what is happening."

Bo-Katan watched the planet as it was attacked. "With any luck, Maul will be dead."

"Set course for the portal. Take us to the far edge of the system and then go to transwarp. I don't anyone to know we were here." Creed said.

 **Nightbrother Village**

"Uhn!" Grievous cried out as Maul launched him through the hole he made with a Force Push and sent him flying down ground below.

Maul stood at the edge, watching Grievous as he fell. "Good riddance, mechanical trash."

Talzin and Sidious attacked with each other with Nightsister Magik and Force Lightning, their attacks colliding and creating a massive blinding light.

"How long I have waited for this!" Talzin shouted.

"Yes, your rush to oblivion has finally reached its end." Sidious growled.

Dooku regained conscious from his lifeforce being drained by Talzin and summoned back his lightsaber. "Ugh…"

"Hello, Master."

Dooku's eyes widened as he spun, hastily igniting his lightsaber and blocked two more red lightsabers that would have pierced his heart and stomach and he looked into the cold blue eyes of Asajj Ventress. "You!"

"Have you missed me?" Ventress asked sweetly as she broke the lock and went on the attack.

Dooku stepped back, still feeling weak hastily blocking and parrying Ventress's attacks. Realizing he was still too weak for a direct fight Dooku dropped his lightsaber and channeled his anger and hate into a massive Force Lightning attack that Ventress barely blocked with her twin lightsabers, gritting her teeth as she struggled to hold back the attack.

"Now!" Ventress shouted.

Dooku sensed another presence and dropped his attack, summoning back his lightaber to block a strike from… "Vos!?"

"Hello, Count." Vos said with a smirk.

Dooku stepped back as Ventress and Vos cornered him. "So you are working together. Just as my master predicted."

"Of course you master knew…" Ventress looked at Sidious who was still fighting Talzin. "How are you on this fine day, Chancellor?"

Sidious narrowed his eyes as he intensified his attack, pushing Talzin back. "So, you know."

"What?" Vos asked.

"Your great and exalted Chancellor is the Dark Lord himself who started this war." Ventress pointed at Sidious.

Maul grinned. "Yes, the Dark Lord of the Sith is the Chancellor of the Republic! He has deceived you all!"

Sidious grew annoyed with Maul's talking and lashed out with a greater burst of Force Lightning, causing Talzin to form a green barrier to protect herself and Maul.

"No…No, that's no true! That's impossible!" Vos looked at Ventress. "How can you know this?!"

"I found out some time ago from a few friends of mine. They know about Sidious, they know about everything." Ventress remarked, pointing at Sidious. "Your game ends today, Chancellor!"

Sidious smirked as he called off his attack and dodged Talzin's green lightning. "On the contrary, child. It has only just begun."

Ventress, Vos, Maul, and Talzin all readied themselves to take on Sidious and Dooku and end their lives once and for all.

And then they felt it.

The cold.

This feeling instantly came with an ominous breathing sound.

 _Oooo-Purr_

And into the temple came someone.

At first it looked like a man but that was where the similarities ended.

He wore a black helmet and a fierce looking mask showing only black reflective lenses and a triangular mouth piece that emitted a harsh breathing sound. He was over six tall, dressed completely in black from head to toe. He wore black armor along with a long flowing cape that reached the ground and in his right hand was a lightsaber that was ignited, showing its red color.

From him came an aura of evil that made even beings like Maul, Dooku, Talzin, Ventress and Grievous who just climbed back up into the temple shiver while Sidious grinned in triumph.

"W-Who is this?" Vos said trembling slightly.

Sidious chuckled. "This is my new apprentice, Darth Vader."

Dooku's eyes went wide as he looked to Sidious. "Apprentice?"

"Yes, Count." Sidious answered, his smile widening. "Apprentice."

Vader held out one hand and Dooku felt the invisible grip on his neck as he was lifted off the ground.

"Your time is over, Dooku. Your usefulness has ended." Darth Vader declared and clenched his fist, snapping Dooku's neck and dropping his body to the ground.

Vos stepped back, feeling the immense anger and hate from Vader as Ventress stared at the body of her former late master. Grievous also stared at Dooku's body, feeling a small amount of satisfaction at seeing the Count dead but was now wary of Vader.

"Excellent, Lord Vader. Now there is the other matter." Sidious said, looking at the others. "It is time to end this charade once and for all."

"As you wish, Master." Vader said, advancing on Maul and Talzin.

Talzin lashed out with her magik but Sidious released another blast of Force Lighting that forced her to protect herself and Maul.

"Mother, take my strength!" Maul urged as Vader continued to approach.

" _Lord Maul, Dathomir is lost! We must retreat!_ " Kast spoke from Maul's communicator. " _We have locked transporters onto you and are beaming you out!_ "

"No wait-" Maul protested but Talzin knocked him back with a blast of magik. "MOTHER!"

Maul was beamed away in a flash of yellow light just as Vader stepped through the shield and stabbed her through the chest.

"Gah!" Talzin screamed as her body turned to stone and collapsed to the ground, a green mist rising from her body.

Ventress gasped in horror at seeing Mother Talzin, leader of her clan, slain by this new Sith.

"The witch never understood. There are those who have power and those who dream of it. Her existence was nothing but a dream." Sidious said, staring at Talzin's petrified remains.

Vader turned around, looking at Vos and Ventress. "What of them?"

"Dispose of them. We have everything we needed from them." Sidious answered.

Ventress and Vos readied themselves as Vader slowly approached. Vos let out a battle cry as he charged forward and swung his lightsaber at Vader who held up his lightsaber, blocking Vos's slash.

"The failed apprentice has deceived you," Vader said before using his free hand to strike Vos in the sternum with sufficient force to send him flying back, "Into believing the Dark Side would be your ally this day."

Vos coughed, resting one hand on his chest as he tried to get oxygen back into his lungs. One hand grasped his lightsaber and brought it up in time to block a downwards stroke from Vader, giving Vos time to roll out of the way and then quickly parry several more strikes. Each blow felt stronger than what even Grievous was capable of calling upon, and with greater finess than what the cyborg general was capable of either.

"So what hole did Sidious pull you out of?" Vos asked, rolling out of the way of another strike from Vader.

Vader did not respond to the taunt, instead changing his focus to Ventress, who was charging up at his exposed back with a furious shriek. Vader began to fend off both fighters with ease, switching between and mixing the different forms of lightsaber combat. Though his movements were stiff compared to what the two were used to, he was no less formidable enough to contend with the pair…and overcome them.

Vos fell to one knee and Vader brought his saber down in a powerful chop, knocking Vos's lightsaber from his hands and followed up with a powerful kick that flung Vos back. Vos hit the wall hard, coughing greatly from the chest pain he was feeling. Ventress screamed as she attacked Vader, using fast strikes but Vader blocked them all so Ventess lashed out with a kick to Vader's leg to trip him but her leg only collided with hard metal. Ventress pulled her leg back as Vader swung at her and jumped back.

"You are powerful but you can not defeat a true Sith." Vader said as he advanced. "You could not become a Sith and that is why you were cast aside. The loss of your people and the betrayal of Dooku has weakened you. You will die here."

Ventress gritted his teeth as she worked to defend herself from Vader's strikes, but she was beginning to tire. Ventress had been trained by Dooku, fought and slain dozens of Jedi during the Clone Wars, fought General Grievous and almost defeated him, and it was only her experience and skill that allowed her to survive this long. Finally Vader lashed out with a Force push that slammed into her and threw her backwards across the interior of the temple.

Ventress groaned, too weak to stand back up.

She reached for her wrist communicator and opened a channel. "Ventress to _Batlh,_ beam us up now…"

Sidous narrowed his eyes. "Stop them."

Vos watched as Vader lunged at Ventress and rushed at them. "ASAJJ!"

Vader altered his course and thrust his lightsaber through Vos's torso as the Kriffar jumped between him and Ventress.

"QUINLAN!" Ventress shouted in horror as the Klingon transporter beamed her away.

Vos smiled briefly as Ventress vanished. "Be safe…"

Vader pulled his lightsaber out of Vos's torso and watched as the Jedi collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Good work, Lord Vader." Sidious grinned. "Your first Jedi kill."

"Maul and Ventress have escaped, unfortunately." Vader deactivated his lightsaber and faced Sidious.

"It is of no consequence. Maul's future as a rival has been eliminated and Ventress has given us the opportunity to unite the entire galaxy against a new threat: the Milky Way Galaxy." Sidious answered, causing Vader and Grievous to stare at him.

"The Milky Way?" Grievous questioned.

"Yes. They have attempted to prevent our plans and thus the entire galaxy must be united against them. And it will happen just as the Jedi will be eliminated." Sidious explained, grinning even wider. "General Grievous, I believe it's time for a new management of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. First, I want you to assemble the Separatist Council and see to it they remain hidden. I am sure that they will be afraid once they find out Dooku is dead so ensure by any means they follow orders."

Grievous's eyes widened in surprise before he mentally grinned. "With pleasure, my lord."

"Once the Council members are taken care of you will assemble the Separatist Senate on Raxus and present them with the news of the unfortunate deaths of the Count Dooku, at the hands of the Jedi who have allied with the Milky Way Alliance in an attempt to subvert control of the Republic and the Confederacy. It will rally them to call for blood and justice. From there you will take full command of the droid armies and ready them to deal with any Milky Way ships still in the galaxy while I ensure the Senate fully cooperates in seeing the Jedi's treachery. And then it will our time to strike, time to launch our final operation." Sidious explained. "The Jedi will be blamed and the Senate will turn on them, demanding their arrests which the Jedi will refuse, forcing the Chancellor to order the clones to take them…By force." He looked at Vader. "And then, Lord Vader will strike in an effort to stop the Jedi from escaping, catching them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesistate, show no mercy."

"As you command, master." Vader answered. "What of the other Jedi spread across the galaxy?"

"Their betrayal will be dealt with." Sidious now was laughing. "Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy! And we shall at last have peace!"

 **Transwarp Space  
IKS Batlh  
Sickbay**

Ventress was brought into the sickbay as soon as she was beamed aboard and she stared up at the ceiling as the stealth ship left the Dathomir system through transwarp. All Ventress could feel was the emptiness inside her, all her strength taken from her as she remembered what happened in the temple.

Mother Talzin

Count Dooku

Quinlan Vos

All of them now dead.

But now Sidious had a new apprentice, that monster that killed Talzin and…

"Vos…" Ventress lamented, tearfully closing her eyes.

She had used and manipulated him as her instrument of vengeance against Dooku, lied to him about Dooku killing his master when _she_ was the one who killed Tholme in order to force Vos to tap into his anger.

"I am so sorry, Quinlan."

She never felt this hollow, not even when her people were massacared by Grievous. She closed her eyes as tears fell down her face.

"By the blood of my sisters, you will be avenged."


	60. Chapter 60

**Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Council Chamber**

The Jedi Council had been called to an emergency meeting as Obi-Wan had intercepted a call from Vos who ordered that the entire Council be present.

As soon as they were assembled Obi-Wan answered the call, but to their shock it was not Master Vos calling them but Asajj Ventress.

"Ventress?" Obi-Wan questioned upon seeing the image of one his worst enemies.

Only Ventress looked horrible.

Her eyes bloodshot, her face looking like it aged a decade and her new hair a mess.

"How did you get this channel?" Windu questioned sternly. "And where is Master Vos?"

Ventress stared at the Council before to Obi-Wan. "… _He's not coming back. He was slain by Sidious's new apprentice._ "

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. "No…"

"A new apprentice?" Windu questioned.

Ventress nodded. " _A monster, even worse than Maul and Savage. Some sort of Grievous like humanoid. His name is Vader and he killed Count Dooku on Sidious…Palpatine's orders._ "

"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan said quickly. "Palpatine…."

" _Yes, your Chancellor…He is Darth Sidious._ " Ventress nodded.

"A Sith Lord…Impossible." Windu stood up as Master Yoda closed his eyes. "That is impossible. This is a deception."

Ventress smirked bitterly. " _It's no deception. Sidious, your greatest enemy has been your leader all along and you've been pawns in his plans. Now that Dooku and Talzin are dead he's going to turn his eyes to you next and your precious clone troopers will be the ones to kill you on his orders._ "

"Order 66…" Obi-Wan mouthed, his eyes running wide with horror.

As he whispered those words he could almost see the entire puzzle that had been the identity of the Sith laid out before him. Palpatine was Senator for Naboo when the Trade Federation invaded and they learned that the Sith were behind the occupation. Palpatine ordered the blockade in order to get himself electected as Chancellor, playing on the corruption of the Senate to vote out Valorum and the sympathy for his planet to ensure his rise to position of Supreme Chancellor. Then he convinced Dooku to join the Sith and ordered him to begin planting the seeds of separatism so by the time Palpatine's term was close to being over the Separatists would be ready to start a full scale war the Senate would demand he stay in office and be given emergency powers to approve the creaton of an army to counter the threat of the Separatists.

He even saw the creation of an army through the Republic, most likely tricking Sifo-Dyas into making the order for the creation of the clone army on Kamino and then Dooku had Sifo-Dyas killed and supervised the army's growth when he hired Jango Fett to be the clone template. The war had forced the Jedi to become generals, fighting and dying against the Separatists who included beings that were trained to kill Jedi such as General Grievous and Asajj Ventress to thin the Jedi ranks to make them easy prey when the time was right.

And they had fallen for it.

Now the Sith were in the perfect position to destroy the Jedi by controlling the very civilization they were fighting to protect.

Chancellor Palpatine was the Chancellor, placed by the people he had tricked and the Jedi who were the guardians of peace were distrusted by the people who blamed them for the horrors of the Clone Wars.

" _I see you now know. Then you know that the clones will obey because of the bio-chips in their heads._ " Ventress remarked. " _So you better make a move, Jedi before he makes his._ "

With that said, Ventress disappeared.

"She must be lying…" Stass Allie argued, looking around the Council room. "Right?"

Yoda opened his eyes. "Sense Ventress lying, I did not. Incapable of faking the feelings I felt, she is. Dead, Master Vos is and stronger now the Dark Side is. Ready to move and begin, our enemies are."

"Begin what?" Obi-Wan asked, feeling a sense of dread.

Yoda, the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, looked afraid. "The Revenge of the Sith."

 **Wild Space  
CIS Fleet  
 _Invisible Hand_**

General Grievous had to suppress the urge to smash something as he waited for all the members of the Separatist Council, including Wat Tambo and Poggle the Lesser who managed to escape Republic prison and returned to their respective positions as part of the Council. After Cato Neimoidia fell Grievous took steps to assemble all of the council together to find a suitable world for them to hide. He was considering Utapau but with Sidious's orders Grievous ordered them all to meet at an isolated area in Wild Space and was growing impatient at how long it was taking for them to gather.

The one taking the longest to get here was the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Nute Gunray.

Grievous had to suppress the urge to throttle the nearest living thing since Gunray had been a thorn in his side since the day they had met since the Viceroy had treated him like a mere droid servant even though he was anything but or just an underling like Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge had been before he died in the Mandalore Dyson Sphere. It had come to Grievous's attention that many commanders in the CIS were now dead or captured including Durge, Riff Tamson, Pors Tonith, General Loathsome and now Count Dooku, or even turned traitor like Asajj Ventress. The only few competent commanders left were himself and Admiral Trench. Naturally he'd need to find some new commanders soon since even he couldn't manage an entire army of mindless stupid machines by himself.

It was only because of Count Dooku and Sidious Gunray was even still alive.

The reason Gunray was late because he stayed Cato Neimoidia to grab his material possessions instead of fleeing to the Outer Rim like the others. And when he finally escaped instead of taking the secret lanes known only to the Trade Federation Gunray had taken the standard hyperlanes for jumping from system to system in the inner core.

Clearly, Gunray was trying to give him a show of making an escape to cover up his blunder.

Fortunately he was not followed by anyone so Grievous did not bother some sort of punishment as he allowed Gunray onboard. Once he was onboard Grievous ensured he was escorted to the meeting room where the rest of the Separatist Council was waiting. Grievous walked into the room and looked around, seeing they were all present.

San Hill, Chairman of the Intergalatic Banking Clan.

Wat Tambor, Foreman of the Techno Union.

Poggle the Lesser, Archduke of Geonosis.

Shu Mai, President of the Commerce Guild.

Passel Argente, Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance.

Pu Nudo and Tikkes, former Republic Senators of the Aqualish and Quarren.

And Nute Gunray, Viceroy of the Trade Federation.

Grievous leveled his eyes on Gunray. "Welcome aboard, Viceroy. For a moment we feared that you weren't going to arrive."

Gunray shifted under the gazes of everyone in the room. "And I can only assume that you were very troubled by the prospect, General."

"Only if I did not get to do what I have wanted to do for a long time." Grievous answered as he pulled out two lightsabers and ignited them while sealing the door behind him.

"What is this?!" Argente shot up but Grievous used his feet to slam him back down into his chair.

"GRIEVOUS WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" San Hill screamed, pressing himself against the wall as Grievous turned to him.

Grievous narrowed his eyes as he approached the Muun. "It has come to my attention that there has been a great deception on the part of the Separatists regarding their deal with me. I agreed to become what you all see before you for two specific reasons. The first was so that I could crush the Republic for putting my people in debt and poverty and the second was to exact revenge on the Jedi for their attempts to kill me. And it was agreed that my mind would not be tampered with during my transformation!"

"Tampered with? I assure you, General that no tampering was done!" Hill cried out in terror as Grievous stood over him. "Where is Count Dooku!? He wouldn't allow this!"

"Dooku is dead." Grievous answered calmly, enjoying the terror in Hill's face. "And so are you if you do not answers my questions."

"Questions?" Hill trembled.

"It has come to my attention that my mind had been tampered with during the surgery following my mutilation. I know the Geonosians were behind it and I know they wouldn't have done anything without Dooku's orders. So now you're going to tell me why my mind was tampered with against my wishes when I expressly forbade it." Grievous held a lightsaber to Hill's neck.

The Muun shook even harder. "It-It was to make you a more effective fighter! Dooku and Sidious, they needed you to be as motivated as possible to fight the Jedi. They didn't want you distracted by any memories that could interfere with the war!"

"And is that all?" Grievous leaned in closer.

Hill looked confused. "All?"

"Is that all you lied to me about?" Grievous growled. "Ever since I found out I had been deceived I have have been questioning my reasons for joining the Separatists and now that I know my mind was altered I want to know anything else you have kept hidden from." Grievous brought the lightsaber closer to Hill's neck. "Speak now or die."

Hill's went wide as he trembled so much he looked ready to fall apart. "Dooku-Dooku lied to you about who bombed your shuttle! It wasn't the Jedi who put a bomb on your ship!"

"WHAT?!" Grievous roared so loud his voice shook the ship.

"It's true! Sidious and Dooku, they ordered me to approach you after the Jedi stopped you from invading your enemies to help in the debt of your people in exchange for your services and they were the ones who placed that bomb on your shuttle but made sure you would be ejected so that you would survive! They needed you to be so injured that you'd needed to be reconstructed as a weapon for the war they were planning!" Hill sobbed.

Grievous slammed a fist into wall next to Hill's head. "All this time…I was deceived…By you, Dooku, and Sidious for over a decade!"

Grievous grabbed San Hill's head and pressed his metallic hands down on the Muun's skill, savoring the Chairman's screams as his skull shattered and splatted blood and brain matter across the walls. The rest of the Separatist Council watched as Grievous stared down at Hill's corpse before turning to them and split his two arms into four, a lit lightsaber in each hand.

"It's time for the Separatists to fall under new management."

After a moment of screaming it was all over, the bodies of the Separatist Council scattered across the room, all of them dead at Grievous's feet. Grievous looked down at his handiwork as he deactivated his lightsabers and connected his four arms back into two. Sidious had sent him to kill the Council and frame the Jedi for it to keep the Separatists driven against the Republic while Sidious slowly turns the Republic against the Jedi. Only now Grievous had finally confirmed the suspicions that had been festering in him ever since the creature Q had met him…

Grievous pulled out the card with the Kahlesh writing for 'Q' on it. "If you can hear me, Q I want to speak to you, now!"

"You called Herr General?" Grievous turned around, seeing Q sitting at the head chair of the table, idly looking around the room while still apparently choosing to wear the same wardrobe as the late Count Dooku. "What a mess here. You really don't hold back."

"Did you know?" Grievous faced Q. "About Dooku and his master's deception?"

"Of course. What did you expect? I am a Q after all." Q gestured to himself. "I just gave you a hint and let you figure things out from there. You really are smarter than those lazy Sith give you credit for."

Grievous clenched his fists. "They tricked me…How dare they do this to me?!"

"So what do you plan to do now?" Q asked.

"Destroy them…All of them." Grievous answered darkly. "The Jedi, the Sith, the Republic…All of them!"

"So I suppose you don't plan to accept the offer I made." Q remarked.

"What I was before I became this died long ago. I chose to become this, the weapon that Dooku and Sidious brought into the galaxy and I'll use what they gave me to destroy _all_ of my enemies!" Grievous declared, holding up his fists. "Time to end this war!"

"Well, if that's the way you plan to go." Q shook his head and vanished in a flash of light.

Some people were just too stubborn for their own good.

In the meantime General Grievous knew exactly how he would get his revenge. He remembered the plan Dooku had showed him earlier of using secret hyperspace lanes that had been charted by the Neimoidians and it showed a key weakness in the Republic that he would exploit. Sidious ordered him to prepare Separatist Droid Army and he would indeed do that.

Only it wasn't for what Sidious had in mind.

 **Coruscant  
Jedi Temple  
Library Archives**

"We've configured the beacons to warn any Jedi in the Outer Rim to get away from their clone troopers." Obi-Wan told Masters Yoda and Windu as they entered the archives. "And our healers and medical droids have begun removing the bio-chips from clones on medical leave."

"For the clones to discover the recalibration, a long time it will take. To change it, longer still. And harder to carry out Order 66 without the bio-chips controlling them." Yoda nodded.

"With the Jedi in the Outer Rim seeking refuge from the clones we now have to deal with how we are to escape from Coruscant. We will not be able to escape with the planet on lockdown from the previous attacks." Windu commented.

"We could use what ships we have to send the younglings out under the guise of a training mission. Neither the Chancellor nor the Senate have the authority to check how many will be on each ship." Obi-Wan offered.

Yoda nodded. "Saving the younglings, the priority should be."

"Master Secura is scheduled reinforce a contingent of the 501st on Felucia. She could take some of the younglings with her and leave them at the villages. They are well out of the way of the Separatist garrison there. She could slip away as soon as she is done." Windu suggested.

"Assuming the clones won't gun her down before that." Obi-Wan pointed out.

Mace Windu frowned. "Then perhaps we should ensure that the Chancellor cannot give the order."

"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"If we move quickly we can arrest the Chancellor before he has a chance to give the order." Windu looked at both masters. "I will lead the arrest with several of our best masters. We can buy the time you need to escape."

"And what about the apprentice, this Darth Vader?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Two Sith against most of the Jedi Council. The odds will be in our favour." Windu answered.

"Will they?" Yoda shook his head. "Powerful, Sidious is. An easy opponent, he will not be."

"And if we do not stop him now we risk the fate of the Jedi Order." Windu turned away. "I always defer to your wisdom, Master Yoda. But we cannot simply run and hide and let the oppression of the Sith return. Move forward with your plans and I will with mine."

Obi-Wan and Yoda watched as Windu left the archives. "Master Yoda, shouldn't we try to stop him?"

Yoda sighed. "Unlikely, we can. Convinced this is the only way for the Jedi to survive, Master Windu is. Chosen his path, he has. Look for other ways to survive. Call for help we must."

"From who? We do not have many troops on the planet." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"Only ones, willing to help, they might be." Yoda answered cryptically.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701-F  
Bridge**

 _Captain's Log Stardate 87121.4: The Enterprise has recently assisted in aiding refugees from the Skyriver Galaxy who have been forced to migrate to our galaxy in the wake of the war. Now we have been ordered to divert to the portal for reasons we do not yet know._

Captain Shon ended his log as the _Enterprise_ emerged from warp and came upon a fleet of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Defari, and Xindi ships near the portal. "This is an unusual gathering."

Ahsoka who had been called up to the bridge just stepped out of the turbo-lift and looked at the view screen. "You called for me, Captain?"

Shon looked at Ahsoka and nodded. "Yes, Miss Tano. It seems there has been a development in the Skyriver Galaxy."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "A development?"

"I think we're just about to find out." Shon looked back at the screen as a priority one message was broadcasted across the fleet and Admiral Quinn appeared on the screen along with Ambassador Worf, Chancellor J'mpec and D'tan.

" _To all fleets gathered at the portal we have have just received a transmission from the Jedi Temple by Master Yoda who had disturbing news._ "

Yoda replaced the previous images on the view-screen. " _In danger, the Jedi Order is. Confirmed that Count Dooku has been killed, we have but dire news we have learned. Discovered we have, that Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord, the one called Darth Sidious and a new apprentice, Darth Vader._ "

Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock and she almost fell over. "The Chancellor…A Sith Lord?"

" _Fabricated the war, he did. Guided the creation of the Clone Army with Count Dooku, he did. Implanted in the clones, a bio-chip with special orders to declare the Jedi enemies of the Republic and terminate them with one order there is. Used the war to place himself as ruler of the Republic with the clones as his weapons to use against the Jedi when the time is right, he has. In danger the Jedi Order is._ " Yoda closed his eye mournfully. " _Need help if we are to survive, we do. Asking you to help us escape with many younglings before the clones turn on us, we are. Save the children, we ask. Save them before the Sith orders the clones to turn on us and kill all Jedi, younglings even._ "

Yoda opened his eyes. " _Foolish we have been and led to our deaths, our pride possibly has. Ask, no, beg for your assistance, we do-_ "

BOOM!

Yoda shook slightly and looked over his shoulder with a concerned look.

" _The city is under attack!_ "

Yoda's face turned to determination. " _Defend the city we must._ "

The transmission ended, leaving everyone to contemplate his words.

"Admiral, has it been confirmed this transmission is not fake?" Shon asked slowly.

" _It has been confirmed, this transmission was sent from the Jedi Temple on a Jedi channel that kept the Republic military from knowing they sent such a message. Our long range scouts confirmed the Separatists have launched a full scale assault on Coruscant. I understand these Sith are the mortal enemies of the Jedi in some sort of culture feud going back thousands and thousands of years, before the formation of the Republic._ " Quinn answered.

"It's more than that. These Sith have shown themselves to be dangerous and murderous sociopaths with little regard for whom they hurt or kill so as long as they can achieve dominion." Shon said, glancing back at Ahsoka who took a few deep breaths and nodded in agreement. "If the Chancellor is indeed a Sith and has been manipulating the war it's likely he will take over the Republic once the war had ended and could even become a threat to us as well."

Quinn nodded gravelly. " _I see…I hoped it would not come to this but our Intelligence agencies have been monitoring events in the Skyriver Galaxy and they have learned enough about these Sith along with the recent political activities in both the Republic and the Confederacy to see that both sides have indeed been played. Even worse, it does seem that the Republic is indeed becoming a dictatorship._ "

"What should we do, Admiral?" Shon asked.

J'mpec appeared on the screen. " _We should heed this call and answer their pleas! These Sith rival Molar with their acts of dishonor! Deceiving an entire galaxy with a fake war, destroying billions of life with two armies, all geared towards their enemies! Such cowardice to stab your enemies in the back with warriors that had fought beside them!_ " J'mpec held up a fist and clenched it. " _They must be destroyed at all cost!_ "

D'tan spoke up. " _If we take action we will end up entering the war and not even our combined strength is enough for a war between our two galaxies, especially with enemies of our own on the move._ "

" _D'tan speaks the truth, we cannot hope to fight both the Republic and the CIS while helping the Jedi to safety. We must recall all of our ships in the Skyriver Galaxy before they turn their sights to us._ " Quinn stated.

"If I may, I believe we must move quickly. I believe if we move to Coruscant and come to the Republic's assistance we can fool them long enough to help any Jedi get off the planet. Even if relations with the Jedi Order have been strained they do not deserve to suffer a form genocide and this is what it. The genocide of an entire culture." Shon reasoned. "By hindering Palpatine's attempts to exterminate the Jedi we can ensure he's kept from turning his eyes to us since he'll have to concentrate on retaining control of the Republic."

" _Agreed. The Jedi have proven to be brave and honorable warriors, even if they have acted foolish._ " J'mpec said, causing Ahsoka to nod a bit.

The Jedi turned their backs on her but that didn't mean they deserved to be wiped out.

" _I agree as well. Since the portal is closest to New Romulus it is in the best interest of the Romulan people to ensure this threat does not invade us._ " D'tan agreed.

Quinn nodded. " _Very well. Captain Shon, the Enterprise will take point on this mission along with the Lleiset_ and the _Bortasqu._ Save as many people as you can."

Shon nodded. "Understood, Admiral."

" _Good luck to you all._ " Quinn said, closing the channel.

Shon looked around the bridge. "Inform the fleet we are moving through the portal and set course straight for Coruscant, transwarp speed." He looked at Ahsoka and walked up to her. "Are you sure you want to be here for this?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, Captain. I am ready."

"Good." Shon nodded. "Because I got a very bad feeling about what we'll find when we reach Coruscant. That's why we're going to need a plan."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Coruscant  
 _Invisible Hand  
_ Bridge**

The attack had caught the Republic defense fleet completely off-guard, allowing Grievous and his fleet to capitalize by attacking anything that moved, including cargo freighters, luxury ships, and transports coming in and out of the system. Grievous studied the holographic projections of the battle, seeing the surviving Republic cruisers now fighting to keep his fleet at bay, no doubt to call for reinforcements. He ordered his ships to fire on communication satellites and orbital mirrors, fooling into believe he was launching a full invasion of the planet. The Republic ships were centered over vital areas such as the new Senate Building and the Jedi Temple but Grievous knew better than to simply try and strike from above.

They were no doubt protected by land based shield generators so he would have to go in the old fashion way. Grievous was not worried though as his forces were still overwhelming the Republic and the _Invisible Hand_ had gone through a full retrofit with additional weapons, enhanced reactors that gave more power to its already overpowered turbo-lasers and shields, making it perhaps one of the most dangerous and powerful ships in the galaxy, more than a match for any ship the Republic had at its disposal. He had called over a dozen ships, even ships that were blockading vital systems to form this massive strike force that was slowly overwhelming the Republic just as originally planned.

"General, comlink transmissions are returning to normal in sectors of the planet. The enemy appears to have comprehended that we are using the jamming suite we employed to our advantage as Praestilyn." One of the Neimoidian officer spoked up.

"This is not unexpected." Grievous replied. "Instruct Group One commander that they should continue to target orbital mirrors and communications satellites. Relocate the jamming platform to zero-one-zero ecliptic, and intensify the shields."

"Yes, General…I am compelled to report that we are sustaining heavy losses in all groups." The Neimodian quickly said.

Grievous looked at the tactical display, seeing the number casualties for his fleet. "Override the survival and engagement programs of those droid fighters. Issue a command that they are to speed directly for Coruscant. They are to convert to high explosive."

"Are any specific targets assigned?"

"The outskirts of the Senate District."

"General, some of our fighters have already infiltrated that sector."

"Excellent. Command those to target landing platforms, skyways, pedestrian plazas, and shelters. Wherever possible, they are to dedicate themselves to overwhelming Coruscant's civil defense force."

"Affirmative?"

"Have any Republic auxiliaries arrived?"

"A task form comprising four light cruisers is decanting from hyperspace and advancing on Coruscant's night side."

That was sooner than expected but Grievous believed that as long as he looked like he was playing the plan Sidious had shown him he would still have the element of surprise.

"Order our commanders to there to engage them." Grievous ordered, narrowing his eyes at the display.

The Neimoidian communications officer spoke up again. "General, a group of Jedi Starfighters has emerged from Coruscant's gravity well."

"How large a group?"

"Twenty two craft."

"Deploy as many tri-fighters and attack craft against them as needed."

"Yes sir."

Grievous turned away from the viewports. "Is the strike force assembled?"

"Your gunboat is ready, and your elites are standing by in the launch bay."

"Battle droids, as well?"

"Fifty, General."

"That should suffice." Grievous nodded, looking at the viewport one last time. "Carry on. Consider every Republic a target of opportunity. Admiral Trench will command the fleet in my absence."

Now he would show the Jedi and the Sith why he was a feared warlord of the Kaleesh. Already dropships were being launched with the express orders to march on the Republic Senate and the Jedi Temple. That was an alteration to the original plan Grievous had made since he decided that he would no longer answer to Sidious. With any luck the Sith Lord was there and would be killed by the invading droids.

He marched into the hangar bay and saw his shuttle was ready with all of his elite Magna-Guards waiting for him. If Grievous could have grinned he would have.

All the years of fighting this war had led to this moment.

This was the moment he would finally exact his full revenge on the Republic and the Jedi for leaving his people in poverty and deby and the Sith for deceiving him and using him as their puppet.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Invasion**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _When the fleet of Separatist ships appeared over Coruscant we were all stunned. Those feelings were quickly pushed as the first blaster bolts were fired and we began rushing to pick up the nearest rifle or to the cockpit of the nearest fighter. The endless fleet of droid ships made us all feel the fear we felt deep down of the Seps gaining victory in this war, leading to the death for all clones. What we never expected was what happened when the Milky Way appeared again._

* * *

 **Coruscant  
Palpatine's Estate**

Palpatine scowled as he looked at the droid fighters and drop ships coming down on the city. He was just getting ready to make his speech that would paint the Jedi and the Milky Way Galaxy as enemies working to take control of the Republic and the Separatists that would unite them against their new enemies when this attack happening, surprising even him.

Palpatine scowled as he realized only one person could have organized such an attack. 'Grievous.'

The cyborg general was going completely off script and launched this attack, possibly using the secret hyperspace lanes supplied by Neimoidian navigators. This was unexpected and Palpatine realized that he couldn't give the order with the droid armies attacking. He would have to hold off on making his speech until this battle was over and ensured this did not affect the Grand Plan in any way. The Jedi had been weakened but only recently when he had been sure the clones were capable of dealing with the surviving Jedi.

But this wasn't a complete disaster.

Grievous would pay for his betrayal, there was little to no doubt of that but there was a chance that he could still salvage this to his advantage. And it was an opportunity to kill perhaps some of the strongest Jedi that could not live through Order 66. At the very least if Ventress had decided to contact the Jedi and they came arrest him he could easily turn the Senate into believing him, knowing how the Jedi would react to realizing that the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic to be none other than a Sith Lord. If Ventress knew of his identity there was little doubt that the Klingons knew and so did the Federation but did nothing because of their Prime Directive.

His aide's holographic image appeared on his desk. " _Chancellor, we are detecting new ships are approaching the system._ "

"More Separatists?" Palpatine asked, looking at the image.

" _No sir, they are Milky Way. Federation, Klingon, Romulan and few more we cannot identify._ "

Palpatine raised an eyebrow. "Milky Way?"

This was unexpected.

Why was the Milky Way coming here?

Palpatine frowned as he realized there was a chance that the Alliance may be coming to assist the Republic against the Separatists. Still, that meant that they were somehow monitoring this galaxy and the current events. No doubt, they may be coming here because of what happened to Ventress and Vos on Dathomir. A cloaked Klingon ship beamed Ventress away just as his new apprentice slew Vos, the first of many Jedi to die.

If they believe him to be a threat to their galaxy they might be trying to ensure he could not turn the Republic and the Separatists against the Milky Way. It was hard to say exactly what they were planning but he would deal with them eventually.

" _What should we do, sir?_ "

"Contact the lead ship and if they are here to assist us against this invasion allow them to assist." Palpatine answered.

" _As you wish._ " The aide bowed before closing the channel.

He would have the chance to observe events from here and if Grievous was planning to contact him soon he would have his answers. Either way he would ensure he would come out on top of this battle regardless of the outcome.

"Is this what you meant by consequences, Sisko?" Palpatine, Darth Sidious said out loud.

Things were about to get interesting.

 **Jedi Temple**

Mace Windu marched into the hangar, looking for his personal starfighter as Saesee Tiin ran up to him. "Master Windu, enemy starships continuing to spill out of hyperspace. Our forces are holding but they need help."

"Get up there and take command. I am going to lead a handful of Jedo to arrest the Chancellor." Mace said.

"Are you sure that is wise? What about the droids?" Tiin asked.

"If we can capture Sidious we can force him to call off the droids." Mace replied. "Masters Yoda and Kenobi have already gone to the frontlines and I will rendezvous with Masters Ti, Koth, and Fisto at the Chancellor's estate." He hopped into the cockpit of his fighter, sharing a glance with Tiin. "May the Force be with you."

"And you." Tiin said as the cockpits closed.

Their fighters took off and flew straight into the battle while down below clone troopers were rushing out into the frontlines. Mace piloted his fighter through the city, dodging blaster bolts and missiles while shooting any droid fighters that got in his way. They could not afford to led Sidious to get away with leading the Separatists straight to Coruscant while having the option of turning the clones against the Jedi at any time he chose. If the Jedi could stop him now they could avoid the fate the Sith had planned for them and bring down the surviving Separatists such as General Grievous, Nute Gunray and the rest of the Separatist Council once and for all.

They must cut off the head of the serpent and the body will die.

And the Jedi Order would survive.

 **500 Republica  
Padme's Apartment**

"My lady, we must get you to safety." Captain Typho said just as a missile blew a hole in the building.

"No. We have to evacuate the building. Get everyone to a shelter." Padme ordered.

"Yes my lady." Typho reluctantly complied and rush off to help evacuate the building.

"Come on, Threepio." Padme pulled C-3PO with her as the battle continued outside the building.

 **Transwarp Space _  
Enterprise_  
Bridge**

"Even with all of the ships we have we will still be outnumbered by the Confederate fleet and that's only if both sides do not turn on us when we arrive." Shon said, speaking with all of the fleet captains on the view screen.

" _Unless we can shut down the droids._ " Kurt Malcolm spoke up.

"You have a plan, Captain Malcolm?" Shon asked.

" _When we first encountered the Winds of Mygeeto, the first Confederate ship to enter our galaxy we discovered the command signal that could activate and deactivate the droids on that ship. We kept a copy of it with us when we brought several onboard for questioning. We can broadcast that signal on a wide band frequency that will shut down any droids that intercept the signal._ " Malcolm explained. " _The majority of the CIS military is run by droids and thus with them deactivated the attacking fleet will be crippled._ "

"You can modify the signal to interface with the droids?" Shon asked.

" _As far as we know the CIS was never aware of us having this copy of their signal the droid signals are not heavily encrypted by our standards and the programming of the droids are not sophisticated compared to other forms of cybernetic life we have encountered such as the Borg. They seem capable of independence but their intelligence is limited and they do not adapt well without a proper commander, following basic programming. We have gained access to their communication frequencies before first contact was officially made. It is doubtful that the Separatists bothered to alter their command signals._ " Kurt explained.

"Meaning we can avoid an all-out fight." Shon nodded. "I want all ships in the fleet to have a copy of this signal before we reach Coruscant." Shon then turned to Ahsoka. "Miss Tano, I am considering allowing you to be part of the landing party. Can you handle it?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes Captain."

The landing party which Ahsoka was a part of had the most important and hopefully easy part of the mission. They would beam down to the Jedi Temple and deploy portable transwarp beaming nodes that will allow the Jedi to be beamed away to a distant planet away from Coruscant. It would be unlikely that the Chancellor would never know that the Jedi had slipped away until it was too late. Shon was hesitate to choose Ahsoka to be part of the landing party, given what happened that led to her resignation of the Jedi Order but Ahsoka had surprisingly come forward and volunteered.

Despite what had happened Ahsoka did not believe the Jedi deserved to be exterminated by their own troops and it wouldn't be right to leave them to die.

"If we do this right, we'll have saved the Jedi but possibly made a dangerous enemy in the form of a dictator whose crimes rival that of the greatest butchers in the Milky Way." Shon admitted. "This Darth Sidious, Chancellor Palpatine seems to be more evil than even the Borg with his acts of wanton destruction. All due to a thousand year culture feud with the Jedi Order and the pointless need for domination and control. Not even beings like Khan Noonien Singh were willingly capable of such savagery."

"It's always been how the Sith are, Captain. I have had a few brushes with the Dark Side to know." Ahsoka admitted.

"But is that all it is? Two orders, having the same powers, one side trying to control and repress emotions to an extent even beyond the Vulcan approach to logic and another fuel by raw emotions such as anger and hate, fighting each other in a war that is centered around the concept of good vs evil. What kind of being chooses a life feeling nothing but pure rage? We all have our good and dark sides, it's what makes us the beings we are." Shon could not help but question. "I know the Sith began as Jedi who questioned the ways of the order, believing it was not the only path and that argument evolved into a war that ended in the exile of these Dark Jedi. How could a simply argument spark an entire war when it could have easily been stopped if both sides were simply willing to talk. And then the Dark Jedi created an entire empire out of the original Sith race that followed their ideas and led to so many wars after. One side attempting to exterminate the other to prove they are right, it's beyond madness to me and I wonder if either side has ever considered what they are doing to this galaxy and its people with their constant battles."

Shon sighed and rubbed his antenna.

"Forgive me, Ahsoka, perhaps it's because I am no Jedi and have no connection to this Force but I cannot help but feel that this is pure madness, a clash of ideologies taken to the extreme as Q said at the trial, even if I don't like agreeing with him. Every lifeform has the capacity for compassion and anger and yet each side abhors one of these traits and focuses on cutting off one trait that all sentient life feels. Even the Vulcans do not go to the point of repressing their emotions while my people and the Klingons are warrior races who have always found glory in battle but we have never allowed our passions or our prejudices to overwhelm us beyond the point of reason, retaining our sense of duty and honor. I guess that is a possible benefit to not being able to use this Force like you."

Ahsoke shifted slightly. "I admit, I questioned a lot of the Jedi's teachings during my time with the Order but I still believe the Jedi have tried to be good…I'm not sure why and how things went so wrong. Barriss may have been a murderer but…I can't help but feel she may have been right."

"Despite her actions towards you and the people she betrayed and murdered?" Shon questioned.

"Honestly, Captain I am not sure how I should feel at this point. Maybe Barriss realized the truth about the war and the Chancellor and it caused her to go mad. I am not sure anyone could handle the truth of the war and not go mad. Finding out that the entire war was faked just to kill the people who helped keep the peace for thousands of years, sacrificing thousands, billions if lives…It would be enough to break almost anyone." Ahsoka explained, clenching her fists slightly but loosened them as Shon put a hand on her shoulder. "…I am not sure how my master would have felt if he had known."

"I can only imagine he would be upset as you feel." Shon said. "This is why I asked if you were ready for this."

Ahsoka took a deep breath and nodded again. "I know…And I am ready."

"Good, because we're just about there."

Ahsoka looked at the viewscreen and watched as the fleet came out of transwarp space and showed Coruscant up ahead.

Surrounded by hundreds of Republic and Separatist warships firing on each other, endless explosions lighting up the planet in a whirlwind of chaos, destruction and death.

 **Admiral Trench's Confederate Dreadnought  
Bridge**

Admiral Trench narrowed his organic and cybernetic eyes as he stopped the fleet of Milky Way ships approaching Coruscant. "Why is the Milky Way alliance here?"

"They are raising shields and powering weapons." The tactical droid, General Kalani next to him reported.

"Prepare for additional enemies. Launch any remaining fighters and bombers we have in reserves. Lock weapons on the nearest ship and increased power to the shields." Trench said, stepping forward. "If the Alliance is here to assist the Republic we will show them what happens to anyone who is an enemy of the Confederacy."

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"CIS forces moving to intercept." Kyona reported and the crew could see dozens of droid Starfighters and bombers followed by larger CIS starships approaching.

"We have the signal ready?" Shon asked.

"Yes, Captain."

"Then let's use it." Shon said with a small smirk. "We'll show the Separatists the folley of not making their machines have more sophisticated programming."

"Ayr sir." Jirelle nodded.

To make the signal effective enough to disable any CIS droid above or on the planet the deflector dish of the _Enterprise_ to emit high level sub-space pulses of the shutdown signal that would spread across the system.

"We are approaching firing range." Kyona reported.

"Ready, Captain." Jirelle said.

Shon simply said one word. "Begin."

The _Enterprise_ 's deflector dish glowed and began emitting the pulses just as the droid ships were mere seconds from attacking. The pulse interfaced with their communication channels, giving them the order to shut down which they did. As the Alliance fleet approached Coruscant the pulses continued to shut down droid fighters and droid crews of the CIS capital ships. With many CIS ships now without a crew it allowed the Republic forces to attack and destroy many enemy ships in a matter of mere seconds, turning the tide of the battle.

 **Admiral Trench's Confederate Dreadnought  
Bridge**

"What is happening?!" Trench said, seeing many CIS ships becoming powerless and starting to drift aimlessly.

"Our forces to seem to be…Shutting down." Kalani stated, its droid brain rushing to calculate a strategy.

"Impossible! How could the Alliance have gained access to our command signals?!" Trench banged a nearby console. "Pull back before every droid in the fleet shuts down!"

"Calculating respon-" Kalani stopped mid-sentence as he shut down along with all the droids on the bridge.

Trench stared at the deactivated droid in horror and looked to see Republic ships taking aim at his ship.

Realizing he could not escape in time he did what he did when he thought he was going to die at Christophsis.

He accepted defeat and would go down with his ship as the Republic fleet fired on it.

 **Palpatine's Estate**

Palpatine was calmly taking a sip of tea as he watched the battle, barely batting an eye as he heard the sound of his door opening and turned around, seeing Shaak Ti along with Roron Corobb, Foul Moudama, Eath Koth and Kit Fisto.

"Chancellor." Shaak Ti spoke, igniting her lightsaber. "By the authority of the Jedi Council you are under arrest."

Palpatine raised an eyebrow as he faced the Jedi. "Are you threatning me, Master Jedi?"

"The Senate shall decide your fate." Shaak Ti replied.

Palpatine scowled. "I _am_ the senate."

"Not yet."

Palpatine lifted one sleeve and into his hand came a lightsaber hilt. "So, you spoke with Ventress, a wanted war criminal and decide this. It is treason then."

He ignited the lightsaber, showing its red glow before he lunged forward with an unnatural scream. Before the Jedi coud react Palpatine thrust his lightsaber through Corobb's heart and spun around, immediately beheading Moudama. He then fell upon Shaak Ti and Fisto, clashing their lightsabers with him several times before killing Fisto with a fatal slash to the chest. Just as he was about to kill Shaak Ti there was crash from behind and they looked to see General Grievous standing over broken glass from the window he broke through.

Grievous narrowed his eyes when he saw the red lightsaber in Palpatine's hand. "So it _is_ true. Chancellor Palpatine, so nice to finally meet you, Lord Sidious."

"General Grievous." Palpatine narrowed his eyes. "How dare you barge into my private estate? Who do you think you are?"

"The now Supreme Leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, now that I killed all the other leaders. But I made sure that they told me everything, including the plan by you and Dooku to plant that bomb in my shuttle and _mutilate me so I would become your weapon!_ " Grievous bellowed, pulling out his lightsabers and splitting his two arms into four.

Sidious showed no reaction while Shaak Ti's eyes widened in shock.

"If that wasn't enough Dooku and his scientists tampered with my mind even though I _forbade_ them and you likely knew about it!" Grievous continued, taking a step forward. "I forced the truth out of San Hill before I crushed his skull so there's no point denying it! You tricked me! You, Dooku, all of you are a bunch of lying deceitful cowards!"

With that said Grievous lunched at Sidious, swing all of his lightsabers at once in a state of pure rage. Sidious however moved with speed that was surprising for a man his age, casually stepping out of the way of each slash or parrying with his lightsaber. Shaak Ti watched in silent shock as Grievous, one of the Republic's most dangerous enemies who had killed dozens of Jedi since the beginning of the Clone Wars, battle Darth Sidious. Only Grievous was finding it hard to kill a single Sith Lord as Sidious finally attacked, cutting off the top left hand and watching as it fell onto the floor with the deactivated lightsaber still in its grip.

Grievous fell back, looking at the scorched stump that use to be his hand and back at Sidious with a nasty glare, growling as he attacked again. However Sidious again slashed off another hand, this time a right hand that fell to the floor. Grievous snarled, slashing both lightsabers at Sidious but the Sith Lord simply held out his hand and Grievous was lifted up off the floor.

"Release me!" Grievous shouted as Sidious put away his lightsaber.

Sidious answered Grievous's demand by holding out his hand and releasing a massive burst of Force Lightning that hit Grievous, causing him to howl in pain but Sidious kept him suspended in the air as he tortured the cyborg general with end. Shaak Ti gasped but could not will herself to step in and help. She could only slip away as Sidious tortured his former minion with enough lightning that scorch marks appeared on Grievous's body.

Sidious finally ended his torture and dropped Grievous on the floor. "A pity you chose to defy me, General. You might have lived a little longer."

Grievous could barely move and he was wheezing and coughing for air, his remaining organs having suffered exposure to endless volts of electricity to the point he believed that if Sidious continued on for a mere second they would have given out.

"But unfortunately you have elected the way of…PAIN!" Sidious shouted as he unleashed another burst of lightning on Grievous who could do nothing but scream as the lightning coursed through his body, his metal body that only made it much more painful for his remaining organs.

When Sidious finally relented he clenched his fists and the metal chest protecting his gutsack crushed it, causing blood and oil to be be splattered. As Grievous howled he gripped the card he kept with him.

The card Q had given him.

As his metallic chest crushed his heart he let out one final scream.

And then Grievous knew no more.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Invasion**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _With the deactivation of the invading droid army and the later confirmed death of General Grievous, the invasion broke the back of the Separatists. Normally this would be cause for celebration but our next orders put paid to those thoughts._


	61. Chapter 61

Sidious looked to the door and saw Shaak Ti had fled, thinking she could somehow flee to safety. Sidious chuckled as he knew that there would be no where to hide now. Not when the Jedi had attacked him and thanks to the holo-recordings it would like they were allied with Grievous in an attempt to assassinate him.

It would look like the Jedi arranged the entire invasion.

This was even better than he could have hoped and now he had what he needed to proceed to the next phase of his final plan. It didn't matter if the Milky Way knew of his identity and his plans for thanks to their subtle intereferences and their rules of non-interference he had his apprentice, he had the proof needed to oust the Jedi as criminals, and now Grievous was dead along with the Separatist Council meaning the Separatists would be in disarray with its leaders now dead.

He activated his holo-communicator. "Lord Vader, the time has come."

" _Yes, Master._ "

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _What I remember about the rise of the Empire is… is how quiet it was. During the waning hours of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion was discreetly transferred back to Coruscant. It was a silent trip. We all knew what was about to happen, what we were about to do._

 _Did we have any doubts? Any private traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight to Coruscant, not when Order 66 came down, and not when we marched into the Jedi Temple._

 _Not a word._

* * *

 **Coruscant  
Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Transporter Room**

Ahsoka stepped onto the transporter, glancing at the engineers and the security guards that would be beaming down with her and she shared a glance at Captain Shon who nodded at her.

Ahsoka nodded back as Shon signaled the transporter operator. "Energize."

 **Jedi Temple**

Master Yoda watched as the Starfleet and Klingon teams beamed down, smiling to see Ahsoka was among them. The landing parties consisted of MACOs and Klingon Imperial Guards, all of them armed and ready. Among the many people to be beamed down were also small mechanical walkers that were the new Archer-Class Exo-Suits for improved weaponry and protection.

"Master Yoda." Ahsoka stepped forward, gretting the Jedi Master.

"Good to see you again, former Padawan Tano." Yoda said with a nod.

Ahsoka smiled a bit. "It's technically Lieutenant now but I'll settle for just Ahsoka. What is the situation?"

Obi-Wan chose to answer. "We've been evacuating the younglings through Jedi shuttles, leaving every few hours under the premise of they are being sent for more supplies. We've also been sending the younger Padawans to the lower levels with detailed maps to keep them safe. Master Windu has gone to arrest the Chancellor and a team led by Masters Shaak Ti and Kit Fisto had already gone to meet him there."

"He did what?!" The commander of the Klingon officers, Emperor Kahless shouted, stepped forward. "Such an action would alert him of your knowledge and he coud order the clones to retaliate!"

"Master Windu believed they could move quickly and stop the Chancellor from giving the order." Obi-Wan said, defending Windu's actions.

"And he may have well jepordized this entire operation!" Kahless snapped, looking to his officers. "Set up defense points near the entrance! Qapla!"

The Klingons nodded and moved with the MACOs, all of them ready to defend the Jedi Temple.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Ahsoka quickly asked.

"Destorying the libraries, we are. Prevent them from falling into Sith hands, we must." Yoda answered.

Ahsoka nodded and watched as the MACOs and Imperial Guard members began working with the Jedi to help set up a proper defense line in case the Chancellor ordered the clones to attack the temple.

As they worked Ahsoka went into the library and accessed the communications, intending to call an old friend. "Rex, can you hear me?"

It took a moment to answer. " _Commander Tano, is that you?_ "

"It's Lieutenant, now." Ahsoka replied with a small smile. "It's good to hear you again."

" _Good to hear you again too, Lieutenant. You still have your wrist comm don't you?_ "

"Yeah…Rex, I have something to tell you and it's not going to be easy. Where are you?" Ahsoka asked.

" _Leading the clone detachment on Mandalore. The resistance there called for help and I was assigned to help them deal with the Death Watch._ " Rex replied. " _What is it you have to tell me?_ "

And so Ahsoka told him everything while Masters Yoda and Kenobi coordinated with the Milky Way landing parties to defend the temple.

A MACO stepped forward. "Lieutenant, our outer posts have spotted an army of clones approaching the temple."

Ahsoka stiffened, unconsciously gripping her lightsabers.

"And the Republic ships are moving to intercept our fleet in orbit."

Kahless grimaced. "The Chancellor has made his move."

 **Coruscant  
Orbit  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

Captain Shon stepped back onto the bridge as the klaxons rang. "Report!"

"Republic ships are moving to intercept us." Jirelle reported.

"They are powering weapons and shields." Kyona continued.

Shon sat down in his command chair, watching the Republic Star Destroyers approaching the Alliance fleet. "Raise shields and modify them to deflecting mode."

Scans of the lightsabers had revealed that the magnetic fields encasing the plasma deflected blasters, which were plasma based weapons, with the energy supplied by the crystals used to power the lightsaber that were far more powerful than the magnetic fields around a blaster bolts. In the possibility of war with either side of the two factions in this galaxy Starfleet R&D had created a way for the shields to emit a magnetic field similar to the lightsabers that could deflect blasters and turbo-lasers. It was not a perfect solution but it would buy them time and force the Republic back.

"We buy as much time for our people in the temple to get them out. Full power to phasers and ready the torpedoes. Order the fleet to prepare for combat." Shon said.

"Aye sir. We are being hailed."

"On speakers."

" _This is Admiral Whilhuf Tarkin. The Alliance has been found guilty of colluding with the Separatists and the Jedi in an attempt to take control of the Republic. You will power down your ships and surrender or be destroyed. This is your only warning._ " Tarkin spoke through the speakers.

Shon narrowed his eyes. "Admiral Tarkin, you seem to have a pension for making claims and accusations without evidence."

" _I assure you, Captain Shon that evidence has been found. Holo-recordings in the Chancellor's office revealed the Jedi attempting to attack the Chancellor who were aided by General Grievous. Fortunately the Chancellor's personal guards intervened and executed the Jedi and Grievous. You are now enemies of the Republic and no diplomatic immunity will save you this time._ "

"Fire one shot, Tarkin, and you will start a war with the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Republic, and perhaps both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. You really think you have the strength to start another war in the wake of the war you have fought in your own galaxy?"

" _You have been warned. Surrender or be destroyed._ "

Shon waved his hand and Jirelle cut the link. "Boring conversation anyway."

"Yes sir." Samuel nodded in agreement.

"Tell the fleet to expect a fight and tell our landing party to move fast." Shon said as the Republic fleet moved into range. "Time to show Tarkin that Starfleet doesn't bow down to any dictatorship. As soon as they open fire I want us returning fire with phasers at full power and a full of torpedoes, every kind we got."

"Sir, they are firing now."

The forward turbo-lasers on the incoming Star Destroyers fired at the Alliance fleet, slamming into the shields. Only instead of completely weakening the shields the magnetic charge reflected half the incoming bolts back at the very ships that fired them, slamming head-on into the forward Republic ships. That wasn't the end as the Alliance fleet returned fire with their own weapons, phasers and disruptors passing through Republic deflector shields like they were not even there, carving through the damaged hulls and allowing for torpedoes to enter the hulls, causing even more damage. Photon and Plasma torpedoes caused moderate damage to enemy ships while Quantum and Transphasic torpedoes knocked out the shields and tore open large sections that caused massive damage.

"Looks like we surprised them, Captain. They're reducing speed but still firing on us." Kyona said as the _Enterprise_ shook. "Shields are holding at ninety percent."

"Divert any non-vital power to the shields. We need to give our people all the time we can give them." Shon said as a _Venator_ lost its bridge tower because of a Klingon torpedo. "Tell the fleet to take emergency maneuvers. Nothing fancy and remind all ships they are to stay in groups."

"Aye sir. Republic fighters moving to attack. Drones are being launched."

From many of the Milky Way ships came drones similar to the ones used by the _Obilisk 1_ that fired on the fighters, taking them out in or two hits, protecting their motherships from assault. The Alliance had long come prepared for the possible event of war being declared against them by either the Galactic Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

 **Coruscant  
Surface  
Jedi Temple**

Darth Vader led the armies of clone troopers up the entrance of the Jedi Temple, lightsaber in his hand though not yet ignited. He stopped as he saw forcefields appearing at the entrance, preventing him and his troops from entering.

He tried to reach out with the Force to target the shield emitters but there was a void behind the force fields.

He recognized the technology. "Milky Way…The Alliance is helping the Jedi."

Only they could be resourceful enough to duplicate the Force-dampening field the Borg had originally created. A cunning and creative move to counter the power that the Jedi and the Sith wielded as an advantage over the rest of the galaxy but Vader would not be stopped so easily. He could not use the Force to crush the shield emitters and enter the temple through the entrance. If not for the fact his master wanted the Jedi Temple and the knowledge inside intact he would have ordered an aerial bombardment but that was no guarantee that Jedi would not simply move to the lower levels.

"Commander Appo, concentrate all fire on the shields. Deplete them of power. Use all available weapons." Vader ordered.

"Yes sir." Appo, leader of the small contingent of the 501st that had been transferred to Coruscant's surface nodded, gesturing his troops to fire at the shields.

Commander Rex, the original commander of the 501st was currently on Mandalore, helping to end Death Watch's control of the planet. In his place was Commander Appo, leading the contingent of the 501st with Vader to destroy the insurgent Jedi Order. And he demonstrated his loyalty but ordering all clone troopers at the front to aim and fire on the shields. A gunship floated above the army and concentrated fire on the entrance.

Only when the first blasters hit the shields they were reflected back at the clone army and even the gunship, knocking it out of the sky and causing troops below to scatter in order to avoid being squashed by the fallen aircraft.

"They can reflect our blasters?" Appo stated, shocked by what he had seen.

"Send for more gunships and switch to rockets." Vader ordered.

"Yes sir."

 **Palpatine's Office**

As Vader began his attack on the Jedi Temple Sidious opened a channel to every clone group across the galaxy that was under the command of a Jedi and gave a single command. "Execute Order 66."

And the clones followed their orders without question.

He grinned for a second but frowned as he sensed a presence. "Master Windu, come to confirm that General Grievous has been destroyed? I must say did not expect to see you."

Mace Windu stood at the door, his lightsaber ignited. "This ends now, Chancellor…Or should I call Darth Sidious?"

Darth Sidious turned and faced Windu, summoning but not yet igniting his lightsaber. "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"

"The Senate will decide your fate." Windu stated.

"I _am_ the Senate." Sidious snarled.

"Not yet." Windu retorted.

Sidious ignited his lightsaber. "It's treason then."

He let out snarling howl as he leapt at Windu, eager to kill the Jedi Master.

 **Jedi Temple**

"They're going to break through the shields we set up any second now." A woman dressed in MACO body armor reported. "We need to move, now."

"On it." The MACOs started placing transwarp transport pattern enhancers on the ground. "This will beam anyone inside to starships currently near the system that have not been detected by the Republic."

"What happens then?" Obi-Wan asked.

"If they ask to get off they can. After this we'll have to withdraw from this galaxy and possibly take measures to prevent the Chancellor from pursuing us to our galaxy." The MACO commander answered.

"Understand, we do." Yoda nodded. "Grateful we are, for your help."

Ahsoka looked out the window and saw three new gunships pelting the shields. "How long until those shields give out?"

"Not long." The MACO commander nodded as several Photon-Grenade Launchers was placed down on the on floor at the entrance and aimed at the gunship.

The launchers fired at the gunships, flying through the shields, hitting it and the grenades went off, blasting the middle gunship out of the air and causing it to fall down on the army below. The grenade launchers began firing through the shields at the army.

"That's going hold them off for just a few seconds. We have to move now!" The commander said urgently. "We have eight transporter points so we can start beaming people out. Let's start getting people out of here."

Obi-Wan nodded and began directing people into the triangle marks that transporter enhancers had been placed around, starting with the younglings. Yoda watched as the groups of younglings vanished in flashes of light, closing his eyes in momentary regret for the coming days they would have to endure. At the very least they would survive and they would be safe somewhere in the Outer Rim and if the Outer Rim isn't safe enough there might be other places. As much as Yoda did not want wish it, the Sith may have won this and with this victory gain the entire galaxy, leading it into a new age of darkness not seen since the Hundred-Year Darkness or the Great Galactic War.

"Sir, the shields are almost out of power." A Klingon guard reported.

"Then we must hold the line until the evacuation is finished." The MACO commander said, powering her rifle.

"We'll help." Obi-Wan nodded to his fellow Jedi who readied themselves.

The Jedi along with the MACOs and the Klingon Warriors readied themselves as the last of the shields fell. Then the clones fired in, all of them aiming to kill anyone in their way. The Jedi quickly started deflecting the blaster bolts while the MACOs and the Klingon Imperial Guards fired back. Ahsoka was up at the front, deflecting bolts with her two lightsabers while drones employed by the Alliance forces helped push back the clones, helping the Alliance protect the Jedi as they evacuated.

The Archer Exo-Suits demonstrated their worth as they provided large amounts of cover fire, able to take over a dozen blaster bolts that were absorbed by their shields and channeled into their phaser weapons and fired back at the clones. The Gorn, who were now part of the Klingon Empire demonstrated their strength and endurance as they ripped large pieces out of the walls and ground and threw them at the clones, hitting more than a dozen of them. The few Remans who were part of the Starfleet or even from the Romulan Republic used their psionic powers to confuse the closest clones, disorientating them and causing them to faint.

However the clones were still pushing through and it got worse as more gunships flew in, firing at the Jedi Temple from the air while walkers on the ground fired at the temple. The clones on the gunship broke into the higher levels and began flooding the temple from the very top, attacking any Jedi or anyone else they deemed an enemy. It was slowly turning from a battle into a massacre as the Jedi and Milky Way forces fell back as the clones began moving through the temple, attacking anyone whom they believed to be their enemy.

"There are too many of them! We have to fall back!" The MACO commander shouted.

"All the children have been evacuated!" Another MACO near a transporter site reported.

"Then let's start pulling out! Fall back! Fall back!"

Slowly the Alliance forces fell back deeper into the interior with the Jedi still deflecting blasters bolts as more and more clones entered the Jedi Temple.

"Photon grenades have been placed in the libraries. They will go off in under three minutes." A Bolian MACO reported.

"Then time it is to leave. Configured the beacon has been, to warn all Jedi to flee from their clone troops. Disappear into the Outer Rim, they will." Yoda said.

Ahsoka tapped her badge. "Tano to _Enterprise_. Ready for beam out."

"Not yet." Everyone stopped and watched as a black armored figure entered the temple, a red lightsaber in his hands. "You will not escape so easily."

Ventress narrowed her eyes in rage, seeing the monster who murdered Vos as he stepped into the temple. "Vader."

"So that is Darth Vader." Obi-Wan readied himself, along with remaining Jedi Masters, Yoda included.

Vader's presence in the Force was immense, stronger than even Count Dooku and Darth Maul. Full of hate and anger that it was almost suffocating.

"You are too late. This entire temple has been evacuated. The Jedi will survive." Obi-Wan stated, readying himself for battle.

"You have only prolonged the inveitable." Darth Vader replied as Alliance members started to beam away. "I will find you all."

The remaining Jedi and Alliance members were beamed out as the clones swarmed into the temple. Vader watched as they vanished. It did not matter if the Jedi escaped with the Alliance or not. Vader heard explosions and realized that the Jedi Archives had been destroyed, taking with them thousands of years of Jedi knowledge.

"My lord, we have been unable to locate secure the archives." Commander Appo reported.

"Secure the Temple. Nothing leaves or enters." Vader said, turning to leave the temple.

He would have to inform his master of this development. As Vader left he spied a hover vehicle land on the upper platform and the built in scanners of his helmet allowed him to see who it was.

"Senator Organa." Vader mused softly.

The clones on the platform forced the senator to leave at gunpoint quickly but Vader decided it would be wise to keep an eye on the good senator just in case.

 **Coruscant  
Orbit  
USS _Enterprise_**

"They are onboard, Captain." Kyona reported, as another _Venator_ was crippled by a torpedo to the engines.

Shon nodded. "Than our work here is done. Signal the fleet to begin a fighting-retreat."

"Easier said than done, Captain. The Republic fleet still outnumbers us and they are to box us in." Kyona said, looking at the scanners.

The battle had ended in somewhat of a stalemate as even though the Alliance fleet was outnumbered it made up for it with technological innovation but the Republic still outnumbered in about three to one odds. The Alliance was holding them back but they were slowly being worn down by the constant enemy fire and if they did not leave soon they would be destroyed. The impulse engines of the Alliance ships mades them faster than the Republic ships and they could even dodge the turbo-lasers since the Skyriver ships lacked the clear precision of their Milky Way counterparts, more used to firing forward at the enemy like sea-based battleships during the most historical conflcits on Earth.

The only reason they were being hit was because of the very large numbers of Republic ships in orbit of Coruscant. On the other hand their shields offered little protection against the effect of Milky Way weapons and the bridge towers and engines were a heavy weakness that the Alliance exploited more than once. The bridge towers of the Republic ships exposed them to a quick attack by beam weapons or torpedoes with little to no protection what so ever and only one torpedo was needed to be shot through the exhaust ports to cripple the engines, even cause a chain reaction. The fighters launched did little to nothing other than play as a small distraction for the Alliance fleet but their shields were able to shrug off the blasters.

The Alliance wasn't looking for a victory, they were only buying time for their people on the surface.

"Then we'll have to disable them. Has the deflector dish been modified?" Shon asked as the ship shook again.

"Yes sir."

"Then order all ships to fall behind us. We'll lead the way out." Shon ordered.

The Alliance fell behind the _Enterprise_ as the flagship of the Federation fleet moved in the direction of the nearest hyperspace route. The route was currently blocked by Star Destroyers moving to intercept them but Shon was not worried.

"Begin emitting the ionic pulse." Shon immediately ordered.

From the deflector dish of the _Enterprise_ came a series of low level ion pulses, designed to mimic the ion cannons used in this galaxy that disrupted electronic systems like an electromagnetic pulse. One difference between Milky Way and Skyriver ships was that the ships in the Skyriver Galaxy still relied on electricity being carried through power lines that was highly vulnerable to electromagnetic pulses, specifically the kind used by ion cannons which is why they were so effective at disabling ships, even with deflector shields active. The pulses touched the Republic ships and instantly all systems onboard were disabled, surprising the crews who did not see any sign of an ion weapon being fired.

"Enemy ships disabled." Kyona reported.

"Then let's get out of here." Shon nodded. "Take us to transwarp."

"Aye sir."

A moment later the Alliance vanished in a flash of great light, taking with them their Jedi passengers that had survived what would no doubt be an attack that would have led to the near purge of an entire culture with the deaths of thousands. From the bridge of his flagship Tarkin narrowed his eyes in annoyance and anger at the failure to prevent Starfleet and its allies escaping with the Jedi criminals. They would answer for this, Tarkin would make sure of it.

No one disgraced the single government in this galaxy and got away with it.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _Despite the escape of the traitorous Jedi along with the Milky Way Alliance with the fall of Coruscant, Palpatine's rise to power was complete. In recognition of our service and loyalty to the Emperor, the 501st were placed under the direct command of Lord Vader. Armed with deadly new weapons, blazing new ships, and shining new armor, our presence let the galaxy know that the days of the Old Republic were well and truly over. We were establishing a new era:_

 _An era of order and peace._

* * *

 **Palpatine's Office**

The battle between Darth Sidious and Mace Windu moved across the room, their lightsabers clashing in a never ending blur of moving lights. Windu could feel how strong Sidious was in the Force and his skills with the lightsaber were tremendous, a ferocious yet fluidic style that was next to impossible to predict.

However Windu was no mere Jedi.

Hailed as one of the most skilled duelists in the Jedi Order, rivaled only by Master Yoda and Count Dooku before his depature from the Order, Windu had also developed a customized fighting style meant to channel the inner darkness inside him.

Well, fighting style might not be the best to describe Vaapad.

It was more of a state of mind than a fighting style, accepting fury of the opponent, transforming them into one half of a superconducting loop, with the other half being the power of darkness inherent in the opponent. The form came with a cautionary warning by the Jedi that use of Vaapad led the user perilously close to the dark side due to its focus on physical combat. Vaapad required a constant and sizable stream of Force use from the user, with a barely contained explosion of Force power essential to all variations of Form VII as another prerequisite for its use. Mace Windu developed Vaapad with the aid of fellow master Sora Bulq, by drawing inspiration from the movements of a creature, known as both the Vaapad and the Juyo, native to the planet Sarapin.

Moving too fast to see, just as the vaapad creature would attack with blindingly fast tentacles that were impossible to count until the vaapad was dead. A Vaapad user's attacks would flow into each other with liquid precision, creating the constant near-invisible weave of energy which was the ready-stance of Vaapad. It was also possible to apply Vaapad in unarmed combat, with the user's arms becoming too fast to see, as well as in the use of dual lightsabers. In order to combat Sidious' furious technique, Windu gave himself completely over to Vaapad.

He allowed it to fully channel his own inner darkness, as well as accepting and using the darkness of Sidious. When fully immersed in his form, Windu's fighting prowess was such that he could allow his body to fight automatically for him without needing to direct it with his mind. Sidious' own fury was used and redirected by Windu via the use of Vaapad, a process which Windu mentally likened to a lightsaber deflecting a blaster bolt back at its source. As such Windu was not only able to counter Sidious but he even forced the Sith Lord to fall back, striking at the Sith's defenses and forcing him back to the window of the office.

Windu's skill in shatterpoints allowed him to shatter the window as they came close and Windu continued his assault, forcing Sidious close to the edge which caused the Sith to falter in speed to keep himself from being knocked over the edge. That was all Windu needed to kick Sidious in the face, sending his lightsaber fall out of the window as Windu pointed his lightsaber at Sidious's neck as the Sith crawled back.

"You are under arrest, my lord." Windu said, glaring down at the Sith.

"Kill me while you still can, Windu. You cannot stop what is about to happen. My death will only ensure that the Republic will fall and the Jedi's extermination." Sidious spat.

"The oppression of the Sith will _never_ return. Your plot to take control of the Republic is over. You have lost!" Windu stated.

"No… _No, you will die!_ " Sidious shouted, raising his hands and releasing a massive blast of Force Lightning at Windu who barely managed to block the attack with his lightsaber.

Using Vapaad Windu channeled the power of Sidious's attack and redirected back at the Sith Lord himself, scorching him body and skin terribly. His hair thinned and burned away, his skin shriveled and became oily, deep furrows appeared on his forehead, and his eyes turned horrible yellow. Finally Sidious cancelled his attack, panting for breath, seemingly helpless now.

"You Sith disease." Windu spat, raising his lightsaber.

"Yes, do it." Sidious grinned sickingly. "Carve out my heart! Ensure the final death of the Jedi!"

Windu was about to finish Sidious off when a breathing sound was heard from the other side of the office.

"Too late." Sidious cackled.

Windu turned around, leaving himself open to attack as a red lightsaber slashed off his arm. Windu didn't even have time to scream as Sidious unleashed an even larger blast of Force Lightning.

"POWER!" Sidious howled over the sounds of the lightning scorching Windu's body. "UNLIMITED POWER!"

He unleashed even larger and more powerful lightning from his fingers that slammed into Windu with such force he flew out of the office through the shattered window and into the dark abyss below.

Sidious chuckled as he stood up, looking to Darth Vader as he stared out the window. "You have done well, Lord Vader. With the Jedi defeated we are much closer to bringing peace to the galaxy."

"The Jedi have lost their way but they have gained powerful allies. The Milky Way Alliance arrived at the temple and beamed away many of Jedi and the archives were destroyed." Vader stated.

"Their treachery will be dealt with. In the meantime you will go to the Mustafar system. A bunker constructed by the Separatists resides there that can shut down or reprogram their droid armies. The Alliance has given us everything we need to turn the entire galaxy against them." Sidious said with a grin.

Soon he would have absolute dominion over the galaxy and not even the Milky Way could stop him.

"They will be dealt with, Master. I will not allow them to endanger the galaxy…Or Padme." Vader said.

Sidious nodded. "Yes, you will have the chance to speak with your wife, Lord Vader. Make her understand that this was necessary."

 **Transwarp Space  
Alliance Fleet  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Conference Room**

"The evacuation went as well as we could have hoped. Anyone we didn't beam out of the Temple was either off world or they fled into the underworld of Coruscant." Ahsoka told Shon who nodded.

"Good work, Lieutenant. Now though we have the matter of deciding of what to do with all of our guests." Shon said, looking at the senior members of the Jedi Order. "Given that Palpatine has no doubt turned the Republic against us and the Separatists will demand answers regarding the attack on Coruscant we will have to withdraw all our forces back to our galaxy. We might even have to look for way to close the portal to ensure they do not follow."

"And the refugees who have relocated to New Romulus?" Obi-Wan asked.

"They don't seem eager to return to this galaxy given all the horrors they suffered through the war." Shon answered. "There was extensive talk and almost all of them have decided they are better off in our galaxy. We can bring you to our galaxy to better protect you."

Yoda shook his head. "Accept your hospitality we wish, but we cannot. Allow this galaxy to be dominated by the Sith, we cannot."

"Then where will you go?" Shon asked.

"Many worlds in the galaxy hidden from the Sith, there are. Disappear we will, until the time is right. But in your dept we are." Yoda stated.

"I do not like simply leaving, Master Yoda. As easy as it would be to simply close the portals there's no guarantee there won't be some way the Republic won't follow us."

" _Bridge to Captain._ "

Shon quickly answered. "Yes."

" _There is a life broadcast on the Holo-Net. I believe you and the Jedi should see this._ "

Shon nodded. "Go ahead."

The viewscreen showed the live broadcast from the new Republic Senate Building set up after the second Iconian attack on Coruscant.

 **Coruscant  
Senate Building**

Sidious supposed he should have been angry at the fact that the Milky Way Alliance helped the Jedi escape the planned purge but he was still able to succeed the majority of his plans. With the Jedi labeled as criminals by the entire galaxy they would be forced to run to the Outer Rim or perhaps seek refuge in the Milky Way Galaxy itself. It didn't matter how they tried to run it wouldn't be far enough. The remnants of the Separatists had agreed to be absorbed into the Empire and though he would have originally had the droid armies deactivated to ensure no one got in his way the Empire still needed time to be properly built and to recover from the Clone Wars. But now the Separatists had formally agreed to be part of the Empire when they were told that Count Dooku and General Grievous had secretly conspired with the Jedi to throw the galaxy into war and then take control of both sides in the aftermath.

They were as easy to manipulate as the Republic Senate and thus gave him complete control of their armies and remaining systems for better cooperation and a chance to end the wars and violence. He had them in the palm of his hands as he blamed the entire war on the Jedi. They were blamed for the corruption in the Senate that under-minded the Republic, they were blamed for the Separatists crisis since the Separatist leader himself was a former Jedi, and they were blamed for the creation of the clone army since it was known by everyone now that a Jedi was the one who placed the army for the clones to be created.

And the growing resentment for the Jedi Order only helped seal his claims, confirming to the many who had long since distrusted the Jedi that they were warmongers instead of peacekeepers. However he was annoyed that the Jedi had destroyed their library archives during their escape, denying him their secrets and the chance to gain a list of Force potentials he could recruit into his dark side army.

"Citizens of the civilized galaxy, on this day we mark a transition. For a thousand years, the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of civilized beings. But there were those who would set us against one another, and we took up arms to defend our way of life against the Separatists. In so doing, we never suspected that the greatest threat came from within."

Palpatine stood in the center podium, his face partially covered by a hood but his scarred and deformed face could be seen.

"The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, had conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy's leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic into ruin. But the hatred in their hearts could not be hidden forever. At last, there came a day when our enemies showed their true natures."

As he spoke images of the Jedi led by Shaak Ti, even showing General Grievous bursting into the office and Mace Windu were shown.

"The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic and the Separatists by assassinating the heads of government and usurping control of the clone and droid armies and collabortating with the Milky Way Alliance. But the aims of would-be tyrants were valiantly opposed by those without elitist, dangerous powers. Our loyal clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds."

Bail slipped into the pod occupied by Padme. "What's been happening?"

"The Chancellor's been elaborating on a plot by the Jedi and the Milky Way to overthrow the Republic and the Separatists." Padme answered, still listening to Palpatine's speech.

Bail frowned but said nothing.

"The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! Any collaborators will suffer the same fate, no matter who they are and where they hide. These have been trying times, but we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger."

Palpatine stopped for a second to bask in the applause.

"The war is over. The Separatists have formally sued for peace when it was revealed their leaders were assassinated by traitors who formed an alliance with the Milky Way Galaxy, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. The United Federation, the Klingon Empire, and their allies aided the Jedi and their fellow agents Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, former Separatist commander Asajj Ventress and General Grievous in the assassination of the Separatist Council and the near assassination of myself to take control of this galaxy but they have failed and we will make them pay! They will _not_ get away with this treachery even if they try to run back to the safety of their galaxy!"

Padme pressed a hand to her bulging stomach that was hidden by her dress in apprehension, wishing now more than ever that her husband was here with her.

"We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years."

Nearly the entire building erupted in applause and no one inside could hear the applause outside as the Chancellor's speech was broadcasted across the galaxy.

"An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life. An Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution! By bringing the entire galaxy under one law, one language, and the enlightened guidance of one individual, the corruption that plagued the Republic in its later years will never take root. Regional governors will eliminate the bureaucracy that allowed the Separatist movement to grow unchecked."

Did the rest of the Senate not realize what they were listening to?

How could they support this?

"A strong and growing military will ensure the rule of law. Under the Empire's New Order, our most cherished beliefs will be safeguarded. We will defend our ideals by force of arms. We will give no ground to our enemies in this galaxy of the other and will stand together against attacks from within or without. Let the enemies of the Empire take heed: those who challenge Imperial resolve will be crushed."

They were giving their freedom away for a dictatorship that would have the power to do whatever it wanted.

They were taking away the ability to make their voices be heard.

"We have taken on a task that will be difficult, but the people of the Empire are ready for the challenge. Because of our efforts, the galaxy has traded war for peace and anarchy for stability. Billions of beings now look forward to a secure future. The Empire will grow as more planets feel the call, from the Rim to the wilds of unknown space and even into the Milky Way Galaxy if we must."

Padme so badly wanted to stand up and scream how wrong this was.

This was not freedom.

This was tyranny masked behind the promise of freedom.

"Imperial citizens must do their part. Join our grand star fleet. Become the eyes of the Empire by reporting suspected insurrectionists. Travel to the corners of the galaxy to spread the principles of the New Order to barbarians."

By forcing them into this new Empire, most likely at gunpoint.

"Build monuments and technical wonders that will speak of our glory for generations to come. The clone troopers, now proudly wearing the name of Imperial stormtroopers, have tackled the dangerous work of fighting our former enemies on the front lines that have now joined us as friends and fellow comrades all wishing to ensure peace and justice return to the galaxy. Many have died in their devotion to the Empire. Imperial citizens would do well to remember their example. The New Order of peace has triumphed over the shadowy secrecy of shameful magicians."

Shameful magicians?

How could the Chancellor say that?

The Jedi have defended the Republic for thousands and thousands of years!

"The direction of our course is clear. I will lead the Empire to glories beyond imagining. We have been tested, but we have emerged stronger. We move forward as one people: the Imperial citizens of the first Galactic Empire."

Ruler for life.

No change, no democracy.

Only a single mind deciding the fate of trillions of beings in an entre galaxy.

"We will prevail. Ten thousand years of peace begins today." Palpatine finally ended his speech and watched as the Senate boomed with endless applause. "Safety! Security! Justice and peace! Say it with me!"

"Safety, Security, Justice, and Peace!" The many Senators chanted without end. "Safety, Security, Justice, and Peace!"

Thus began the time of the New Order.

Padme looked around in dismay and disappointment as she spoke so quietly only Bail heard her. "So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."

Bail tried to stand but Padme grabbed him by the arm, stopping him and making him glance at her. "We cannot let this happen! We can still enter a motion-"

"No. You can't." Padme shook her head sadly. "There will be a time."

They had to wait for the time was right to oppose this new Empire.

 **Location Unknown  
 _Tor  
_ Bridge**

Darth Maul, or perhaps just Maul now watched in anger and disgust as Palpatine, his former master made his speech, bringing about the New Order that would allow the Sith to rule the galaxy. At one time Maul imagined himself standing next to his former master as they stood over the remains of the Jedi with the galaxy in their hands.

Only now Maul was digusted at what he was seeing as he was no longer the apprentice and his master had betrayed him.

On way or another Maul would have his revenge on Sidious and he would take control of his Empire, becoming the true ruler of the galaxy.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Various Locations**

The Holo-Net allowed the transmission Palpatine's speech to be broadcasted through the portal, allowing the Alpha and Beta Quadrants to see and hear the emergence of the new government in the Skyriver Galaxy. The people of the many governments all had different reactions:

The United Federation of Planets realized that a new war was on the horizon.

The Klingons were insulted by how Palpatine lied about them and vowed if they had the chance they would cut his head off.

The Romulans were concerned because New Romulus was one of the closest planets to the portal.

The Cardassians saw what appeared to be a remake of their world before the Dominion War and remembered how they had suffered for it.

The Ferengi believed that they had lost a chance for profit in the new galaxy.

The Xindi and the Defari could only look on in concern.

The Tholians simply understood that this Empire could be another threat to them and their interests.

The Borg still in close proximity to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants deemed the existence of the Galactic Empire irrelevant as it did not affect them or their mission to achieve perfection.

While others decided whether it would be best to avoid this Empire if it ever came to this galaxy or not.

Only time would tell.


	62. Chapter 62

**Transwarp Space  
Alliance Fleet  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Conference Room**

"An Empire…" Ahsoka trailed off, unable to believe to she had just seen and heard.

"It's like watching history repeat itself." Samuel Winters spoke. "I am suddenly reminded of the rise of Adolph Hitler and Nazi regime in Germany in Earth's twentieth century. He even promised his regime would a last a thousand years much like Palpatine has just promised for this new Empire _._ "

"And just about everyone in Starfleet, even people who are not from Earth know of how that regime acted." Shon stated, his voice solemn in the wake of the broadcast. "And the atrocities they committed before they were finally defeated. If this Empire does indeed become a galaxy spanning version of Nazi Germany it is even more imperative we fall back to our galaxy immediately."

"Destroy the Sith, we must." Yoda finally said.

"That may be next to impossible. We can't risk returning to Coruscant with the entire Republic possibly chasing us now." Shon said.

"It may be next to impossible to just undo what he has done. He has the entire galaxy convinced of everything he has said. I never before heard of anyone capable of such a deception, not even Khan Noonian Singh was ever this dangerous." Samuel Winters agreed. "Even if you make it back and kill him you might just throw the entire galaxy into even more turmoil. He has them convinced now and he'll stabilize the galaxy first before his regime truly begins."

"Why, that is he must be stopped." Yoda said.

Shon would have spoken but a call from the bridge interrupted him. " _Captain Shon, we are being hailed._ "

Shon raised an eyebrow. "By who?"

" _Franklin Drake, sir._ "

Shon narrowed his eyes. "I'll take it down here."

Franklin Drake appeared on the wall viewscreen. " _Captain Shon, I am glad to see you pulled off that rescue operation._ "

"Mr. Drake, I heard of your little exploits earlier with supplying the Jedi vital information regarding the creation of the clones. I suppose we owe you for bringing the truth into the light in time." Shon said stoically.

" _Our intentions were to ensure that Palpatine's Empire would not be in a position to launch invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy. With the survival of the Jedi he will have to consolidate his forces here. Unfortunately we have discovered he was able to convince the CIS senate that Jedi conspired with us to assassinate Count Dooku and the Separatist Council, whom we confirmed were killed by General Grievous._ "

"Grievous killed the Separatist leaders?" Obi-Wan questioned.

Drake nodded. " _Yes, it seems he did shortly after Count Dooku's death. Palpatine used Grievous's attempt to kill to create a fiction that he and Ventress conspired with the Jedi to manipulate the war in their favour. The Separatists formally surrendered and agreed to become part of the Empire, giving over their armies._ "

"So now Palpatine has a clone army _and_ a droid army." Shon stated. "We might have no choice now. If we want to prevent an invasion of our galaxy we _have_ to close the portal to our galaxy."

" _That has already been arranged. We analyzed the methods the Dividians used to create the portal and our calculations conclude that a graviton/tachyon pulse will close the portal and the one in the Azure Nebula._ "

Shon looked to the Jedi in the room. "We might not have time to drop you off. We cannot to make any stops if we want to make sure that Palpatine doesn't have the chance to launch a full invasion force."

Yoda glanced at the Jedi in the room, seeing the conflict on their faces. "Help us find a way back, will you?"

Franklin nodded. " _A new portal can be opened, leading to another part of this galaxy that is not occupied by the Empire. We have scanned the Quantum RNA signature of this universe so a new portal can be created in another location._ "

Yoda closed his eyes and sighed. This was perhaps the most difficult descision that he would ever have to make as Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.

"Wish I do, that necessary this was not. Unable to attack the Sith, we are. Blamed for the war and forced into hiding, the Jedi have been. Unable to stop the rise of this Empire, we are but disappear and regroup where the Empire will not reach us we can." Yoda said slowly. "Decieved we were and paid the price we have. If to destroy the Sith, change we must. Thousands of years, defended the Republic, the Jedi did. But changed in that time, the Sith have. Waited patiently they did, plotted and planned our destruction and moved when the time was right. Only through unexpected interference, did their plan to fully eradicate the Jedi fail and make the same mistake again, we must not."

The other Jedi reluctantly considered his words, knowing he was right. For the sake of the future, the Jedi had to vanish from the Skyriver Galaxy and wait for the right time to return.

The Sith had won this battle.

But the war was just beginning.

Ahsoka stepped into her quarters and fell onto her bed, letting out a deep breath.

She could not believe what had happened in the last two days. The Jedi were almost wiped out, the Chancellor was a Sith who had manipulated the entire war and had declared the creation of a Galactic Empire.

She really wished this was all a bad dream but she knew it wasn't.

It was real.

 _The Order started this war, becoming an army of darksiders who willfully destroy lives to suit its goals._

Ahsoka remembered Barriss saying those exact words when they met in the warehouse on Coruscant. She could never forget what Barriss told her, trying to justify herself for all the crimes she committed against the Jedi.

And even though she was now dead Barriss was seemingly vindicated by what had just happened.

The sound of her door beeping made her sit up, quickly shaking her head as she answered. "Come in."

The door opened and to her surprise it was Obi-Wan at the door. "Ahsoka?"

"Master Kenobi." Ahsoka stood up.

Obi-Wan held up a hand. "You're not a member of the Jedi, anymore. You do not have to refer to me as master."

"So what can I do for you?" Ahsoka asked, changing the topic.

"I just wanted to see how you were coping and offer you congratulations on joining Starfleet." Obi-Wan said with a smile. "The _Enterprise_ is lucky to have you."

"Thank you." Ahsoka nodded.

"And to offer my apologies."

Ahsoka tilted her head. "Apologies?"

"For what happened with Barriss. The Jedi Council was wrong to immediately believe you were the bomber and doubt your loyalty. I know Anakin would have never doubted you." Obi-Wan continued. "I wish things had gone better."

"So do I." Ahsoka agreed sadly. "I am not even sure how he would have reacted to finding out the Chancellor is a Sith and what has happened."

The mention of Anakin suddenly made Ahsoka remember something.

"Padme!" Ahsoka gasped. "I forgot about her!"

"Padme?" Obi-Wan asked, confused by Ahsoka's sudden reaction. "What about Padme?"

"She's pregnant and still on Coruscant!" Ahsoka answered, looking hesitantly at Obi-Wan. "And…Anakin is the father."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened and his jaw nearly dropped. "…Anakin is the father…By the Force. But how do you…"

"Padme told me after she found she was pregnant. It was just before the bombing." Ahsoka explained. "She can't stay on Coruscant. If the Chancellor finds out that Padme has Anakin's kids-"

"If they have his Force sensitivity the Chancellor would take them and train them in the dark side." Obi-Wan finished.

Ahsoka nodded and tapped her badge. "Tano to Captain Shon."

" _Go ahead, Lieutenant._ "

"I need to contact Senator Amidala. She's pregnant and...Anakin Skywalker is the father." Ahsoka explained. "I need to speak with you, quickly sir. And I think Masters Yoda and Kenobi should be present as well."

" _I'll be in my ready room._ " Shon answered.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
500 Republica  
Padme's Apartment**

In the last twenty four hours all Padme could feel was sadness, fear, anxiety, and regret as everything that had happened played themselves over in her mind.

The death of Anakin.

Ahsoka's resignation from the Jedi Order for being accused of being a traitor.

The Separatist invasion of Coruscant.

The Jedi Temple in flames.

And Palpatine organzing the Republic into an Empire.

She felt like she was a prisoner being forced to watch a holo-vid of the entire galaxy tearing itself apart in a fit of madness. The once kind man who had been a senator for her planet was now an Emperor, a power hungry mad man that was burning away the ideals of the Republic and democracy in one fell swoop.

"Padme?"

Padme looked over her shoulder and saw Satine, wearing simple clothes unlike the elegant robes she wore as Duchess of Mandalore. "Satine, I take it you've heard."

Satine looked as sad as she was. "Indeed I have. Word of this Empire has reached every coner of Coruscant and likely every corner of the Inner Rim now. What is your Chancellor thinking?"

Padme looked away. "I am not sure…I am beginning to believe that the democracy I believed in no longer exists and the Republic has become the very enemy we had been fighting to destroy."

Satine placed a hand on Padme's shoulder and guided her to the couch. "I know how you feel. I watched as the Death Watch led by that monster, Maul destroy the Mandalore I fought so hard to create. Even now I still try to contact my people and I still speak with my nephew."

"How is he?" Padme asked.

"He is fine. He and many civilians have pulled away from the civil war between the Death Watch and the Republic." Satine answered as they both sat down.

"That is good to hear." Padme said with a small smile. "At the very least Mandalore won't have to worry about the Death Watch soon."

"Only after that this new Empire will no doubt occupy Mandalore." Satine said solemnly. "The Death Watch and their wish to resurrect our warrior past may be our final undoing if the Empire decides to keep its troops posted on the planet. How could this have gone so wrong? Has this war eliminated any common sense left in this galaxy?"

"I am starting to think it has, Satine. What is worse is that Palpatine may push for war against the Milky Way Galaxy from the way he spoke." Padme looked up at the ceiling. "One galactic war has torn this galaxy apart but a war between two galaxies, with so many powers like the Alliance or worse the Borg and the Iconians, it could lead to universal Armageddon. But no one seems to care anymore. And now, Chancellor, I mean _Emperor_ Palpatine now rules with absolute power for life."

Satine gave Padme a light hug which the senator returned.

Both of them felt lost and helpless.

The door suddenly opened and both woman looked up, watching as a tall black armored man stepped into the room, an ominous breathing coming from him and his voice was cold and metallic. "Padme."

"Who are you?" Padme stood up, glancing to her bedroom where her blaster was hidden.

"It is me. I was once Anakin." The man answered.

Padme's eyes widened before she glared at the man. "Liar! Anakin died saving me!"

"I survived and I was rebuilt." The man said, holding up his right arm.

The same arm that Anakin had lost to Count Dooku on Geonosis and was replaced with a cybernetic one that was later upgraded by the Borg. It was then Padme began hearing voices in her mind, causing her to grasp her head with one hand as she remembered what those voices were. They were the voices of the Borg Collective, the voices that took control of her body during the Borg attack on Naboo, using her as a puppet before she was finally freed.

And then they were suddenly silenced by a single powerful presence that forced them to submit and she remembered feeling this presence when her husband freed her from the machines trapping her in her own body.

And Padme recognized the hand. "A-Anakin?"

"The Emperor revived me. His droids were affected by the dormant nano-probes in me that allowed them to repair me, using the knowledge of the Borg." The man once known as Anakin explained as he stepped forward. "I helped end the war by killing Count Dooku. But the Jedi tried to overthrow the Republic and they had to be stopped."

Padme gasped as she stepped back. "That can't be true."

"I watched Master Windu attempt to assassinate the Chancellor myself." Anakin said, stepping towards Padme.

Satine remained back with C-3P0 and R2-D2 who remained silent through the conversation, the three of them too afraid to actually speak.

There was something about the man that claimed to be Anakin that frightened them.

And it frightened Padme too. "What will happen now?"

"I will not betray the Empire. My loyalties lie with the Emperor and with you." Anakin softly touched Padme's cheek.

Padme flinched, feeling the cold metal hand that was so warm before. "And the Jedi? And the Milky Way? What about Obi-Wan? And Ahsoka?"

"I do not know. Many Jedi have been killed. We can only hope that they have remaine loyal." Anakin answered, not telling her the truth.

"Ahsoka joined Starfleet. She resigned from the Jedi Order after she was framed for murder by one of her friends, Barriss Offee." Padme quickly said.

Anakin seemed to consider her words. "Then perhaps she did not know of the Alliance's plans. However the Alliance knowingly attacked the Republic during the Jedi rebellion. They may become our new enemy."

"Anakin, please. Don't let another war happen." Padme grasped his hand. "Please. We can stop this right now. We can got to the Milky Way and ask for them to try and use diplomacy before another war starts."

"That cannot be done." Anakin pulled his hand back. "We will ask them to turn the Jedi renegades over and if any are not found guilty they will be set free. In the meantime you will be safe here on Coruscant, you and our child. I must leave on a mission to the Mustafar system to ensure that this war ends once and for all but I will be back for you."

Anakin touched her slightly bulging stomach softly before turning and leaving the room. Padme fell to the ground and a loud crying gasp.

"Padme, are you all right?" Satine was at her side in an instant. "Padme, was that really Skywalker?"

Padme was trembling as she nodded. "Yes, I know it was him….But…"

"But what?" Satine asked quietly.

"I am still fightened."

 **Near the Portal  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Captain Shon's Ready Room**

"So Senator Amidala and General Skywalker were married around the time the war started?" Shon questioned, sitting back in his chair and looking at Ahsoka.

Master Yoda had his eyes closed while Obi-Wan listened patiently.

"After the first battle of Geonosis. I didn't know until after the Iconian attack on the Senate. We both found out she was pregnant when a medical droid came and checked up on her, saying she had been a little ill for the last few weeks." Ahsoka explained, looking at Yoda and Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry for not telling you but Pa-Senator Amidala asked me not to tell anyone and I promised I would keep her pregnancy a secret."

Yoda nodded. "Hmm, need to apologize you do not. Good of you it was, to keep this secret. If discovered, expelled from the Jedi Order Skywalker would have been and possibly asked to leave the Senate, Senator Amidala would have been. And in grave danger, she would have been from the Sith."

"Excuse me, I am not sure how I understand how marriage would have been grounds for dismissal for either of them." Shon spoke up.

Obi-Wan decided to explain. "As Jedi we are forbidden to marry. It is believed attachments lead to the Dark Side. Their marriage would not have been considered valid and if it was known Senator Amidala was pregnant she would have been asked to step down as Senator and that would not have been good for her planet as Naboo was counting on her to be their voice in the Senate during the war."

"How?" Shon asked. "Nothing in the Jedi database suggests that has ever happened, not even the Jedi known as Revan who was formerly a Sith Lord if I am correct."

"Correct you are, Captain. Believed that such things should be encouraged, Revan did but rejected his ideas the Council of that time did. Believed too susceptical to the Dark Side he would make them." Yoda said.

Shon sighed. "I am not really sure I'll ever understand why your Code had to be so restrictive, considering no Sith Lord or Dark Jedi I've ever read about had friends or family. The only one close enough to be considered having friends and family is Asajj Ventress and that was after she was betrayed and abandoned by Count Dooku before he wiped out her clan. Isn't the bond between Master and Apprentice not considered an attachment? Because in a way it could be argued that almost every Jedi that has ever lived has broken that part of the Code."

"Perhaps time it is, to revise the Code. Not the same, it always was. Made the way it was today, to prepare for the Sith from the previous war, not today. Not east to eaccept change, even for the Jedi." Yoda said, surprising both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

It had finally hit Master Yoda just how bad the situation had become. In the thousands of years the Order has existed since the time of the Old Republic the Jedi had changed very little but in the time the Sith had been waiting they had changed and adapted, becoming an entirely new entity while the Jedi had remained completely unchanged since the last war. The Sith were not just conquerors, they had waited for the right time, the right moment, to strike back and in one fell swoop, turn the entire galaxy against the Jedi.

"Time for change, it might be. But now, safe Senator Amidala's children we must. Allow them to be taken by the Sith, we cannot." Yoda said, changing the topic.

Ahsoka turned to Shon. "If Anakin's children have the same connection with the Force he did then the Chan-Emperor could exploit that to his advantage. Turning them into living weapons to hunt down kill anyone he wishes, Jedi or anyone who speaks out against the Empire."

Shon frowned. "You remember that Senator Amidala is on Coruscant which is locked down. We can't get close enough to that planet to mount a rescue, a second one."

"Then at least let me try and contact her. She gave me her personal comm channel. I can speak with her without the Empire knowing about it." Ahsoka quickly said. "Please, Captain. She deserves to be warned. She's dedicated her life to democracy, I am sure she's struggling for answers."

Shon closed his eyes, sighed and nodded. "Very well. You can try and contact her, Lieutenant but I cannot promise a way to reach her if she truly needs to be rescued."

"Thank you, Captain." Ahsoka smiled gratefully.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
500 Republica  
Padme's Apartment**

C-3P0 perked as a beeping sound was heard. "Oh, Mistress Padme, there seems to be a call on your personal comm line."

Padme managed to collect herself as she sat back on the couch and answered it, surprised to see Ahsoka and Obi-Wan's images. "Ahsoka? Obi-Wan?"

"Obi?" Satine said suddenly.

" _Satine, Padme, it's good to see you are both all right._ " Obi-Wan said with a small smile.

"I believe we should be saying that to you, Master Kenobi." Padme returned the smile but frowned. "I saw flames from the Jedi Temple and the Chancellor presented evidence that the Jedi tried to take over the Republic and that the Alliance was helping them."

" _It's a lie. Palpatine set us up to be blamed for the war so he could take control of the galaxy._ " Obi-Wan replied.

"Why would he do that?" Satine asked.

" _Because…Palpatine is a Sith Lord. The very one we've been looking for. He's behind everything, includinf the war._ " Obi-Wan answered, shocking both woman.

"What?!" Satine gasped. "That's impossible."

" _It's true, Duchess._ " Ahsoka spoke up. " _The Chancellor tricked the Jedi into fighting the war and then set them up to be exterminated by the clones. He ordered them to turn on the Jedi. You need to get off of Coruscant and fast because if he finds out your are pregnant with Anakin's children he'll take them from you when they are born._ "

Padme's eyes widened in horror as she placed a hand over her buldging stomach. "No!"

She didn't want to believe it but she knew Ahsoka and knew she would never lie about something like this.

" _I am sorry to say but it is all true. It seems that Palpatine is Darth Sidious and he has been planning this for a long time, even going back to the blockade of Naboo by the Trade Federation. I believe he manipulated the blockade to place himself in power as Chancellor of the Republic and then set up the clone army for the Republic while Dooku set up the opposing army with both of them armed to fight against the Jedi._ " Obi-Wan answered grimly with a hint of sadness. " _We only put the pieces together just before Grievous's attack. And now with him and Dooku dead, the Separatists are now part of the Empire and Palpatine has almost destroyed all of his enemies with his new apprentice, Darth Vader. We barely escaped the Jedi Temple when Vader and the clones attacked us._ "

Padme and Satine both sat in stunned silence as Obi-Wan's words played over repeatedly in their minds. Padme was torn about she should believe, her husband who has apparently come back from the dead or both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka who were two of her closest friends.

" _You both have to leave Coruscant before the Sith find out about your baby, Padme._ " Ahsoka said urgently.

"Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, Anakin is alive." Padme suddenly said, shocking the both of them.

" _What?_ " Both of them said in shock.

"Palpatine found him…Rebuilt him. He killed Count Dooku." Padme explained slowly.

" _That's impossible…Darth Vader was the one who killed Dooku._ " Obi-Wan replied, his eyes widening in horror.

Ahsoka was shaking now. "… _No_."

All of them now horrified to realize the truth: the good man they knew as Anakin Skywalker _was_ Darth Vader.

" _Padme, we'll come and get you. You need to get away while you still can._ " Obi-Wan said quietly.

Padme had a hand over her chest. "…I understand."

It was only after the transmission ended that Padme broke down and cried. Satine hugged, trying to comfort her, even though the former Duchess was crying herself.

 **Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Chommel Sector  
The Portal  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Captain Shon's Ready Room**

"General Skywalker is this Darth Vader?" Captain Shon questioned. "I thought he was killed by the Iconians."

"We all did. But somehow he's alive and he's…Turned to the Dark Side." Obi-Wan let out a deep breath as he spoke those words.

"And now he's suddenly decided to Palpatine? He must know that Palpatine manipulated the entire war to put himself in power." Shon said.

"Possible he knows, but the Skywalker we knew, gone he is. Consumed by Darth Vader." Yoda spoke gravely.

Shon rubbed his head. "This just gets better and better. So what does this mean?"

Ahsoka looked at Obi-Wan and Yoda before answering. "I don't know, Captain. I really don't know."

"Anakin was meant to be the Chosen One, to bring balance to the Force. Not leave it in darkness." Obi-Wan said. "It was said that he would destroy the Sith, not join them."

"How can you be sure this prophecy said he would destroy the Sith?" Shon said. "How does destroying the Sith bring balance?"

"The Sith are evil, they want to take over the galaxy." Ahsoka reasoned.

"People have said the same about the the Klingons, the Romulans, the Xindi, the Tholians, the Cardassians, the Borg, the Undine, the Dominion, and the Iconians. They have represented the greatest threats to the Federation and to the galaxy but they have been stopped, even some of them making peace with us at times. Only it was not by some prophisized savior, it took people working together to help save our galaxy and the trillions of people who live in it from a horrible fate." Shon replied. "How can you be sure that only one Chosen One was all that was needed to destroy the Sith?"

Yoda closed his eyes.

"Misread, the prophecy could have been. Made centuries ago it was, when a wise Jedi had a vision after the last Sith war. Different now, everything is. Knew the Sith had returned and their plan, the Jedi did not. Know of another universe where perhaps the Force is seen differently, the Jedi did not." Yoda opened his eyes and looked saddened as he looked to Ashoka. "But perhaps, meant to happen this always was. Unsure I am, that we could have won the war and defeated the Sith but perhaps a new path has been shown to us. For now, concentrate we must on saving Senator Amidala and her children."

Shon leaned back in his chair. "I've already spoken to the fleet captains and two ships have volunteered to take you back to Coruscant."

"Who?" Ahsoka asked.

The doors opened and in stepped in Emperor Kahless and Captain Nathan Creed and with them were Asajj Ventress and Bo-Katan.

"Ventress?" Obi-Wan gaped in shock.

"Surprised?" Ventress said, smiling bitterly. "You didn't think I'd pass up a chance to ruin the Sith's plans, would you?"

"You agreed to help us? Both of you?" Obi-Wan looked at her and Bo-Katan.

Bo-Katan scoffed. "I am here not to help you, Jedi. I am only here to help get my sister off planet and have a shot at taking down the Sith. It's their fault that creature Maul was allowed to run around the galaxy and take over Mandalore."

"Both the _Batlh_ and the _Seraphnite_ are equipped with cloaking devices that will be slip past the Republic fleet and get you down onto Coruscant." Shon explained.

Kahless nodded. "It is time we make our views known to the Emperor and how the Empire feels about his dishonorable ways."

"To fight Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not." Yoda replied. "Face him alone, I must."

"And Vader?" Obi-Wan asked.

"I don't care who kills him but I want him dead." Ventress snarled, clenching her fists.

Ahsoka looked nervously at Ventress but calmed herself. "I'll help get Padme out. We can just beam them out and you can leave us."

"You won't have a lot of time because we will be closing the portals to stop Empire from following us. We can only give you so much time." Shon stated. "If you can't make it back in time you'll have to find another way back."

"We will have the time we need." Kahless said, nodding to Shon. "Qapla, Captain Shon!"

The door opened again and this time Samuel Winters was the one who entered. "Captain, our long range sensors have detected Republic and CIS ships approaching our position."

Shon stood up from his chair. "Then we need to move, now."

"Understood, Captain." Creed tapped his badge. "Creed to _Seraphinite,_ lock onto our signals and beam us up."

* * *

The _Batlh_ and the _Seraphnite_ moved away from the fleet and went to transwarp while the rest of the fleet either began leaving through the portal or setting up defense positions around the portal. The _Enterprise_ released a probe that when ready would emit a high-powered tachyon/graviton pulse that would close the portal when activated. Fortunately they had become well-prepared and had set up beacons capable of emitting gravity-wells that interfered with hyperspace travel. As the Alliance finished moving into position Republic and CIS ships emerged from hyperspace, approaching the portal.

Only they had emerged from hyperspace much farther than they had wanted. Leading the united fleet were three of the new _Imperator_ class Star Destroyers, the _Executrix,_ the _Exactor_ , and the _Imperator_ while they were escorted by _Venator_ , _Victory_ , and _Acclamator_ class destroyers while the CIS provided _Providence_ , _Resuscant_ , and _Munificent_ class warships, all of them numbering to a total of two hundred ships that heavily outnumbered the Alliance fleet.

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

And on the bridge of the _Executrix_ , Admiral Tarkin stared at the Alliance fleet, ready to make them pay for their insolence.

Only not everything was going according to plan. "Why have we dropped out of hyperspace?"

"Sir, scanners have detected gravity wells nearby coming from small constructs, possibly probes. They forced us out of hyperspace." An officer reported.

Tarkin narrowed his eyes, realizing the Alliance must have configured these gravity wells to force the fleet to drop out of hyperspace much farther from the portal than they had planned. They were supposed to be much closer to the portal with their weapons fully charged and ready to fire the instant they emerged. Tarkin believed that the close proximity and a full attack upon immediately emerging from hyperspace would counter for anything the Alliance had.

Only the Alliance had apparently anticipated his plan.

"Launch all fighters and bombers and maneuver the fleet to surround and destoy them. Divert all available power to the forward weapons and focus our shields at our bow and order our escorts to provide cover at all times. I want all gunners prepared to target incoming torpedoes and for our fighters to swarm them. Flank speed towards the portal." Tarkin immediately ordered. "We will use overwhelming force against the Alliance. The _Imperator_ and _Exactor_ will lead the assault, escorted by fighters and support craft. Move together in blockade formation. The _Executrix_ will provide support from the rear, two kilometers."

"Yes Admiral."

From the docking bays of nearly every ship in the incoming fleet launched V-wings, ARC-170s, Vulture Droids, Tri-Fighters, Hyena Bombers, and Onslaugh Attack craft that moved in attack formation towards the Alliance fleet. In the meantime all avaialbe power was directed to the forward weapons for longer range and Tarkin planned to use the number of ships in his fleet to box the Alliance fleet in and overwhelm their shields, accounting for the Alliance's maneuverable speed, their deflector shields, and to stop them from relying on the same tactic that disabled both fleets at Coruscant. The escort ships such as the _Venators_ and the _Acclamator_ along with the _Recusant_ and _Munificent_ frigates would act as cover for the larger ships, moving in front of them and even provide cover for the fighters as they were launched.

"Admiral, the energy levels in the Alliance fleet are rising!" An officer reported.

Tarkin narrowed his eyes, knowing that Milky Way ships had a longer range than the ships of this galaxy. Fortunately the CIS ships made for pretty useful cannon fodder.

"Move our droid ships to intercept incoming fire. And I want our back-up generators ready to activate." Tarkin ordered.

In the wake of the battle on Coruscant Tarkin concluded that the Alliance had used some sort of ion weapon to disable the Republic Defense Force and thus ordered that back-up generators be installed quickly to prevent such an accident again. The back-up generators would come online if the ships were disabled and repair crews were on standby to repair any fused joints. Tarkin had come to realize that the Milky Way powers, specifically the main powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were cunning not just because of their weapons but because they used science and creativity with their ships that made them cunning and unpredictable.

A dangerous combination and thus the Alliance needed to be treated with caution when engaging them combat.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"The enemy fleet is closing to firing range." Kyona reported.

Shon looked at the enemy fleet, analyzing it for weaknesses and saw that the Alliance fleet was heavily outnumbered. "They didn't expect us to force them out of hyperspace so soon. They must have wanted to come out much closer to us and launch a full assault."

"We have ships ready to fire as soon as they are in range."

"Let's proceed to the second phase. We need to give our people more time." Shon ordered. "Set our torpedoes to proximity detonation and target their fighters."

"Aye sir."

"Fire."

The _Enterprise_ along with the rest of the forward ships fired a spread of tri-cobalt torpedoes at the swarms of fighters. Naturally the fighters moved out of the way but they underestimated the explosive range of the warheads that exploded, destroying close to a hundred of the fighters instantly.

"Surviving fighters are pulling back." Kyona said.

"Good. Program our drones for the next phase."

It became a well known fact that Republic ships, despite their impressive design could not be upgraded and refitted like Milky Way ships could be. Milky Way ships had a more modular design, allowing for upgrades and refits to be made easily but Republic ships were built to the point they could not be upgraded to include Milky Way technology, only able to handle small upgrades like plasma enhanced weaponry, upgraded sensors and communications, and including polarized hull plating. It would take gutting the entire interior before they could effectively combine any modern Milky Way technology with Skyriver engineering. The design frames between the ships of the two galaxies were so different that it would take building them from the ground-up, like Darth Maul's flagship, to properly integrate any technologies that were exchanged and luckily only a handful of trades were made at the time of attack on the Borg Installation in the Maw.

And neither the Galactic Republic or the Confederacy of Independent Systems had experience in the kind of fights that Starfleet, the Klingon Empire or the Romulan Republic were used to doing.

"The holo-emitters on the deployed drones are ready, Captain."

"Active them and tell the Klingons I wish them good hunting."

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

Tarkin narrowed his eyes as he watched his first fighter wave be torn apart by the explosive torpedoes and ordered that the surviving fighters be recalled. He would have to deploy them closer to the Alliance fleet to overpower them at close range.

"Admiral, we are detecting Klingon ships approaching."

Tarkin looked to see several flights of Klingon warbirds approaching the fleet as they closed in on the Alliance fleet surrounding the portal. "Target and fire when in range."

His orders were carried out as expected but when the turbo-lasers collided with the Klingon ships they simply disappeared.

"What is happening? Are they cloaking?" Tarkin asked as a _B'rel_ disappeared under fire.

"Sir, the sensors say that they are there but when they are hit they disappear…I am picking up some sort of energy distortion…It's coming from surrounding probes." A clone officer reported.

Tarkin narrowed his eyes. "They are mearly holograms. They are trying to trick us into wasting our reasources. Ignore them and continue forward."

"Yes sir."

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"The enemy is ignoring the holograms now, Captain." Jirelle reported. "They are continuing to move towards us."

Shon nodded. "Then give our friends the all-clear."

* * *

"Captain, we are ready."

The captain flashed a blood-thirsty grin. "Take us into firing range. Target the bridge and engines of the nearest ship."

"Yes Captain."

"Qapla!"

Three Klingon Raptors approached the Imperial/CIS fleet that continued to ignore them on Tarkin's orders, believing them to be another batch of holograms.

"Take us in…Closer…Closer…Lock torpedoes and disruptors….Fire!"

One Raptor locked onto a _Recusant_ , targeting the skeletal design near the engines and fired, breaking it in two while another fired a torpedo on the bridge of a _Providence_ and the last one destroyed the right bridge tower of a _Venator._

"Engage cloaking device and take us away at full impulse power."

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

"What happened?!" Tarkin shouted, seeing three ships destroyed by three of the 'holograms' that immediately disappeared.

"Three Klingon ships, holograms, they fired at point blank range!" The clone officer as the sensor station reported.

Tarkin clenched his fists. "I should have anticipated this. They allowed us to realize they were holograms and slipped real ships with cloaking devices into their decoys."

"What should we do sir?"

"Fire on any enemy ships in range, holograms or not." Tarkin ordered, glaring out the view port. "Reduce our speed and look for anything that can identify a cloaked ship."

This was not something Tarkin had anticipated and it was his own fault.

The Alliance had his fleet emerge from hyperspace on their terms and now they were slowing his fleet down by employing sneak attacks with a mix of decoys and cloaked ships. He could not track them since the holograms emitted the same IFF signal as real ships and thus that slowed him down since he could launch a full attack with hidden enemies within striking distance of his ships. Now the Alliance fleet was in perfect position to attack.

So why weren't they?

 **IKS Kor**

Brigadier General Kereth had been waiting for this chance to humiliate Tarkin since the first day he had met the foolish human and now he would have that chance. "Is the stasis weapon ready?"

"Yes General."

"Take us in range of one of the _Imperators_ and order the others to pick their targets _._ " Kereth immediately ordered.

The _Kor_ came into range of one of the new _Imperator_ class Star Destroyers, still cloaked from its sensors.

"Our escorts are ready."

"Drop the cloak and activate the weapon!" Kereth ordered.

The _Mogh_ class battle cruiser dropped its cloak, appearing in front of the _Exactor_ that caused the crew to immediately move to attack. Only it never could as from the bow section of the _Kor_ came three bright beams of light that shot off in three different directions, front, left and right. The _Exactor_ was hit first, followed by two more Imperial _Venators_. The weapon used was a projected stasis field, also referred to as a stasis weapon, was an experimental Klingon weapon of immense power, capable of disabling all vital systems aboard enemy vessels.

It was capable of doing this to at least three ships at a time. The weapon was first field tested against the Federation in 2269, aboard the D7-class IKS _Devisor_. The threat of this new weapon to the Federation was analyzed by the crew of the USS Enterprise during an encounter in Federation space, near the Klingon-Federation border, on stardate 5392. During the confrontation, the _Devisor_ successfully disabled the _Enterprise_ 's higher order field and warp functions, namely the matter-antimatter generators, impulse engines, phasers and photon torpedoes, but not communications.

However, upon further analysis by Science Officer Spock, it was determined that after prolonged use of the weapon, the cruiser's power cells were too quickly drained, reducing the ships battle capacity. In order to complete any prolonged assault, the cruiser was required to wait several hours for the weapon to recharge to full power. Ultimately, it was determined that the use of this weapon aboard D7s was impractical in standard combat. Despite the impracticality the stasis weapon was still fit for general use but is still quite limited in deployment, as the ship using the Stasis Field Generator required other ships as escorts in order to be effective. That was when the _Kor_ decloaked, so did several Klingon escort craft next to it that immediately fired their photon torpedoes and disruptors, targeting the bridge tower and destroying it under a short barrage and thus crippling the ship.

It wasn't the only ship as several Klingon battlecruisers appeared near their targets and activated the stasis weapon, disabling three ships at a time while their escorts attacked. The stasis field shut down the shields, engines and weapons of any ship that was captured and left them completely vulnerable to attack. With three ships disabled per use of the stasis field the Klingons were able to destroy close to eighteen Imperial and CIS ships easily before the stasis field depleted their larger ships of power while damaging or crippling a dozen more ships with surgical strikes that reduced them from enemies to floating pieces of garbage.

"Deactivate the weapon and reactivate the cloak." Kereth immediately ordered, grinning in satisfaction at the destruction of one of the Empire's newest and supposedly most powerful ships. "Retreat at full impulse power."

He would have loved to see the look on Tarkin's face at how easy one his ships was destroyed.

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

Tarkin gritted his teeth so hard they might start to crack if he didn't somehow calm himself down. The Klingons disabled and immediately destroyed almost twenty of his ships instantly, pecking away at the outer ships of his fleet and disappearing before anyone could counter attack.

"Carpet bomb the surrounding space! If the Klingons are still here I want them dead!"

The Imperial fleet followed his command, firing their turbo-lasers in all directions in the hopes of hitting something but to Tarkin's disappointment they hit nothing.

"Sir, we can't keep firing like this. If we keep this up we'll burn our weapons out." A clone officer reported.

Tarkn glared at the clone but relented. "Very well. Cease fire but keep them aimed in all directions. And get us in range of the enemy fleet."

He would not let these in interlopers humiliate him and get away with it.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Captain, the _Aurora_ and the other science vessel report they are ready to begin the next phase." Jirelle reported.

Shon nodded. "Then let us see how they handle our Gravity Wells. Begin."

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

"Admiral, there's an energy spike coming from the enemy fleet!"

Tarkin watched as smaller Alliance ships, science vessels if he remembered correctly, began emitting beams from their deflector dishes and stopping just a few thousand kilometers from the fleet, creating what appeared to be black holes. "Evasive action!"

The sudden appearance of the black holes caused the Imperial/CIS fleet to begin breaking apart to avoid being pulled into them. A dozen fighters along with a few frigates were caught in the gravitational pull and instantly destroyed while the other ships began pulling back. Tarkin gritted his teeth in frustration as he realized that the Alliance fleet didn't need to fight them head on when they could conjure disaster after disaster with their technology. The usual tactics that had been used by both sides during the Clone Wars were next to useless against these interlopers.

And he was finding frustratingly difficult to counter their tactics.

"Pull back and ordered the fleet to regroup." Tarkin ordered, glaring at the fleet through the view port.

It was clear now that the Republic, the Empire would need new technology. More powerful weapons at least and Tarkin would push for. For now he needed to figure out to defeat the Alliance fleet at the portal and send a clear message to the Milky Way that the Galactic Empire would not be intimidated by anyone from that galaxy.

Not the Borg.

Not the Undine.

Not the Iconians.

And not the UFP and its allies.


	63. Chapter 63

**Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
500 Republica  
Landing Platform**

It was surprisingly easy to slip back to Coruscant but then again that only showed the benefits of cloaking technology as the _Batlh_ and the _Seraphnite_ emerged from transwarp far enough from the planet to avoid being detected and slipped past the blockade that was guarding the planet. Once they established orbit the two ships beamed down their landing parties in different areas of the planet.

One party landed in 500 Republica and the other landed in the new Senate Building.

Padme and Satine had already finished packing everything they needed and Padme ordered Captain Typho to ready her ship. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka beamed down to the apartment with Captain Creed and Bo-Katan just as they were ready.

"Ahsoka." Padme came forward and hugged her husband's former student. "I'm so glad you're all right."

Ahsoka smiled as she hugged Padme back. "I am glad you are all right too, Padme."

As they talked Bo-Katan and Satine stood face to face, looking each other over.

"Bo, it's good to see you are alive." Satine admitted.

"I believe I should be the one saying, Satine." Bo-Katan said, taking her helmet off. "Looks like the both of us have had our fair shares of disappointments."

Satine frowned. "I heard you were working with Starfleet now. What made you leave Death Watch?"

"Not that I want to talk about it, but Vizla took a step too far when he ordered me to attack a Federation ship and…Their Captain made me see things from a different point of view." Katan said, glancing at Creed who was staying in contact with his ship.

"So you renounced Vizla and his barbaric ways." Satine stated.

"I have only stayed true to Mandalore's true heritage, something you could not understand. I don't condone slavery or murder but I didn't believe in relying on the Republic or the Jedi to protect us, not after everything they did to us. No matter what you say, sister, we are warriors at heart and to take that away makes us weak. You of all people should understand that after Maul and his band of pirates took over Mandalore so easily." Katan stopped when she saw her sister flinch. "But we can discuss politics later. Right now we have a ship to get to."

Creed nodded as he signaled his ship to beam him up. "We'll monitor you from orbit."

It was important that Padme got off Coruscant without alerting Sidious to the fact that Alliance was back. So instead of beaming them up Padme would take her personal ship back to Naboo, keeping her unborn child away from the Emperor.

They only hoped it would go smoothly.

It was easier than they thought as they slipped onto the platform and boarded Padme's ship, meeting Captain Typho who had been waiting for them with C-3P0 and R2-D2.

"Now we need to slip away while we can." Obi-Wan said.

"We need to go to the Mustafar system." Padme suddenly said, inputting the coordinates.

"Why there?" Ahsoka asked.

"Because it's where Anakin went." Padme answered as the ship entered hyperspace.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shared uneasy looks but said nothing to stop Padme.

She was on a mission and there was little stopping when she was like that. As the ship entered hyperspace Ahsoka looked in the reflection of the control screens and saw Sisko behind them.

"I'll be right back." Ahsoka quickly stood up and left the cockpit.

She went to the back of the ship, into the cargo hold and saw Sisko waiting for her. "Ben."

"Ahsoka." Sisko greeted with a small nod.

"Why didn't you tell me Anakin was alive?" Ahsoka asked, feeling betrayed that Sisko possibly knew and didn't tell her.

"I couldn't and you know that." Sisko answered honestly and Ahsoka was sure she could guilt in his eyes. "You know as Emissary I am foribidden to tell of everything that can and would possibly happen. I have done everything I can to help you survive what would essentially be genocide and though the Prophets wished for me to do it to protect Bajor I did believe in doing what was right for you and for the Jedi who did not deserve what would have happened to them."

"And my master?" Ahsoka prodded.

"What happened to Anakin was more than just a tragedy but he was not the one to start it. Ahsoka, the Force as you know is an energy field that is created by life but that life brings forth chaos, individuality and creativity. It doesn't interpret good and evil as you do because as an energy created by life the Force is guided by those who channel it and in return it obeys the commands of those who call on it as it is through anyone connected to it that the Force can survive. The universe, the multi-verse, the Force, these are connected by reality and there are realities that can often be altered by so many minds, abilities, and even knowledge." Sisko tried his best to explain. "This universe is governed by belief that the Force circles between the Dark Side and the Light, good and evil but the Jedi and the Sith give life to these ideals and they can influence them. The Sith are you know them were believed to be extinct but they simply changed and waited a thousand years to dominate this galaxy. What made them impossible to stop is because this one moment in time, when Jedi are at their weakest, the Sith use what they have been waiting a thousand years for, the exact moment in time to exact their revenge and exterminate the Jedi."

Sisko took a deep breath. "Some events must be allowed to play out to prevent greater disasters and this one moment is the moment the Sith made on their own, using their powers to manipulate events to their liking. And the Force does not take sides, it only allows life to have free will but it can strike back when threatened."

"Strike back?" Ahsoka questioned.

"All living things have the ability to touch the Force, a form of pure raw energy that exists in the multi-verse created by a collective, not a collective of minds but of pure living beings that give it life and in return it allows them to evolve and become more than they are. But when life is threatened it will instinctively try to ensure that no matter what happens life endures. Sidious will try to ensure the Force becomes completely submissive to him and he believes through Anakin who is his new apprentice that it will be possible. But he will never understand for everything he destroys he only ensures his downfall and what was once gone can be reborn." Sisko answered with a small smile. "The Sith may win one battle but it is not the end, it is never the end."

Ahsoka listened closely to his words as he tried to explain but sensed he was being truthful. "And what about the prophecy concerning Anakin?"

"Even if Anakin was deceived he still chose to become a Sith but that does not mean the end. The Jedi and the Sith believed that to control the prophecy would allow them to win. I cannot say how or why but even if Anakin's actions were misguided and he becomes a monster they may yet bring about a form a change that may be needed to happen no matter how horrible. I still judge Q harshly for revealing the Federation to the Borg that led to the death of my wife during the first battle but if not for the Borg we would not have been ready to face the threats that came with them. The Borg forced us to realize the universe was dangerous and we were forced to prepare for more threats that came in the form of the Dominion and then later when the Klingons broke away from our alliance and began arming for war thanks to the Undine who were manipulated by the Iconians but it forced us again to build up strength to defend our way of life." Sisko answered, placing a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. "I wish it did not come to this, Ahsoka, I really do. But even if nearly all the Jedi perished that would not mean the end for them or the Republic. I believe one day the Jedi will return, reborn and ready to heal this wounded galaxy when the time is right. They just need a guiding hand."

Ahsoka looked up at Sisko in surprise. "Me?"

"You or maybe many people who can help them." Sisko replied as he stepped back. "Always remember, Ahsoka. You are not alone."

With that said, Sisko disappeared and leaving a pondering Ahsoka in the cargo room.

 **Senate Building  
Palpatine's Office**

Palpatine had just returned to his office, seeing his guards knocked out on the floor and standing in middle of the room was the Grand Master of the Jedi Order himself.

"I hear a new apprentice you have gained, Emperor. Or should I call you, Darth Sidious?" Yoda questioned calmly.

"Master Yoda…You've returned." Sidious said sourly.

"He is not the only one."

Sidious smirked as Kahless stepped out into the open. "Emperor Kahless, how nice to finally meet you."

"I come to slay you, Sidious. Come and face me, deceiver." Kahless gripped the Sword of Kahless in both hands. "I have defeated one Sith in battle before. Let us see if you will be more of a challenge."

"Your arrogance blinds you, Kahless. Now you will both experience the full power of the Dark Side." Sidious raised his hands, releasing a stream of Force Lightning at both Kahless and Yoda.

Yoda was thrown back into the wall while an energy field protected Kahless from the lightning, causing the Force Lightning to dissipate. Sidious scowled as he tried to reach out with the Force but could not sense Kahless at all.

To the Force he might as well be an empty outline.

"Your powers will not give you the advantage this time, Sidious. We have duplicated the Borg's ability to negate your Force. You cannot harm me with your powers." Kahless proclaimed.

Sidious narrowed his eyes, realizing he should have expected this from the Alliance. They did not seemingly have any Force sensivity but they had had an astonishing grasp on adapting to many forms, even the Force apparently. If the entire Alliance now had technology that could negate the Force it made them an even greater threat than he had ever imagined.

Perhaps he could deal with them another way.

"Why bother to fight, Kahless?" Sidious questioned. "Whyare you truly here? Surely not to help the Jedi after everything they have done."

"And what do you mean by that?" Kahless growled.

"The Jedi have been distrustful of you and your galaxy since the day you first met. They claim to be guardians of peace but they were the biggest slavers in the galaxy, according to your people. They did not come to your defense when the Iconians framed you and your allies for the attack on Coruscant and they even betrayed one of their own, an act that you considered to be dishonorable." Sidious explained slowly. "But I am not so unreasonable. Withdraw your forces back to your home galaxy, surrender the surviving Jedi and I will make no move to persecute or make war with your galaxy. Our two galaxies can be united against any threats in both and beyond."

Kahless scoffed. "You have the tongue of a diplomat and the soul of the dishonorable. In one hand you offer friendship while the other holds the knife. The Empire will never negotiate with scum like you, Sidious and I would rather die in agony than negotiate with you."

"Then so be it. I will kill you and then I will finish the Jedi once and for all." Sidious declared. "I have waited a long time for this moment. Soon the Jedi will at last be no more."

"Not if anything to say about I have." A voice said behind Kahless and Yoda lashed out with a powerful Force push that sent Sidious flying into his chair, knocking it over. "At an end your rule is."

Sidious got up, glaring at the two.

"And not short enough it was." Yoda finished.

With the Dark Side growing in strength it was likely that one Sith should have been more than enough to handle an old Jedi and a barbarian but Sidious leapt up over Kahless and moved to the door but Yoda stood in his way.

"If so powerful you are," Yoda gripped his lightsaber and ignited it. "Why leave?"

"You will not stop me." Sidious sneered. "Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us."

"Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be."Yoda readied himself. "As is your faith in the Dark Side of the Force."

Yoda leapt up and brought his lightsaber down on the Sith's red blade.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Atravis Sector  
Mustafar System  
Mustafar  
Klegger Corp Mining Facility**

Darth Vader had only take a second to reprogram the CIS droid armies to serve the Empire which solidified the end of the Clone Wars and absorbtion of the Separatists into the Empire while altering the shut down codes to ensure the droids aren't shut down the way they were at Coruscant. There would be some minor details to work out but in the end the galaxy was truly united. But as he made his journey to Mustafar he tested his new body's abilities and discovered that the improved Borg-scanners in his suit detected something near the facility. He could detect the settlements on the planet and even located a hidden droid factory underneath the facility which would be very useful to him at a later time.

He could feel himself growing stronger with the Dark Side, ever since his recovery. It was the Dark Side that allowed him to tame the Borg nanoprobes that tried to control him from the inside and he forced them to obey his will and used them to recover from his injuries and the knowledge he gained from was valuable. It was difficult though because the machines contained the memories of the endless sentients who had been assimilated into the Borg Collective which made it difficult for him to sort through the knowledge he had gained. He didn't know everything instinctively but he could he call up the knowledge from the depths of his mind which was even more useful to him.

Just as his 'master' was useful to him until he learned the secrets of Darth Plagueis's discovery of how to cheat death.

His thoughts were interrupted as the sensors in the facility detected an incoming ship.

It was a Nubian ship, Naboo model by the look of it.

Outside the facility Padme landed her ship on the nearest landing platform and she could see the black armored image of what was supposed to be her husband waiting for her.

"Everyone stay on the ship." Padme said, getting up from her chair.

"But Padme-" Obi-Wan protested but Satine and surprisingly Ahsoka stopped him.

"Let her try." Ahsoka said, wanting to believe her master was still in there somewhere.

"You believe she can reach him after everything that has happened?" Obi-Wan questioned in surprise.

"I've learned a lot with Starfleet, Master Obi-Wan. And I think if Anakin really does love Padme he'll listen to her." Ahsoka reasoned.

Padme stepped out onto the platform and walked up to the armored form of her husband. "Anakin."

"Why are you here?" Vader questioned.

"I was worried about you." Padme answered, still afraid to come near her husband in his current state. "Obi-Wan told me horrible things."

"Obi-Wan? What things?" Vader asked darkly.

"He said you turned to the Dark Side, that you tried to murder everyone in the temple, even younglings. That you helped Palpatine turn the Republic into an Empire." Padme answered, trembling slightly.

"Obi-Wan is trying to turn you against me." Vader replied darkly.

"He cares about us." Padme replied. "He wants to help you. Him and Ahsoka."

"Don't lie to me, Padme." Vader said. "I have become more powerful than any Jedi. And I've done it for you. To protect you."

"I don't want your power. I don't want your protection." Padme reached for him. "All I want is your love."

"Love won't save you." Vader said, his voice making it sound like a threat. "Only my new powers and knowledge can do that."

"At what cost? You're a good person! Don't do this!" Padme pleaded.

"I will not lose you the way I lost my mother."

"Come away with me." Padme was now begging. "Help me raise our child. Leave everything behind while we still can!"

"Don't you see? We don't have to run away anymore. I have brought peace to the Republic. With the technology of the Borg I have become more powerful than the Chancellor." Vader leaned forward. "I can overthrow him and together you and I can rule the galaxy. Make things the way we want them to be."

Padme visibly recoiled in shock and horror. "I don't believe what I am hearing. Obi-Wan was right. You've changed."

"I don't want to hear anymore about Obi-Wan!" Vader said loudly. "The Jedi turned against me! The Republic turned against me! Don't you turn against me!"

"I don't know you anymore." Padme was now crying. "Anakin, you're breaking my heart. You're going down a path I can't follow."

"Because of Obi-Wan." Vader said.

"Because of what you've done! What you plan to do! Stop now! Come back!" Padme sobbed. "I love you!"

Vader looked up at the ship and visible trembled. "Liar!"

Padme looked behind her and saw Obi-Wan, Bo-Katan and Ahsoka stepping out of the ship. "No!"

"You are with them! You brought them here to kill me!" Vader held out his hand and Padme felt herself losing the ability to breath.

"Let her go!" Ahsoka shouted, rushing to Padme and pulled her back, forcing Vader to release his grip on her.

Bo-Katan quickly pulled out her pistol and fired at Vader, forcing him to step back from Ahsoka and Padme.

Vader watched as Padme collapsed into Ahsoka's arms. "Get away from her! You turned her against me!"

"You have done that yourself." Obi-Wan retorted, stepping onto the platform.

"You will not take her from me!" Vader shouted, glaring at the three intruders.

"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that." Obi-Wan dropped his cloak. "You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until…Until you've become the very thing you swore to destroy."

"Do not lecture me, Obi-Wan. I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the Dark Side as you do. I have brought peace, security, and justice to my new empire!" Vader proclaimed.

"You're new Empire?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"Don't make me kill you." Vader said darkly.

"Anakin, my allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy!" Obi-Wan said.

"If you are not with me." Vader looked between Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. "Then you are my enemy."

It was then Obi-Wan knew that the Anakin he knew was gone. "Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must."

"You will try." Vader said, igniting his lightsaber.

 **Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Chommel Sector  
The Portal  
ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

The battle was far from over as despite the Alliance's attempts to hold them off the Imperial fleet was still determined to destroy the enemy interlopers by any means necessary. Tarkin ordered the fleet move around the black holes that existed for a short time, breaking apart into smaller groups and accelerating at full speed towards the Alliance fleet and fire on them once in range. For the moment the Alliance fleet was holding station in front of the portal, most likely to prevent his fleet from securing the portal and allowing the Empire to enter the Milky Way Galaxy at its leisure. That explained why they were not moving to engage his fleet directly.

"As soon as you have the enemy in sight fire all forward torpedoes." Tarkin ordered.

"Sir, at this range it's not likely our torpedoes will hit them." The clone at the tactical console pointed out.

"I am well aware of that. Fire." Tarkin ordered.

His orders were soon carried out as all ships in range fired proton torpedoes and concussion missiles towards the Alliance fleet despite the distance. Tarkin believed now that the only chance for victory was to outsmart the Alliance fleet and despite the distance and technological differences he believed it could be done. That was why over two-thirds of the torpedoes and missiles of almost every ship was fired with the hopes the Alliance would be too preoccupied with dealing with the projectile barrage that was approaching them at a fast rate. The torpedoes and missiles had been modified with warheads meant for orbital bombardment, giving them a stronger yield and making them move effective.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Captain, the enemy fleet is launching torpedoes and missiles. They appear to be carrying warheads meant for orbital bombardment." Jirelle reported from her station.

"Are all ships ready to repel them?" Shon asked.

"Yes sir."

"Then give the word."

Just as the missiles and torpedoes were coming into range the Alliance fleet retaliated, using Tractor Beam Repulsors that worked in the exact opposite of a regular Tractor Beam. Instead of pulling a target towards them the Repulsors push objects away from the ships and the Alliance fleet used their Repulsors to block the incoming torpedoes and missiles and repel them. Some spun through space, colliding with each other and exploding, while others were turned around and sent straight back to the fleet that fired them.

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

Tarkin watched in stunned silence as the very torpedoes he ordered to be fired were sent back towards his fleet just as he gave the acceleration order to intercept the Alliance fleet and fire when they were in range. "Evasive action!"

The torpedoes slammed into the forward section of the _Executrix_ , causing superficial damage thanks to the shields but many more ships were not so lucky. Imperial vessels were heavily damaged, crippled, or even destroyed by their own torpedoes and missiles that forced the Imperial fleet to move fast to avoid being destroyed by the missiles or the wreckage of their destroyed vessels. His fleet, forced into smaller groups because of the black holes the Alliance were creating to force him back and walked straight into a wall of its own projectiles and it was enough to force them back.

Tarkin clenched his fist as he glared hatefully at the Alliance fleet, specifically the _Enterprise_. "Distance to firing range."

"Another thousand kilometers." The tactical officer reported.

Tarkin cursed, knowing another thousand would possibly mean more danger to him and his fleet. "Order the droid ships to proceed ahead of us and fire when they are in range!"

Let the CIS droids take the brunt of the assault and allow him to move up behind and blast through them to the Alliance. With the droid as appropriate cannon fodder his fleet will power on through and attack the Alliance fleet head with a fully volley powerful enough to devastate an entire planet.

Tarkin would make sure the _Enterprise_ was the first ship to go.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"CIS ships are moving ahead of the Imperial ships to intercept us." Jirelle quickly said as the view screen showed CIS ships approaching on multiple angles.

"Looks like Tarkin doesn't want to risk his neck." Winters commented.

"Looks like it, Number One. It's unlikely we can shut the droids down the way we did at Coruscant. They might have altered the shut down signal by now." Shon replied but smiled. "It's a good thing we have alternatives."

Winters smiled back and nodded. "Yes sir."

"Tell our friends they may…Indulge themselves."

On Shon's word several Starfleet ships moved out to meet the CIS ships and one of them fired a pulse at a nearby _Providence_ that took the hit head-on. The pulse expanded into a blast of blue static energy that traveled down the the hull, enveloping the entire ship…

And leaving it powerless.

The other ships began firing the same pulse at the incoming CIS ships, dodging the few turbo-laser shots as they fired.

"The energy dissipater pulse is working, Captain. The ships and their droid crews are being disabled by the pulse." Kyona reported with a grin.

"Good thing we didn't show this at Coruscant." Shon admitted with a smile.

There were a lot of droid ships to shut down but it only took one hit and Tarken revealed a fatal flaw: his overconfidence that he would have been able to use the droids as cannon fodder to avoid any other tricks the Alliance had up its sleeve. Only now the droid ships were being disabled entirely, including their crew, and thus were now floating between the Alliance fleet and the Imperial fleet. For the Alliance fleet that was not much of an issue but for the Imperial fleet they had to stop or destroy the CIS ships before slamming into them. The Imperial fleet had been completely cut off by its own allies and depleted of more than half its forces.

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

Tarkin could not believe what he was seeing.

The Alliance fleet using some sort of pulse, an ion cannon or something to shut down the CIS ships he had sent to engage them. Instead of the droid ships being used as shields for his Imperial ships they were now giant floating pieces of target practice that were in front of him his fleet moved in behind them!

"Fire! Destroy those useless wrecks before we hit them!" Tarkin shouted.

The Imperial fleet fired their forward turbo-lasers, destroying the disabled CIS ships in a matter of moments and allowing them to push forward.

"Fire when in range!" Tarkin barked, his frustration reaching dangerous levels. "Target the _Enterprise_ first!"

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"He just destroyed his own allies." Jirelle said, surprised that Tarkin would actually do such a thing.

"Tarkin is the not the type of man who likes losing, ever. Looks like we may have actually pushed him over the edge." Shon said sourly. "It's time we move onto the final phase and show the Empire that we do not need superior fire power to defend ourselves."

"The Klingons have been looking forward to humbling Tarkin for a while now." Winters noted.

"Then let's not disappoint them. Ready the deflector dish and let's make sure Tarkin's ship is the first to be hit." Shon said, wishing he could see the look on Tarkin's face for what was about to happen.

"Ready sir."

"Engage."

 **ISD _Executrix  
_ Bridge**

Tarkin watched as the _Enterprise_ 's deflector dish and began emitting some form of pulse that spread out, touching his ship and a dozen Imperial ships. "Concentrate scanning on the _Enterprise_. I want to know what they are doing."

The clone looked the scanners. "I got weird gravity reading but…."

"But what?" Tarkin asked impatiently.

The clone groaned as he put a hand to his hand but as he brought it back down he noticed his vision was getting blury. "I…I feel…"

"What is the matter with you?" Tarkin spun around, glaring at the clone officer but noticed all the clones becoming disorientated for some odd reason. "What in the-"

Tarkin stopped as he suddenly felt dizzy and his vision became blurry.

"So weird…"

"I don't feel right…Like, I can't focus."

"I think I am seeing…Four hands in front of me…"

"I feel like I'm on a cloud."

"Cloud? I think I have wings!"

"I think I am seeing little faries on my console."

"Why are little Jawas scurrying around the deck?"

"Hey, why are we doing this again? It's so weird."

"I know. We attack the Jedi first and then go after these guys. What is up with that?"

"Yeah that is weird!"

"I liked them! Especially those Klingons!"

"Yeah, they really know how to pick fights!"

"That bloodwine really knocked me off my boots!"

"Does it feel hot all of a sudden?"

"Hot nothing! Feels too cold!"

"I gotta get this armor off! Too stiff!"

"Hey, you remember this song I heard about from the Milky place. It's called Jimmy Crack Corn! How does one crack corn?!"

"How do you crack corn?"

"Who cares?"

"That's kind of how the song goes!"

"Hey, you ever wonder why only the Jedi get the fancy laser swords and not us? I mean, we-we can be just as good as them with those fancy swords! Here, I'll show you!"

"Forget that! I want to fly!" One clone began making engine noises as he ran around the bridge with his arms spread out like he was a plane. "I am flying!"

"Hey look out!" Another clone shouted as the clone pretending to be a plane tripped and fell into the one of the sunken data pits of the bridge.

"Ow! We really need to put railings here!" The clone complained after falling on one of his brothers.

"That's what I keep saying!"

The entire crew was becoming more and more distracted and disorientated, some even began laughing for no apparent reason while Tarkin shook his head, wondering why he was feeling so strange.

So light headed…

Emotionally frustrated and unable to remain strictly professional.

Dizzy.

It was like he and the crew were…

"Is everyone…drunk?!" Tarkin shouted in complete outrage.

It wasn't happening just on the _Executrix_ , it was happening on nearly every Imperial ship that the gravitic pulses touched and the crews had no defense for what was happening. Ships fell out of formation, directionless as the crews were no longer able to operate them competently.

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

"Well, it seems that no one in this galaxy has ever encountered anything like the polywater intoxication we have." Winters remarked amusedly as the Imperial fleet now seemed to be completely stopped with even a dozen ships falling out of formation.

"It's a good thing we've adjusted the dish so that the effects will not be permanent or cause someone to turn off the life support systems…Hopefully." Shon noted.

Polywater intoxication also sometimes referred to as the Psi 2000 intoxication, the Psi 2000 virus or the Tsiolkovsky infection was an affliction caused by polywater molecules, first noted on Psi 2000. The main symptom of the intoxication was the suppression of inhibitions, resulting in an effect that appeared much like drunkenness. It first affected the members of a Federation science team stationed on the planet from which it was named in 2266. The transmission of the affliction was water-based, caused by huge shifts in gravity, resulting in complex strings of water molecules that had the ability to propagate themselves, much like a very simple version of a virus.

Polywater-infected blood also demonstrated the ability to melt itself from a frozen state, move along surfaces and jump for short distances to infect a host. It was spread to the crew of the original USS _Enterprise_ under the command of Captain James T. Kirk when it was conducting a study of Psi 2000's disintegration. The virus was spread through contact with infected perspiration or blood but luckily a cure was developed by Dr. McCoy and just in time. The ship was nearly destroyed when the affected Lieutenant Kevin Riley disabled the ship's engines; a disastrous move aboard a ship in orbit around a disintegrating planet.

Ninety-eight years later, the SS _Tsiolkovsky_ was studying the collapse of a red giant into a white dwarf, which created similar gravitational shifts that also resulted in another case of mass intoxication. The USS _Enterprise_ -D arrived to answer odd messages broadcast by the crew of the _Tsiolkovsky_. However the crew was already dead. An away team, led by Commander William T. Riker, established that much of the crew had frozen to death because they had lowered the environmental controls to well below safe temperatures.

The rest of the crew, as Lieutenant-Commander Data ascertained, were killed when an emergency hatch was blown, blowing them out into the vacuum of space. Lieutenant Geordi La Forge was the first _Enterprise_ -D crewman to become infected when a polywater infected fully clothed woman taking a shower fell on him. Despite an attempt at quarantining him, La Forge managed to infect several _Enterprise_ -D personnel. Initial symptoms of this new strain appeared to be excessive perspiration and a feeling of high body temperature, as well as the lack of inhibition shown amongst the crew of the original _Enterprise_.

Even Commander Data, was infected, even though he was an android. It was theorized by Captain Picard that though he was incapable of alchohol intoxication there were components in its processing systems were apparently susceptible to disruption by polywater intoxication. The _Enterprise_ -D computer database held the formula for the cure used aboard the NCC-1701 _Enterprise_. However, this was not successful in treating the intoxication.

Due perhaps to the higher gravity of the star, this intoxication was more severe, requiring Doctor Beverly Crusher to create a broader remedy. Given the numbers faced against them and that even if they were all working together now neither Starfleet, the Klingons, nor the Romulans had enough ships and personnel to counter a wide scale invasion while stretched in their own galaxy in their own quadrants and the Delta Quadrant. So instead of facing the Empire head on several scenarios were developed to help avoid a full confrontation that in every simulation showed them to be outnumbered. Several theories involved several tactics already used such as the shut down signal for the CIS droids, the ion pulses that helped disable the Coruscant defense force, the combination of holograms and cloaked ships to launch a surprise attack, the energy dissipate weapon that the Breen used to their advantage in the Dominion War, and finally altering the deflector dish to emit the same gravitic effects that created the intoxication against the Imperial fleet since it was highly unlikely they would have anticipated such an unexpected assault.

An assault of heavy intoxication.

It seemed to be ludicrous when first suggested but it was pointed out that it seemed that no one in the Skyriver Galaxy had ever encountered anything like the polywater intoxication and using the deflector dish to emit gravitic waves similar to the ones made by the star of Psi 2000 was easy but would produce a weaker and temporary version of the effect. It was easier since the Skyriver Galaxy had no ships that were properly shielded and it seemed to be able to affect even droids as well, much like Commander Data had been. So for any CIS ship that was not disabled by the energy dissipater weapons the droids would be suffering their first intoxication that would make things very interesting.

This day would be long recorded in the history books as the Alliance, a force from another galaxy defeated the newly formed Galactic Empire that was formed by two interstellar governments that had fought each other for nearly three years using the most powerful armies of man and machine the Skyriver Galaxy had ever seen.

And they did it by using skills and tactics no one had ever expected to be used and completely humiliated Emperor Palaptine's finest officers while making it look so easy.

"Secure this area of space. We have to give our operatives all the time we can." Shon quickly ordered.

The Alliance fleet quickly moved, using tractor beams to push the Imperial fleet far enough that it wouldn't be a threat to anyone. The crews would not suffer any permanent side effect and the life support systems would remain active to keep the crews alive.

Even Tarkin unfortunately, but it was unlikely something he would ever forget.

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Atravis Sector  
Mustafar System  
Mustafar  
Klegger Corp Mining Facility**

Ahsoka left Padme in C-3P0's care as she followed Obi-Wan and Vader into the mining facility, watching as Obi-Wan fell back but quickly defended himself against Vader's attack. Even though it seemed Vader was stronger she sensed a strange calmness in Obi-Wan as he defended himself. Bo-Katan followed in, watching the duel with Ahsoka and kept a grip on her blasters ready as they watched Obi-Wan battle the Sith Lord.

Darth Vader was strong.

He moved with speed that showed her former master's skill with a lightsaber but Obi-Wan had sparred with Anakin over perhaps a thousand times. He knew how to counter them without even thinking. However Vader had an advantage as whatever had been done to him involved Borg technology according to Padme. And he proved it when he grabbed Obi-Wan's wrist and clenched down on it as he held it up to Obi-Wan's neck.

As Vader moved to bring his saber down on Obi-Wan's neck Bo-Katan stepped in and fired her blaster at Vader's head but a green personal shield blocked the blaster bolt. Vader turned around held out a hand, sending a Force blast that slammed into Katan and sent through a nearby window and to almost certain death. Katan quickly activated her jetpack but it short-circuited and she fire her grappling hook only for it to bounce off the base's shields.

With her jetpack useless it seemed death was certain for her…

* * *

Katan landed on something that wasn't burning hot like lava and lifted her head, seeing she was in the transporter room of the _Seraphinite_.

"We got her, Captain." The transporter chief reported.

" _Good work._ "

They had saved her.

* * *

Vader's shield actually saved Obi-Wan's life as it knocked him away from Vader. Having enough of standing around Ahsoka activated her lightsabers and leapt in to help Obi-Wan as Vader attacked but one swipe from Vader destroyed her shoto and knocked her to the side. Ahsoka fell off the conference table as Obi-Wan led Vader out of the room, away from her.

Ahsoka looked at the remains of her shoto and realized that she couldn't fight Vader the way he as a Jedi. Ahsoka pulled out her the small rod that extended into her Megan staff and she came out. She ran out of the conference room and watched as Vader and Obi-Wan lashed out with the Force, trying to overpower each other. It was a standstill for a moment before they both knocked each other back across the room.

Vader got up before Obi-Wan and leapt across the room, aiming his lightsaber to slice Obi-Wan in half.

"NO!" Ahsoka pointed her staff, channeling her feelings that caused a blast of light from her staff that slammed into Vader and knocked back across the room, slamming him into the wall hard and damaging his suit.

Ahsoka lowered her staff, looking at the man who used to be her beloved master and friend. "How could you become this?! How could you join the Sith and do all this?!"

Vader stood back up. "It was done in the name of peace and keeping Padme safe."

"Safe?! How does this keep her safe?! How does handing the galaxy over to a man like Sidious keep Padme safe?!" Ahsoka shouted.

"She will live and that is all that matters to me. You cannot understand, Ahsoka. You never understood feeling helpless as one you cared about died in your arms and being unable to save them." Vader retorted. "The Jedi have failed to understand that their time is over, that they have failed to defend this galaxy. Now it is time for change."

"I know more than you ever think I could, Anakin." Ahsoka retorted.

"That is not my name." Vader growled, stepping forward. "You have a chance, Ahsoka. Join me and together we can bring order to the galaxy or die."

"Haven't you realized it, yet? I am a member of Starfleet now and we don't join with tyrants and dictatorships." Ahsoka answered, gripping her staff.

"Then you will die." Vader declared, raising his hand.

Ashoka raised her staff and created a shield as Vader released a massive blast of Force energy that collided with her shield, forcing her back. Ahsoka struggled to hold him back but he was so strong.

'I-I can't hold him back…I need help…I can't do this alone!' Ahsoka cried out in her mind.

That seemed to have some form of effect on her staff as it glowed a bright golden light and from it came golden whisps of light that morphed into the people of Megas-Tu as they hovered behind Ahsoka and placed their hands on her.

' _Remember young maiden, you are never alone._ ' The voices of the Megans whispered they channeled their power through her.

The power of the Megans flowed through her and her staff and allowed her to push forward through Vader's Force attack, overpowering the Sith Lord until finally a massive shock-wave erupted from staff, slamming head on into Vader, blasting him and the other half of the command room away in an awesome display of power. Obi-Wan stared in stunned silence at what was left of the control center of the facility and Ahsoka who was panting and on her knees, still holding her staff until finally realizing they needed to leave.

" _Seraphinite to Lieutenant Tano, are you all right?_ "

Ahsoka tapped her badge. "Yes, I am here. Vader is dead."

At least hopeful he was, as much as it shamed Ahsoka to admit such a thing, even in her mind.

" _Understood. We have locked onto your position._ "

"Hurry. Senator Amidala needs medical attention."

" _Acknowledged._ "

They were all beamed away, leaving the collapsing facility behind. However as they disappeared they did not know realize that down below in the pile of wreckage formed from Ahsoka's attack a black torned glove punched its way out of the debris that was followed by a mechanical roar that emitted pure anger and rage.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Palpatine's Office**

Yoda and Sidious battled through the halls of the new Senate building, coming into the grand hall where the Senate was now usually held in the wake of the original Senate Building's destruction. With them came Emperor Kahless who was not content to be left on the sidelines as a mere spectator and pulled out his disruptor pistols as Sidious leapt up into the audience and lifted up several chairs with the Force. Kahless shot at Sidious who dodged and threw the chairs at Kahless and Yoda who dodged them. Sidious laughed madly as he summoned more chairs but Kahless kept on shooting, forcing Sidious to dodge the bolts of green light until he finally landed back on the floor and charged Kahless.

"Ha!" Kahless laughed as he clashed his blade with Sidious's red lightsaber. "Glorious combat!"

"You cannot win against me! No science is a match for the Dark Side!" Sidious growled as he pressed his blade against Kahless's sword.

He kicked Kahless back lashed out with Force Lightning at Yoda who attempted to attack from behind. Yoda held up both hands, using tutaminis to absorb the lightning but it was very difficult and painful. Sidious laughed as he pressed on his attack but Yoda hardened his gaze, causing Sidious to gasp as Yoda pushed forward until their hands were mere inches apart and the contained lightning exploded, knocking them both back. Yoda was knocked across the grand hall while Sidious slid a few feet back due to his larger size.

Kahless tapped his communicator. "Beam them down now!"

Four objects, resembling transporter beacons appeared around Sidious and activated. The Dark Lord of the Sith suddenly felt his connection to the Force vanish, making hims feel so weak that he almost fell over.

"The honorable warrior always prevails, monster." Kahless declared victoriously.

"What…Have you done?!" Sidious roared.

"The beacons emit a Force-dampening field that cancels out your powers. You are now mortal." Kahless declared.

"Until I step out of the field!" Sidious said, making a jump out of the field.

However what he did not know was that outside the building, looking down at them from a high perch through one of the large roof windows Asajj Ventress had Sidious in her sights, using a smaller Force-dampening field that kept her from being sensed. "Have you now, old man. For Vos and my sisters."

She pulled the trigger just as Sidious moved to escape the blaster bolt shot through the glass and hit Sidious in the back, knocking him down.

His body collapsed to the floor and he let out a scream.

"Burn in the fires of Grethor, dishonorable pah'tak." Kahless said darkly, moving to finish him off but stopped as clones began entering the chamber.

"Leave we must." Yoda said, knowing that the Emperor's death may change things for the better but not end the danger for the Jedi.

Kahless nodded. " _Batlh,_ three to beam up."

The three were beamed away as clone troopers rushed into the hall and saw the Emperor growling in pain. The clones quickly removed the beacons as they seemingly shut down but a second later they exploded, knocking the nearest clones back.

"Your majesty, are you all right?" A clone asked as the Emperor stood up, growing in pain as the wound on his back was still smoking.

It was only his regained connection to the Force and the Dark Side keeping him alive.

"I will live…But I want those three dead! Find their ship! It must be somewhere in orbit, using a cloaking device! Find it and destroy it!" The Emperor shouted, electricity sparkling from his hands.

"Yes my lord."

 **IKS _Batlh  
_ Bridge**

Kahless stepped onto the bridge, followed by Ventress and Yoda. "Our mission has failed. Take us to the portal at maximum speed."

"Into exile I must go." Yoda closed his eyes. "Until the time is right, disappear the Jedi must."

"You're not the only one." Ventress said, watching as the ship went into hyperspace.

 **USS _Seraphinite  
_ Sick Bay**

Shraan ran a tri-corder over Padme and frowned at the results. "Not good."

"How bad is it, doctor?" Nathan Creed asked.

"The senator has already gone into labor prematurely, most likely her intense meeting with her husband and his actions caused it. She wasn't due for another few weeks but I can't do anything to stop it now. What makes it worse is that she has been through a lot of stress in the last twenty four hours. If we don't operate quickly she'll die along with the babies." Shraan answered, prepping herself for surgery.

"Babies?" Obi-Wan asked.

"She's carrying twins. The stress and the birth will cause her vitals to give out." Shraan quickly said.

"Can you save her?" Creed asked.

Shraan nodded as she administered a hydrospray to Padme. "I can try to keep her heart beating and keep her life support. Her body is not ready to give birth but I am going administer a treatment to simulate the correct hormones that will simulate a natural birth to reduce danger to the babies and lower her stress levels. I don't want to risk activating the Borg nanites still in her even if they could help heal her."

Creed nodded. "Do what you can, doctor."

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building  
Palpatine's Office**

Sidious scowled at the report that showed that the intruders had not only escaped but the fleet he had sent to secure the portal had been completely routed. The Alliance was becoming a serious thorn in his side and he vowed he would destroy all worlds associated with them for the impudence they had shown. He had also received a report that Senator Amidala and Duchess Satine were missing and he sensed a disturbance in the Force, coming all the way from Mustafar and it felt similar to the power he felt when his former apprentice Maul had been confronted by an unknown power. If Starfleet had some sort of secret order of Force users it would suddenly make sense.

He remembered Skywalker telling him about the Knights of Corso.

If they had been secretly working against him this whole time it made the Milky Way even more dangerous. He sensed his apprentice still lived, having felt his anger ripple through the Force and he sensed that Amidala's life was in danger. Sidious grinned as he knew that it was likely the stress of her husband's actions that led to the fall of the Republic, her precious democracy, no doubt sent her into premature labor and if things went according to plan she would die. Putting the two of them together all those years ago had been his doing from the beginning, to not only manipulate their feelings but to also keep Padme from interfering in the Military Creation Act where she would have strongly voiced her opposition and to play on Anakin's need for love and attachement.

Following the death of his mother Anakin's fear for the death of anyone he loved was only heightened and no matter how much they tried to resist they came together as Sidious had planned. And as the Clone Wars spread it tested their bond through many battles, both against enemies and personal aquintances such as Rush Clovis and surprising enemies such as the Borg who had taken his wife and assimilated her into their hive mind. Q's trial had forced Anakin to face his demons before the Jedi Council and though they did not expel Sidious knew that they had lost much respect for him but kept it secret from the rest of the Order and the trip to the past only heightened Anakin's resolve to become stronger after his failure to defeat Darth Nyriss who was then killed at the hand of the legendary Darth Revan himself. And after the Iconian attack that left Anakin crippled Sidious capitalized on that fear, unmasking the Jedi for the hypocrites they were when they turned on his former padawan who joined the Milky Way Alliance.

And with his fear of Padme dying that had been heightened under the visions given to him by the Sith rituals Sidious used to help keep Anakin alive until he was truly ready to become his new apprentice. And even if Padme did survive the love she had for Anakin would have surely died which might even lead her to die of heartbreak. If so it would only further cement his connection to the Dark Side, seeing no other choice but to continue down the path he had chosen. He would need his apprentice to hunt down the Jedi that had escaped Order 66.

There were too many Jedi that had escaped and this would set back his plans for sometime but he would deal with them and he would deal with the Milky Way Galaxy for their blatant interference.

"Congratulations on your little victory, Chancellor."

Sidious scowled as a man wearing a modified Starfleet uniform appeared in his office and Sidious attempted to blast him with Force Lightning, only for it to go right through him. "And you are?"

"Franklin Drake, member of Section 31 that is charged with protecting the Federation from all threats." Drake answered.

"Really? So you are the one who no doubt informed the Jedi of the secret order I gave the clones." Sidious growled but smirked. "Well, suffice to say you have failed. Even if more Jedi survived than I would have preferred they are still considered criminals by the galaxy and I have my Empire. You cannot stop me now and precious Federation cannot stop me."

"Don't be so sure. The initial plan to stop you may have failed but there is always a backup plan just in case. And even if you do survive your Empire is about to be crippled to ensure it does not become a threat to us, even if you did find another portal to our universe." Drake smirked as his image disappeared, leaving only a small object that opened up and released a small blast of green light that lit up the office before finally disippaiting.

Sidious looked at the device for a second before scoffing. "Is that the best you can offer? Pathe-"

Sidious stopped as he saw his hand becoming dark grey that quickly spread across his body. Sidious let out a roar as he called on the Dark Side to stop this, this disease that was killing him from the inside and willed the Force to save him. The more he fought against the disease killing him the more his body glowed with bright blue electricity from the insides as it fought, only to cause more damage as the radiation that was consuming every part of him from inside fought against Sidious's Dark Side powers that fought to heal and keep the body alive. He tried to force his body to heal but the disease spread quickly and it was to the point that Sidious's own powers were only helping to tear him apart.

Sidious let out a roar that echoed across all of his Coruscant as his entire body exploded in a storm of ash and Dark Side energy created from his anger and hatred for the Federation and the Milky Way and blew the entire office and half the new Senate Building apart in a violent storm of energy that dissipated a few minutes later.

Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith and the Emperor was dead and his body completely destroyed by the pulse of Thalaron radiation he had been exposed to.

()

In orbit of Coruscant, Franklin Drake nodded in satisfaction as the sensors confirmed that the small Thalaron device he left in the Emperor's office had succeeded in killing the Emperor. With the Emperor dead, the Empire would soon be without a leadership and the next stage would ensure the Empire would be crippled long after the Alliance had fled back to the Milky Way and cut off any chance of pursuit.

"Take us transwarp. It's time we leave this galaxy behind. Is our gift on Kamino ready?"

"Yes sir."

 **Wild Space  
Kamino System  
Kamino  
Tipoca City**

Kamino, called Big Stormy by some clone troopers, also known as the Planet of Storms, was the watery world where the Clone Army of the Galactic Republic was created, as well as the Kamino Home Fleet. It was inhabited by a race of tall, elegant beings called the Kaminoans, who kept to themselves and were known for their cloning technology. Kamino was located just south of the Rishi Maze, and was governed by the Ruling Council, headed by the Prime Minister. Kamino was in a system of 13 planets orbiting an aging star south of the Rishi Maze, a dwarf satellite galaxy in a decaying orbit in a loose sector of an unnamed grouping of stars between the Rishi Maze and the main galaxy.

The planet was composed of a molten core with a rocky mantle and silicate rock crust. Climatic change had long ago submerged the planet's continents, drowning the planet under a global ocean that covered almost all of the surface, with a few islands left that were once mountain tops. These mountain-tips, though, were rained on almost incessantly. However, the surface of Kamino was not always subject to constant rain, as such was in a Separatist attack to gain a DNA sample of Jango Fett. Its savage storms and powerful lightning bursts could be seen vaguely through its relatively thick atmosphere.

Thousands of years ago, dramatic climate shifts began to melt the extensive glaciers of Kamino. As a result of resourceful adaptation, the Kaminoans survived the Great Flood of their planet's continents. The Kaminoans used cloning to keep themselves sustained. Sifo-Dyas placed an order with the Kaminoans for a Clone Army without the knowledge or approval of the Jedi Council. Darth Tyranus, at the bidding of Darth Sidious, murdered Sifo-Dyas to keep the creation of this army secret from the Jedi and the Republic. Tyranus then recruited Jango Fett to serve as Prime clone. Fett agreed on the condition that the Kaminoans create him an unaltered clone, his son Boba Fett.

Jango raised Boba on Kamino for the next ten years. Obi-Wan Kenobi was directed there in 22 BBY to follow a lead on the whereabouts of Senator Padmé Amidala's would-be assassin through a single saberdart. The saberdart had been used by Jango Fett to murder Zam Wesell before she could be interrogated by Kenobi. Kenobi had the dart identified by Dexter Jettster. Jettster directed him to Kamino, and Obi-Wan and Yoda were disturbed that Kamino had apparently been erased from the Jedi Archives.

During Obi-Wan's stay on Kamino at Tipoca City, he discovered the source of the Clone Army's genome, Jango Fett, and his "son," Boba Fett. Once he was discovered, Jango and Boba narrowly escaped the planet with Obi-Wan close behind.

Grand Master Yoda later went to the planet to receive a desperately needed contingent of clone troopers to assist in the rescue of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, and the Jedi Knights in the Battle of Geonosis, which began the infamous Clone Wars. When the Separatists discovered the source of the clones, Commander Merai launched an attack on Kamino at the bidding of Passel Argente, but the First Battle of Kamino was won by the Republic. In the Second Battle of Kamino there was an attempt by Mandalore the Resurrector and his Mandalorians to destroy a cloning facility, but it was foiled by the clone trooper garrison. A further attempt was made by the Confederacy at some time after the second Battle of Kamino to capture and destroy the cloning facilities, but this plan was prevented due to the actions of clone troopers at a nearby monitoring station.

After the Battle of the Rishi moon, Separatist leaders, General Grievous and Commander Asajj Ventress, launched an attack on Kamino to capture a sample of Jango Fett's DNA. The attack force was turned back by elements of the Open Circle Fleet and clone troopers garrisoned there. The Kaminoans were confident that with the reinforced fleet no one could come even close to Kamino.

But then again the Kaminoans had not encountered the likes of Section 31 before.

It happened so fast no one could even remember if they were being attacked or not. A beam of light shot down from the sky, hitting the ocean and created massive tital wave, too large to be stopped that after several minutes of moving slammed into Tipoca City, causing massive structural damage to the city. The wave with such force that the city felt like it was enduring an earthquake that caused even more damaged, especially to the clone facilities. Eventually the force caused several buildings to give out and collapsed into the ocean.

The orbiting defense fleet hastily tried to contact the surface to find out what had happened but all they received was static.

Tipoca City had been nearly wrecked beyond repair and its cloning facilities had been destroyed and with them the Republic's main source for its army.

 **Mid-Rim** **  
Hydian Way  
Chommel Sector  
The Portal  
USS _Seraphinite_  
Sick Bay**

"Captain, we'll be emerging from transwarp in two minutes."

Nathan nodded, waiting outside the Sick Bay as Padme gave birth to her children. Meanwhile Padme cried out as she gave birth to her firstborn.

Shraan cut the umbilical cord and wrabbed the baby in a blanket. "It's a boy."

Ahsoka smiled as Shraan handed her the baby and she brought the baby boy near his mother's face. "You hear that, Padme? It's a boy."

Padme opened her eyes and brought a hand up to her son's face. "Luke, oh Luke…Ahsoka, I wanted to tell you something before you left..."

"Padme?" Ahsoka questioned.

"I wanted to ask…If you'd be my children's godmother." Padme said, taking deep breaths.

Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock. "Me?"

Padme, despite the pain she was in, smiled. "Yes."

Ahsoka was speechless and wasn't able to even answer as Padme was forced to give birth to her next child and soon enough Shraan brought a second a baby wrapped in a blanket next to Ahsoka. "Here is the second one, a girl."

"Leia…" Padme said, looking into her daughter's eyes as the baby girl stared at her.

"Padme, it's okay now. Just rest now and you'll be okay." Ahsoka said, desperately hoping Padme would live and looked to Shraan.

"I've done the best I can to help her but her heartbeat is slowing. At best I was able to buy her just a little time." Shraan answered sadly.

"I can't…" Padme whispered. "Ahsoka, in you I place my trust and in your hands I leave my children…Look after them, please. Protect them from the Empire…"

"Padme…" Ahsoka looked ready to cry. "Please don't go. They need you. There must be something we can do…What about the Borg nanites in her? We can program them to-"

"Ahsoka, please!" Padme grabbed Ahsoka's hand. "Don't use them…"

"But they can save your life! Your children need their mother in their life." Ahsoka tearfully protested.

"And they might turn me into a drone…I don't want to live like that…Please, Ahsoka…" Padme lowered her hand as she looked at her babies. "You may not remember me…But I'll always love you both…As does your godmother…"

"Padme…" Ahsoka cried silently.

"Ahsoka…There is good in him…" Padme took her last breath.

"Anakin?" Ahsoka questioned.

"I know…I know…There is…" Padme closed her eyes and a scan confirmed her heartbeat had ceased.

Ahsoka's eyes widened before closing them as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks while everyone in the sickbay shared a moment of silence for the passing of Padme Amidala.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building**

Darth Vader stepped off of the shuttle, escorted by his troops passed the crowd surrounding the Senate Building and saw Mas Amedda near the entranced.

Amedda spotted Vader and quickly bowed. "Lord Vader."

"What has happened?" Vader questioned.

"The Emperor…He is dead. He was killed by some sort of Starfleet weapon." Mas Amedda answered stoically.

Vader was silent as he considered the implications of this. "And his assassins?"

"Gone, my lord." Amedda answered.

"Then we will move to bring them to justice." Vader turned away. "The Emperor ensured that if anything were to happen to him I would take over and stabilize the Empire."

"Of course, Lord Vader. I have seen the documents but what about the Senate? They might ask questions about who you are and why the Emperor trusted you to take command." Mas Amedda stated.

"I will deal with them when the time comes." Vader said simply as he stepped into the building.

As he came into the remains of Palpatine's office he suddenly stiffened, sensing something wrong…

"Padme…" Vader slowly whispered.

Padme was dead.

He could feel her lifeforce leaving her body, even this far away.

"No…..NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Vader screamed, his control over the Force slipping and it showed as cracks formed in the floor and walls.

He can't accept it.

He wouldn't accept!

There had to be a way to save her!

Inside his body the Borg nanoprobes that had been absorbed by the medi-chlorians reacted to Vader's thoughts and emotions, sending data into his mind.

Vader stopped raging as the information appeared in his mind. "This can work…Yes, do it. Save her!"

The nanoprobes carried out their orders.

 **The Portal  
USS _Seraphinite_  
Sick Bay**

Shraan had just brought the sheet over Padme's body. "I'll keep her body preserved for if and when we will have the chance to return her to Naboo."

Creed nodded and turned to the others. "We still have much to talk about. The fleet's returning to our galaxy and we're going to be closing this portal and the other one. It may be some time before you see this galaxy again."

"I'd prefer to get back to my people and liberate Mandalore from the Empire. I still have a ship for that." Bo-Katan said, glancing at Creed. "And Maul is still out there."

"If you wish to remain behind we won't stop you." Creed replied, looking at the others.

"But…" Katan spoke up. "You saved my life and I owe this ship and crew for that. My people will survive, even if I am not there to help. We always survive. And to be honest Mandalore might be safer if I am not there given I just helped attack one of the Empire's leaders."

"I do not believe I can return to Mandalore as well." Satine agreed sadly. "I cannot return to my home on Kalevala because the Empire would look for me for my association with Padme and the Jedi."

Creed looked to Obi-Wan. "And you?"

"I believe for now it is best the Jedi disappear from the galaxy. Starfleet has given its word that they would help us return to our home." Obi-Wan answered honestly. "At the very least this could be…temporary vacation."

Creed nodded. "Then let's get underway."

As the _Seraphinite_ entered the portal the probes began emitting the tachyon pulse that would lose the portal. As the last Starfleet ship vanished from the Skyriver Galaxy the Borg nanoprobes in Padme's body became active.

 **Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Senate Building**

She was alive…

Until she disappeared.

He could feel the Borg nanoprobes becoming active before he suddenly lost the connection. Vader let out a roar of rage, causing more damage to the office around him. He looked around the remains of Palpatine's office and understood now…

It was all _his_ fault.

Everything that happened since the Naboo war to the end of the Clone Wars was his fault. Deep down he understood that and would have been hesitant to strike the old man if not for the Borg technology that had enhanced his new cybernetic body to the point that he could remove his mask and be able to breath without and digest consumables like a normal human. Sidious thought by putting him in this suit he would be able to keep his new apprentice under his control and ensure no form of betrayal like Maul and Dooku had possibly considered. Vader only kept him alive to save Padme but he now realized he didn't need the old man. The Borg technology that had been given to him against his will gave him the necessary knowledge when the nanoprobes merged with the medi-chlorians in his body.

They provided him with the knowledge he needed to save Padme by having them send a signal to Padme using his connection to her through the Force to program the nanoprobes inside her to stabilize her condition. He saved her when Sidious would have simply let her die. However due to the fact that he had been unable to control the Dark Side he had almost killed her by choking which caused her to go into labour prematurely that would have been the cause of her death only he was too late.

He had killed her.

Not the Jedi.

Not Sidious.

 _Him._

Vader looked at the remains of Sidious's robes and scowled. "You tricked me, old man but fortune seems to have been in my favour. I now understand that all of the suffering that has happened was your doing and if I had the chance I would have killed you myself. But you are now dead and I will take the Empire you have made and make it my own and I will never be manipulated again and what happened to me, to Padme, and everything that happened during the Clone Wars will not happen to anyone ever again. From this day forward, the galaxy is mine!"

He turned away from the office and left, knowing there was much to do. He could use the Borg knowledge to fake a recording by Sidious to transfer power to him over the following weeks and then when his power was secure reveal Palpatine's assassination by the Jedi. He had already accessed Palaptine's secret files, modified Borg technology of his suit breaking through his encryptions easily allowing him to see all of Palpatine's secrets, including plans for super weapons, secret installations, and even information regarding an alternate universe and Palpatine's alliance with the denizens of that reality.

The Terran Empire.

An Admiral Leeta who forged an alliance with Palpatine to dominate the prime universe and defeat the Federation and what surprised Vader was that Leeta had the power of the Pah-Wraiths with her. Leeta had been working with the True Way to invade and conquer the Prime Universe, planning to take control of the Terran Empire. This information would useful to Vader as he would likely need to deal with this Leeta and her Empire in the future. Sidious believed Leeta would try and take over this reality as well and Vader actually agreed with the dead Emperor.

Even if he was now the ruler he needed time to properly build the Empire into his image while ensuring it was not left vulnerable. He would not even entertain the idea of leaving the Empire's policies to the Senate given how ineffective they would have been against the Separatists and other threats that Sidious did not control. He would be patient and slowly transfer all legal power to him to ensure the entire Empire was loyal to him. He had the loyalty of the military, now he would work on making sure the Senate didn't get in his way.

And when the Empire was truly his he would remake the galaxy, making it better than it ever was under the corrupted Republic.

He was Darth Vader, leader of the Galactic Empire and ruler of the galaxy.

 **Two Days Later  
Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Earth  
USS _Enterprise_**

Captain Shon looked over the reports of the Skyriver refugees and was pleased to see that the refugees were settling well in both Federation and Klingon space, including the Jedi who for the most part were in the middle of setting up a temporary headquarters on Earth with many of them receiving help from the many people who lived there. Ahsoka was back on the _Enterprise_ but she had been reluctant to leave Luke and Leia who were under Obi-Wan and Satine's watchful eyes. It had been a last few stressing days helping the survivors of the Jedi Order come to terms with what has happened. It would take some time for them to recover from this but they had survived and for the moment that was all that mattered.

"Captain, we are picking up a transmission, priority one." Jirelle reported as Shon stepped onto the bridge. "It's coming from the Iconia system."

Shon was immediately alerted. "What does it say?"

Jirelle brought up the image on the screen and everyone stared at the massive construct, a Dyson Sphere now in the Iconia system and they knew it for what it meant.

The Iconian invasion had begun.

* * *

Padme's body had been preserved in a stasis pod ever since she had died giving birth. Her body would remain there until it could be returned to Naboo for a proper burial. While her body was perfectly preserved the Borg nanoprobes inside her body had activated and remained active, slowly working to heal and rejuvenate her organs.

Eventually the stasis pod's computer detected a slow but steady heartbeat.

* * *

 **END OF PART VII**

 **(Special thanks to Inquisitor0 for the Poly-Water intoxication idea)**


	64. Chapter 64

_The borders between worlds exist to ensure the balance of life._

 _Each world has its own distinctive beings and laws that ensure the reality of every world is unique is so many ways._

 _People._

 _Places._

 _And even different laws physics that allow for other forms of science not thought possible to exist._

 _Magic._

 _Alchemy._

 _Time Travel._

 _Evolving to become pure energy._

 _The ability to see and interact with paranormal entities such as ghosts, demons, angels, and even gods._

 _Realities where fiction becomes real._

 _Realities where dreams and fantasies become alive._

 _Realities where wishes come true._

 _And realities where nightmares are alive._

* * *

 **THE AGE OF THE NEW FRONTIER**

 **EPISODE VIII**

 **THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC HAS FALLEN. EMPEROR PALPATINE HAS CREATED A GALACTIC EMPIRE TO RULE IN ITS PLACE.**

 **THE SITH LORD DARTH VADER HAS TAKEN COMMAND OF THE EMPIRE AND STRIVES TO BRING ORDER TO THE GALAXY. WITH THE EMPIRE UNDER HIS COMMAND VADER HAS PERSONALLY BROUGHT ELITE DIVISION OF TROOPERS KNOWN AS THE 501ST UNDER HIS COMMAND AND SET ABOUT TO ENSURE RISE OF THE EMPIRE.**

 **WHILE ACCESSING THE PERSONAL FILES OF EMPEROR PALPATINE VADER HAS DISCOVERED A SECRET ALLIANCE WITH THE FORCES OF THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE KNOWN AS THE TERRAN EMPIRE AND SEEKS TO ENSURE THE TERRANS DO NOT BECOME A THREAT IN A MANNER BEFITTING THE EMPIRE.**

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Sol System  
Earth Orbit  
 _Starbase-1_**

Earth Starbase-1 had become an even busier hub of activity in the wake of the massive Dyson Sphere appearing in the Iconian system that informed everyone in the galaxy that the Iconians had returned and were beginning their invasion. Fleets were being deployed to defend planets and colonies in Alliance space but the current analyses of the enemy Dyson Sphere showed the Iconians heavily outnumbered them by a ridiculous margin.

Quinn felt the tension rising behind his eyes, and it was only 0900 hours. He needed another raktajino. He sighed and picked up the PADD on his desk again, avoiding looking at the captain standing expectantly on the other side of his desk.

"So you want to make two smugglers, an Academy washout who ended up in a penal colony and an ensign with a penchant for joyriding into an elite team?"

"And the Klingon," Paris responded. "Don't forget Guroth."

"How could I forget Guroth," Quinn answered dryly. "According to his personnel file, even the KDF thinks he's a madman. It's only a matter of time until he blows himself up.

"Tom, we've known each other a long time," Quinn continued. "There's no one I trust more than you. But … this isn't the time for crazy ideas. You know how badly things went for us at New Romulus and Lae'nas."

"That's exactly why it is the time for crazy ideas," Paris responded. "The standard battle tactics aren't going to work. Not against the Iconians."

"I've seen the projections," Quinn said. "They're not good."

"So why send a hundred ships to die when a handful can do the job? Give me these guys," Paris said. "Let me try something different. And if it doesn't work out … you've said it yourself. They're not your best and brightest. What are you going to lose?"

"Six ships," Quinn answered. "And one of the best known and most capable captains in Starfleet."

"I know the risks," Paris said. "But this could work. These guys – they're just like I was once. And they're good. Really good. Some of the best pilots I've ever seen."

"You had Janeway and seven years in the Delta Quadrant to temper your rebel tendencies."

"Do we have time for that?" Paris asked. "The Iconians are here. You know what's happening on Qo'noS right now could be on Earth this afternoon."

"You've got your task force," Quinn said after a long moment. "But I'm adding a seventh team member. Someone reliable."

"Thank you Admiral," Paris said. "I'll start pulling them together immediately."

"You know, I remember when you had this job," Quinn said. "And I was on the other side of this desk asking you for a favor."

"So do I," Paris said. "Works out better this way. I was never admiral material."

* * *

 _Personal log, Bekk Jornth, Stardate 87310.7_

 _I have a few minutes before they call us to load the transports._

 _A few minutes to sum up a life._

 _I am not afraid to die. I knew from the day I stepped onto the Academy grounds this would be my fate. And I will die defending my homeworld. There is no greater honor for a warrior._

 _There are so many things I have never done. I never rose to command my own ship. I never heard my name proclaimed with honor in the Great Hall. My dreams of founding my own House will die with me._

 _But I have fought side-by-side with my brothers and sisters in service of the Empire. I have spilled my enemy's blood on the sands of Nimbus III. I have served my captain well, and I have felt the heady rush of glory move through me like the strongest bloodwine._

 _Before I entered the Academy, I spent a year in the frozen monasteries of Boreth. There I learned about the Klingon gods, beings of great power who thought they could rule us._

 _Our ancestors rose up and slew the gods. Afterward, they held their bloody blades up to the sky and proclaimed that they were Klingon!_

 _The Iconians think they are our gods now. They will meet the same fate._

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
Azure Sector  
New Romulus System  
New Romulus**

The Iconians had begun their invasion and New Romulus was the first planet in their sights. Their massive ships emerged from portals created by Iconian gateways and fired purple anti-proton/dark energy beams at the enemy while the Alliance ships fired back. Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ships fought back with great intensity but it wasn't enough to stop the Iconians from using their gateways to send their soldiers onto the surface. Only when their soldiers appeared on the surface they met a foe they did not expect.

Jedi.

Specifically Jedi Knights that had been stationed on New Romulus, living with the refugee populace and hoped to access the Iconian Gate under the surface to return to their home galaxy. On the surface of the planet Master Luminara along with Aayla Secura and Evan Piell helped the civilians find safety while helping the Alliance soldiers fight off the incoming Iconian soldiers. The enemy forces were composed of advanced droids called Constructs that could fuse their fallen parts together, becoming even deadlier in combat. Then there the organic soldiers classified as the Thralls and the Defilers or Brutes that were skilled in both long and close range combat.

Their weapons were immune to lightsabers, forcing the Jedi to rely on blows to their heads to kill them. It was hard enough that Aayla ended up wielding an extra green lightsaber that she wielded extremely well as she fought a Thrall Herald that appeared behind her. Only Evan Piell leapt up and delivered a heavy blow to the Herald's head, knocking it down but not killing it. In the short time since their arrival the Jedi had found the Heralds to be immensely powerful warriors.

Their fighting skills were on par with Jedi, Mandalorians, and even Sith while also employing advanced weaponry and even Iconian gateways that allowed them to disappear from a Jedi's vision, both physical and in the Force. It was only through them appearing back on the battlefield did the Force allow them to sense their presence. The Heralds gave of feelings of power, anger, hate, and even love. It was hard to believe at first but emotion of love was there and it directed at their masters.

The Iconians.

And their devotion to the Iconians made them extremely dangerous, even against the Jedi working with the Alliance forces on the ground who were working to evacuate all civilians. The Heralds fell back for some reason but the danger was not over as a portal opened and from it appeared an Iconian. This Iconian wore the same body hugging bio-mechanical armor as the one that appeared in the Senate Building on Coruscant but its body was a mix of darkness and red colored energy with a red light where its core was. Its armor looked modified specifically for combat with the sharp gauntlets covering its hands and spikes emerged from its back.

Even its eyes were glowing red, showing a hate and anger rivaled by the Sith themselves.

" _Jedi, you should not have come to this galaxy._ " The Iconian said, its voice ethereal like the other one but this one spoke like a growling beast. " _The galaxy is ours and you are not welcome in it._ "

Luminara readied herself. "We are protecting this planet and its people as is our way, no matter what galaxy we are in."

" _I tolerated your people once. Never again!_ " The Iconian lashed out with its hand, releasing a blast of dark energy at Luminara who quickly dodged.

It was hard to tell if the Iconian was using the Force or not but its power and hate were like a bright beacon of darkness in the Force. Evan Piell held out a hand and sent a piece of debris at the Iconian who batted away with one hand.

" _You cannot harm a god._ " The Iconian snarled.

"I can try." Piell retorted.

" _Insolent fool!_ " The Iconian tried to grab him.

Piell could see invisible strings through the Force trying to grab him and quickly dodged before he was caught. Secura quickly threw her spare lightsaber at the Iconian while it was distracted but to her shock the lightsaber bounced off the Iconian's energy skin with no harm to it at all.

" _My body cannot be harmed by your primitive weapons!_ " The Iconian said as a portal behind it. " _You are fortunate there are other matters to be dealt with. Make peace with you Force, Jedi._ "

The Iconian vanished into the portal, leaving the confused Jedi behind. By the way it had spoken of them the Iconians had encountered the Jedi in the past at some point.

But as friend or foe?

* * *

 _Personal log, A'dranna, Stardate 87327.8_

 _The ruins are gone. Centuries of our history immolated in minutes. Anything the Heralds touch dissolves into ashes._

 _I suppose it could have been worse. Our cities survived, because the bulk of the Herald assault was focused on the area surrounding the gateway chamber. And we still hold it, even though D'Tan has decided that we must postpone any further research into its use until after the conflict ends._

 _I do not agree with his decision. We cannot negotiate with this enemy. We cannot reason with them. And if we remain ignorant about the limits of their technology, they will continue to use it against us._

 _D'Tan is a man of peace. Nothing will change that, and it is one of the reasons I respect him. But it is also the reason why we need men and women of action who are willing to step up and fight to preserve what we have created here._

 _Obisek is with the fleet. Tal'Mera is chasing Sela in every shadow._

 _(I am not a soldier, but I cannot sit and wait for the Heralds to come again.)_

 _I have an appointment with Admiral Kererek this afternoon. If D'Tan will not sign off on my research, maybe Kererek will. I will provide all my data to the Alliance, and continue my work with the gateway technology._

 _I know the Alliance has had some success in modifying ships to open gateways to the Herald Sphere. But there is more we can do. If we can attack the gateway network, we can also learn to control it. What if we could create gateways of our own to get our ships into battle, or open gateways into nebulas to act as shields against the Heralds' solar flares? How about emergency shelters for civilians hidden away?_

 _There are so many possibilities – but any research into new technology will take resources. We will need more scientists willing to work on Alliance projects. More intact samples of Iconian technology. More funding for experiments that may take months or even years to produce results._

 _And that's the most precious resource of all. Time. The longer we take to find a solution, the more people will die._

 _We have to have more time, but we can't waste any time … it's the unsolvable puzzle. I feel like I want to plunge my hands into time itself, shape and bend it to my will, change all that's happened and all that will happen … but I can't. The technology to do that simply doesn't exist._

 _And if it did, would it be more power than anyone has a right to have?_

* * *

 **New Romulus Orbit  
Romulan Star Destroyer _Reunification_**

D'tan sighed sadly as he looked over the reports of the Iconian attack as he looked at the image of Fulcrum. "The gate underneath was destroyed by the Heralds. The Iconians obviously don't want anyone aside from them using their technology."

" _The situation is indeed grim but at the very least the cities were not attacked heavily. I have recieved word that the Preserver archives on Lae'nas III was destroyed._ " Fulcrum replied.

D'tan nodded. "Yes. The Iconians must have been aware that the Preservers had the knowledge we needed to stop them."

" _While it was a devastating loss the Iconians might have revealed a weakness. If the Preservers had knowledge they feared than it is possible they can be defeated._ "

"Only now it will be much more difficult." D'tan closed his eyes. "They destroyed our homeworld and attacked our new one. I cannot help but feel the Iconians hate my people more than anything. Just what could we have done to earn such horror and death?"

" _We will possibly never know. You must focus on protecting your people, ensuring they survive._ " Fulcrum advised.

D'tan nodded. "Of course. The Jedi we have as guests on New Romulus saved several of our outer camps from the Heralds."

" _The Jedi and their skills are welcome but they will not hold back the Iconians and their forces for long. They are too strong and too numerous. We must move quickly and find a way to stop the Iconians from advancing across the quadrants._ "

"Of couse, Fulcrum."

* * *

 _Starfleet Operation TVL-977  
Iconian Intelligence #247_

 _From: Captain Kagran, Klingon Defense Force_

 _To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic_

 _Our conflicts have ceased. While we may have not settled all of the differences between our peoples, it is folly to squabble amongst ourselves as death approaches._

 _The Iconians are coming. We saw them on Qo'noS, and felt the agony of their terrible power. They warned us not to oppose them, and yet in campaign against the Vaadwaur in the Delta Quadrant that is precisely what we did._

 _We can no longer pretend that war is not upon us. What we can do is arm ourselves with knowledge for the battles to come._

 _The Iconians are among the most ancient civilizations of which we know. More than 200,000 years ago, their empire covered vast areas of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While their homeworld of Iconia, in what is now Romulan space was the heart of this empire, there were dozens of colony worlds, and Iconian technology has been found in both the Gamma and Delta quadrants._

 _From what we know, the Iconians were despots. Known as "Demons of Air and Darkness," the Iconians ruled by the force of their technology, which was far beyond anything seen before, including a network of gateways that allowed them to transport vast distances in an instant._

 _There have been some recent scholars who have disputed this. They say history is written by the victors, and it is true that 200,000 years ago the races enslaved by the Iconians rose up against their masters and destroyed the Iconian civilization in a cataclysm of fire._

 _These scholars think history should regard the Iconians more kindly. I say their actions speak louder than any fragments or relics left behind._

 _The U.S.S. Yamato and the U.S.S. Enterprise-D found the remains of Iconia in what was then the Romulan Neutral Zone in 2365. It was only by quick action that the crew of the Enterprise managed to save their ship, but the Yamato was lost. Curiously, the commander of the Romulan warbird sent to investigate Starfleet's incursion into the Neutral Zone was Taris. It may have been this incident that sent her along her dark path to obsession and destruction._

 _We know the Iconians prefer to act through servitor races. Some, like the Undine, have been manipulated into doing the Iconians' bidding. Others, like the Solanae, the Elachi and the Vaadwaur, have willingly surrendered. The Iconians control these races, their servitors, through a variety of means, including the biological weapons known as neural parasites._

 _There is another species that serves the Iconians. These are their Heralds. Believed to be survivors of the carnage at Iconia, the Heralds are a lesser race that the Iconians raised up to sentience, much like the Founders of the Dominion did with their Vorta servants. The Heralds worship the Iconians as their gods, and have served as their personal servants and shock troops for eons._

 _We know little about these Heralds, but we see the marks of their power upon the galaxy. Beware their arrival, because chaos and destruction will follow them._

 _Close File_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Open File  
Iconian Intelligence #248_

 _From: Captain Kagran, Klingon Defense Force_

 _To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic_

 _In my previous briefing I gave some of the history of the Iconians. I now turn to what may help us defeat them._

 _Intelligence indicates that the Iconians' numbers are few. It may be that only a handful of them escaped the orbital bombardment of their worlds 200,000 years ago. Recovered recordings from New Romulus show us Iconians escaping through the gateway there. We know from data from the Solanae and Jenolan spheres that the Iconians who survived the attack escaped to these spheres before departing._

 _There are rumors that when the Iconians left the Solanae sphere, their destination was the Andromeda galaxy. If so, they have the ability to escape the Galactic Barrier._

 _Contact with the barrier has been known to give mere mortals almost god-like power. What terrible wonders can a race that can cross it at will be capable of?_

 _I urge you not to dwell on this. We are all warriors, even if our ships fly under different banners. We will fight because we must. We will fight to defend our worlds and our families. We will fight because an honorable death in battle is preferable to a life in subjugation._

 _The Iconians' advantage is their technology and the rabid devotion of their Herald soldiers. Their gateways can allow them to appear anywhere at will. Even the most protected of our homeworlds will not be safe._

 _So we must rely on our numbers and our will to stop them. We will fight them at every opportunity. We will respond rapidly to any threat, and give our lives to thwart them. We will make every victory so costly that retreat or surrender will be their only option._

 _Research has already begun on how to turn the Iconians' gateway network against them. Data recovered by Ambassador Worf from one of their subspace bases last year has given us several promising options, and already we are outfitting experimental ships with technology that can control a gateway for a short time. Our most experienced commanders are forming strike teams and developing plans of attack._

 _Unfortunately, there is still much we do not know about the Heralds and their Iconian masters. We have not seen them in battle. We do not know their full capabilities. We will get that information and use it against them, but there will be sacrifices to do so. Know that no lives will be lost in vain, and that the Iconians will repay us for every loss with blood._

 _We must win this war. There is no other option._

 _Close File_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Opening File  
Heralds of the Iconians_

 _We have learned much over the years about the Iconians, but still know very little. History has described them as "Demons of Air and Darkness", referring to the gateway technology which lets them appear seemingly anywhere in the galaxy, perhaps anywhere in the universe, with just one step. In their prime, the Iconians were an extremely advanced society whose technology must have appeared as magic to other races. Two hundred thousand years ago, their civilization was destroyed when a coalition of their enemies joined together to destroy their cities through orbital bombardment._

 _We now know that not all the Iconians were killed. Some escaped to the Dewan system for a time. Even today on what is now called New Romulus, we can still see their 6-eyed fauna still dominates much of the landscape. The Dewans worshiped the Iconians as gods, at least until they abandoned the Dewans to retreat further into space._

 _The Dewans tried to follow, but their lack of knowledge of Iconian gateway technology proved fatal. Their experiments nearly tore the planet apart, and led to an environmental disaster that caused the extinction of the Dewans. Now the Romulan Republic lays claim to Dewa III as their new homeworld._

 _The Iconians never disappeared._

 _They have been planning, quietly over the centuries. They have been building alliances with other races – some perhaps through cunning and guile, some through force, and, at least once through genetic engineering. We know the Elachi are the ruthless soldier servitors who brutally harvested the Romulan people and many others. But the first recorded encounter with the Elachi was in 2151, when the NX-01 Enterprise and Captain Archer first encountered this silent enemy._

 _We have also met the mysterious Solanae who are the Iconians' scientists. The Solanae live in subspace and have been using Iconian gateway technology to abduct people and experiment on them. Perhaps they are testing for weaknesses, or looking for a way to return to normal space. The earliest record of this is in 2369, when the crew of the Enterprise-D was abducted._

 _There has been recent evidence that this has been going on for much longer. The Solanae also build the incredible Dyson Spheres. We have found two of these massive structures so far. Perhaps there are more. We know the Dyson Spheres use Omega Particles to "jump" to potentially anywhere in the universe._

 _Their power seems limitless._

 _In Delta Rising, we encountered the neural parasites. These insidious creatures were first discovered in 2364, when they attempted to take over the Federation by infecting key members of Starfleet. Their conspiracy was thwarted by Captain Picard and Commander Riker of the Enterprise-D. Recently, we have learned the truth of the parasites. We have faced their Spawnmother and learned their complex lifecycle._

 _We now know the neural parasites are genetically engineered biological weapons created by the Iconians. We also know the Iconians have made deadly alliances with the Tal Shiar and, most recently, the Vaadwaur. With technology from the Iconians and manipulation from the neural parasites, the Vaadwaur nearly took over the entire Delta Quadrant._

 _Why the Tal Shiar and the Vaadwaur would align themselves with the Iconians is hard to say._

 _Perhaps they shared a common cause. Perhaps they were deceived._

 _Perhaps they had no choice._

 _The Elachi, Solanae and even the Dewans are Iconian servitor races. They follow the Iconians blindly and without question. Perhaps, in time, the Vaadwaur and Tal Shiar may also have worshiped the Iconians. Perhaps they already do. But none of these races are as unique, as powerful, and as devoted as what is coming next. The Heralds._

 ** _The Heralds_**

 _The Heralds are not a servitor race. They were not conquered, coerced, subjugated, bargained with, or grown. The relationship between the Heralds and the Iconians goes much deeper. The Heralds are children of Iconia._

 _They are not the Iconians themselves, but they are native to Iconia and probably share a common ancestor with the Iconians. Like the Iconians and the natives of Tau Dewa, they too have 6 eyes._

 _They love the Iconians and the Iconians care for them in return. The Heralds are the personal guards and stewards of the Iconians and absolutely loyal. Perhaps the Heralds were a lesser species of Iconia – one who fell behind in technology. Perhaps they were pets at one time._

 _Whatever they were, their relationship runs deep. It's more symbiotic than master/slave. Although they are not the technological masters that the Iconians are, they are not dumb beasts. They are at least as intelligent as any space faring species we have met._

 _They have been entrusted with the Iconian technology, weapons, ships and secrets. They may even be genetically enhanced by the Iconians. Where the Iconians are few in number (possibly very few), the Heralds are many. There are probably billions of Heralds._

 _The Iconians have had hundreds of centuries to breed them and build their army. Now the Heralds command the Iconians' powerful fleet. On the ground, they wield weapons empowered with gravitic forces and unknown energy. They can use these staff-like weapons like traditional energy based rifles, as well as melee weapons. The Heralds are powerful, completely devoted, and armed with technology that one might consider magic._

 ** _Their Soldiers_**

 _Constructs – The Constructs aren't actually Heralds. They are automatons held together with sophisticated gravitational forces. When defeated, they fall apart – like a suit of armor without a knight. Constructs have been seen merging together and even being reconstructed by powerful Heralds._

 _Thralls – These Heralds are masters of gateways. Fast and deadly, Thralls can teleport at will and open Gateways behind their target for a deadly flanking attack. Destroy the portal or be prepared to deal with a Thrall in hand-to-hand combat._

 _Brute – The Brutes are massive powerhouses. Seemingly unstoppable, the Brutes wield a massive hammer-like weapon that can eject a powerful burst of energy that is best to be avoided. Brutes can also reconstruct fallen Constructs._

 _Harbingers – There are at least two types of Harbingers. One is a master of gravity; the other is a master of gateways. No doubt these high ranking Heralds are the most trusted by the Iconians, and they wield much of the Iconians' power. Harbingers can manipulate gravity and open gateways to summon reinforcements._

 _It has been said that some Harbingers can even open a portal that can unleash untold energy. Do your best to destroy the Gateways and stay away from the gravitic fields._

 ** _Their Ships_**

 _Mir Fighters – Like the Constructs, Mir fighters are unmanned. They are machines held together and controlled by gravitic forces. Mir Fighters can reinforce their hull and simply ram your ship, causing no damage to itself._

 _Baltim Raider – The Baltim is a small Iconian ship, if you can call any Iconian ship small. Like the Thralls on the ground, the Baltim can open a gateway to fly through. When it emerges, it will appear behind its enemy and ram them with devastating effect. Destroy the gateway before it enters, or try to outmaneuver the ramming attack._

 _Quas Cruiser – The foundation of the Iconian Army, the Quas can open energy gateways that can repair its shields – not unlike the Vaadwaur Shield Repair drones (undoubtedly a similar technology). The Quas can also launch Iconian probes that can shut you down pretty hard._

 _Vonph Battleship – These battleships are similar to the Quas, but much more powerful. Their probes are more advanced and deadly, and they can also open gateways that can bring in Mir Fighter reinforcements. They can also open a very nasty solar gateway. On the other side of this gateway is a solar flare, and the Vonph can direct its energy directly onto its target._

 _Iaidon Dreadnought – Massive doesn't begin to describe this terrifying ship. In addition to all the aforementioned gateways, the Iaidon can create an oblivion gateway. This gateway exposes the area to a pulsar. The massive burst of energy can destroy all nearby ships. If you see one of these, destroy it immediately or get away as fast as you can._

 _Close File_

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 _._

 _._

 _Opening File  
Skyriver Intelligence_

 _From: Captain Kagran, Klingon Defense Force_

 _To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic_

 _The Skyriver Galaxy was proven to be an interesting galaxy with the potential for the Empire to gain new allies and enemies to battle. However it seems many of them lack true honor. The Galactic Republic was a cesspool of corruption led by a man who manipulated them into breeding warrior grown in tubes to fight against an army of machines created by cowardly beauracrats and murdering cyborgs who themselves were deceived._

 _The Chancellor deceived both sides into warring against each other to secure power for himself. Dishonorable and cowardly but cunning and dangerous._

 _We have escaped his plans to possibly invade our galaxy but even so my instincts tell me if he were to find a way to reach us he would attempt to conquer and subjugate us as he has done with his galaxy. If we survive the Iconians we must be prepared._

 _We must stand united._

 _We may be different people, from different worlds, but I have seen the eyes and hearts of warriors of all our allies._

 _Human._

 _Vulcan._

 _Andorian._

 _Tellerite._

 _Romulan._

 _Reman._

 _Xindi._

 _Delfari._

 _We are warriors and we will stand against any of our enemies who seek conquer or destroy us! The Galactic Empire formed by Palpatine may be behind us in technology but only a fool would underestimate the resources and powers that its Emperor now has at his disposal. We will prepare and build as we fight the Iconians._

 _And like true warriors we shall stand tall and proud._

 _Close File_

 _._

 _._

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 _Opening File  
Skyriver Intelligence 208_

 _From: Captain Nathan Creed, United Federation of Planets, Starfleet_

 _To: Ship Commanders of the Klingon Defense Force, Starfleet and the Romulan Republic_

 _Though we have sealed off the main portals leading to the Skyriver Galaxy it is at best a temporary solution. Our Jedi refugees have settled for the most part but most wish to return to their home galaxy and begin fighting against the Galactic Empire._

 _Founded on the planet Tython the Jedi Order was an ancient, monastic peacekeeping organization, unified by its belief in and observance of the Force, specifically the light side. Before the rise of the Empire, the Jedi served the Galactic Republic as guardians of peace and justice for more than a thousand years. While well known as diplomats, the Jedi carried lightsabers, the symbol and weapon of choice of the Order. However eventually a rift was formed in the Order when the Sith Order was formed by a rogue Jedi who had come to the understanding that the true power of the Force lay not in contemplation and passivity, and instead sought abandon and strength through the dark side of the Force._

 _The Jedi Council at the time balked at this new direction, and the dark Jedi was outcast, but he eventually gained followers to his new order. The power-hungry Sith sought to control the galaxy and opposed the Jedi, against whom they waged a series of wars which brought destruction to many worlds, including the Sith homeworld of Moraband though other sources have claimed it was originally known as Korriban or Pesegam, which the Sith were eventually forced to abandon from the constant wars that had been waged. Their quest to gain power was ultimately the undoing of the Sith, as the dark side made them turn against one another. In the end, the Jedi managed to defeat the infighting Sith, bringing what was left of the dark order to its knees._

 _As it turned out, one Sith named Darth Bane had survived. His fellow Sith Lords destroyed, he reformed the order by establishing Rule of Two, mandating that only two Sith, a master and an apprentice could exist at any given time, lest they fall prey to in-fighting. The Sith abandoned their traditional homeworld of Moraband after it was scarred by many wars. A decade before first contact was made the Sith manipulated galactic politics until a galaxy spanning war began with two sides, one using an army of machines while the other used an army of cloned humans to fight each other but the true plot had been aimed at the Jedi who had been forced to become generals in the war._

 _After nearly three years of unending war, even after the discovery of our galaxy, Darth Sidious who was in fact the Chancellor of the Republic ordered the clones to turn on the Jedi and exterminate them down to every man, woman and child. It was only through the covert aid from our alliance did we prevent the total extinction of the Jedi but we were forced to flee the Skyriver Galaxy just as Chancellor Palpatine ordered the Galactic Republic be reorganized into a Galactic Empire. Given the historic files we have seen of the Sith along with the actions of Sidious, Count Dooku, and Darth Maul it is likely that should this Empire ever find a way back into our universe they will try to conquer it._

 _If we survive the Iconians we must be prepared._

 _Close File_

 _._

 _._

 _._

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 _._

 _Close Database_

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Maw Installation**

The secret installation in the Maw had originally been established by Whiluff Tarkin following the defeat of the Borg for the purpose of studying salvaged Borg technology and for the possible creation of new weapons and technologies. It was built from asteroids in the midst of the Maw Cluster, a virtually unnavigable cluster of black holes. However his standing had fallen into decline following his defeat at the hands of the Milky Way Alliance in the most humiliating way that no one could have seen coming.

Drunken clones and droids.

It was at this point that the new leader of the Empire, Darth Vader decided he would personally oversee any operation Tarkin had been involved and decide it he was still of any use to the Empire. And it so happened that the installation in the Maw was one reason Vader had yet to execute the fool. The Maw Installation was the location of where Palpatine had been meeting with the representatives of the Terran Empire from the Mirror Universe.

And thus that is why Vader himself had journeyed to the installation and saw the flagship of the Terran Empire waiting for him.

 **I.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701-F**

Vader supposed he could have felt amusement at the name of the ship his shuttle was in the process of landing on but he had no time for such theatrics. The shuttle landed and Vader stepped out, seeing the Terran security standing straightly as their leader watched him exit his shuttle.

Admiral Leeta.

"Lord Vader, welcome aboard the _Enterprise_. It is so nice to finally meet you." Leeta said as Vader strolled towards her.

"You may dispense with the pleasantries, Admiral." Vader replied, stopping in front of Leeta. "I am sure you are aware of the current leadership of the Empire."

"Yes. Congratulations are in order. I believe there is much we can gain from the agreement I had with your predessessor." Leeta remarked.

"Your agreement with the previous Emperor was of mutually conquering the Milky Way Galaxy of the other universe. That is why this installation was created." Vader remarked.

"It was and we have supplied much technology." Leeta nodded.

"And what is the situation in your universe?" Vader turned away.

"Situation?" Leeta questioned.

"I am aware of the situation of the Iconians in the other universe. It is only logical that the Terran Empire would be facing a similar invasion." Vader clarified.

"We are…Ready for them." Leeta replied, not intending to give away any secrets. "They will not succeed."

Vader could sense her confidence…

And her fear.

"You believe in your strength…But you are still afraid."

"And what would make you think I have any reason to be afraid?" Leeta questioned darkly. "The Terran Empire has conquered everyone else in our universe. The so-called United Federation stands no chance against us."

"You underestimate them. The previous Emperor made the same mistake. What you call weakness is the Federation's strength in unity. They crave knowledge and peace but at the same time they can and use their knowledge to defend themselves from any and all threats." Vader turned and faced her. "They have experienced war and use those lessons that have been learned in conflict to fight and seek alternative ways. And I don't suppose you have experience similar event in which a portal to another universe appeared in yours."

Leeta stepped back, surprised by what Vader had said. "…Why infact, yes."

Vader watched as Leeta pulled out a PADD and showed it to him. He scanned over its data and was surprised. "A Galactic Sith Empire."

"They apparently destroyed the Jedi and the Republic in their universe centuries ago and have reigned supreme for centuries. Only now they have been invading our universe but we have held them back, at great cost." Leeta admitted.

A Sith Empire that destroyed the Republic and managed to stay in power for thousands of years? It would be too hard to believe, given the nature of the Sith but Vader would have more time to learn.

"And what is it you seek?" Vader questioned. "How do you plan to stop this Sith Empire and the Iconians?"

Leeta smirked. "Well, perhaps if we make an alliance I would be better motivated to tell you. I notice tht you are still in the process of building this empire."

It was true.

With the destruction of the Kaminoan cloning facilities the Empire had lost the main source of production for its armies but it still had a large enough force to maintain order in the Inner and Mid-Rims. The Separatist droid armies had been merged with the Imperial Army and was being used to bring order into the Outer Rim but Vader planned to replace the current models with a more competent version. He disliked relying on droids for every task of running the Empire but they would provide suitable backup to the clones. Already recruitement centers were being set up to train new troops, even if it would take time.

As much as he preferred the clone troopers bred and trained for combat not only were the main cloning facilities on Kamino destroyed it was expensive to continue cloning especially since the Clone Wars were now over. The Empire needed to focus its economy on recovering from the Clone Wars and with new and upgraded personal shields would ensure that the Imperial Army would suffer far less casualties in any insurgence they are forced to deal with. The personal shields lacked the regenerative abilities shown by the Milky Way powers but they would still be highly effective. In the meantime he had used his Borg knowledge to create and program nano-droids that would help stabilize the rapidly aging bodies of the clone troopers, reparing the accelerated growth modifications made by the Kaminoans that would allow the clones to live a normal human life span.

And he already had set up a secret project in the Maw Installation.

The Empire would need to build up its strength and deal with certain parts of the galaxy to ensure none would bother them. Vader's technological knowledge that came from the Borg nanites that had upgraded his mobile life support unit and allowed him to form a connection with sleeper Borg agents remaining in the galaxy had allowed him to begin drawing up new designs with new advanced forms of technology and science never before encountered in this galaxy.

Warp drives built into the engines that improve speed and maneuverability.

Electro-Plasma Conduits to replace the electrical conduits that proved to be too vulnerable to weapons like the ion cannon or the pulses generated by Milky Way ships.

Matter/Energy converting Transporters for better transportation between ships and planets.

Improved turbo-lasers capable of pounding and destroying a small moon.

New weapons such as disruptors, tetryon, polaron, and anti-proton based weapons that were still in development.

Replicators, both Industrial and small to provide extra materials.

Terraforming Systems to better colonize outer planets.

Subspace Sensor and Communicator Arrays.

Various forms of new deflector shielding.

Weather Control Systems.

Industrial Energy Cells.

New ship designs based on the older ones but incorporated the new and advanced technologies he gained from his Borg nanites that could instinctively supply him with new knowledge the instant he accessed them.

Deflector dishes built into the hulls the new ships for improved protection in asteroid fields.

And so much more.

That was why he approved the creation of the Maw Installation to secretly advance the Empire's technology and knowledge. Scientists and engineers had been brought here to begin building, designing and preparing for the Empire's march into the future of ensuring proper order returns to the galaxy. Vader had even influenced the Borg sleeper agents through what was left of the Collective in this galaxy to join the Empire. In a very real sense Vader had created his own Collective to help build new and advanced technologies that would usher in a new era of order and peace in every corner of the galaxy.

Hutt space was the first thought that came to Vader's mind but he remained focused on dealing with Leeta.

They were testing each other now and Vader knew it. "Do not become confident you have the upper hand, Admiral. You may have the power of the Pah-Wraiths but they are insignificant next to power of the Force."

Leeta's eyes flashed red. "And you should not underestimate the Pah-Wraiths. They offer wisdom and power that not even you understand."

"I have faced the Pah-Wraiths who merged with a Sith pretender before and tamed them. Compared to that encounter you do not present as any form of threat." Vader replied, not concerned by the flare of power from Leeta.

Leeta held up a hand and conjured a fireball. "Care to put that to the test, _Lord_ Vader?"

Vader held up his hand and the fireball in Leeta's hand vanished just before Leeta was knocked off her feet and slammed into the wall. The security guards moved to stop him but Vader waved his other hand and they too were slammed into the wall of the hangar.

"Do not waste my time with mere parlor tricks." Vader lowered his hand, watching as Leeta fell onto the floor. "From this point forward I decide whether your empire is useful to me or not. I command the power of the Force and I have the knowledge that will allow me to ensure my Empire cannot be defeated so easily by your Empire or the United Federation of Planets."

Leeta gritted her teeth as flames surrounded her body. "I do not serve you."

"Yet." Vader turned away, marching back to his shuttle. "Do not test me, Admiral Leeta."

The shuttle took off from the hangar, leaving an angered and humiliated Leeta back on her ship, glaring at it with utter loathing. As the shuttle flew towards the installation Vader mused that Leeta would know doubt attempt to try something against him in the future but he was no worried. Leeta was more concerned about consolidating power in her universe and even if she had some sort of secret weapon he knew the Terran Empire had a single flaw.

They were overconfident in their power.

The Terra Empire ruled by terror, with its Imperial Starfleet acting as its iron fist. In the Imperial Starfleet, officers promoted themselves by killing superiors that did not follow the rules of the Empire. Torture was a common form of interrogation. The Terran Empire was the counterpart of the prime universe Earth and the United Federation of Planets.

But Vader had calculated that the Empire would be overthrown eventually despite being similar to how the Sith ruled through the use of ruthless logic. It was possible the same would happen under the rule of Emperor Palpatine which is why Vader would attempt to avoid the same fate but he knew that in order to ensure the stability of the Empire he would need to employ tactics that would be seen as ruthless to others.

There no allies to the Sith, only pawns.

The Sith were rulers while everyone else were either pawns or fools to be discarded.

Inferior.

Worthless.

But Vader understood that he must avoid making the same mistakes as Sidious and Dooku had done. They underestimated their enemies and the Milky Way Alliance's approach to battle. They did not need to destroy entire fleets or worlds with the knowledge they accumulated, not from the Force but from learning of the universe around them. That is their strength and Vader planned to make it his own strength, intending to combine the knowledge of the Borg and the Force to ensure he does not fall victim to the Sith arrogance of his predecessors.

He would let Leeta play the role of universal conqueror her usefulness to him was over. He would learn more about these other universes before he made his decision.

The Empire would rise and he would ensure it would become strong to take on any threat of any kind.

* * *

 **Mirror Universe  
Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Azure Nebula  
ISS _Enterprise_**

Leeta smashed her desk in a fit of rage, the power of the Pah-Wraiths scorching what was left of it. "HE DARES TO THINK HE CAN ORDER ME?!"

That Darth Vader had single handedly earned her attention as number one on her hit list and she vowed he would burn in the fires of the chaos the Pah-Wraiths would spread. The only consolation she had at the moment was that Vader did not know her plan to seek the one weapon that would allow her to dominate all four universes. It was hidden in the Sith Empire universe but she was not afraid of them for she had gained access to a powerful form of weapons technology that would allow the Terran Empire to destroy the Iconians. She looked walked over to her wall computer and pulled up the images of the weapons she planned to use to dominate not one but four universes.

 _Annorax_

 _Starforge_

 _Death Star_

These weapons would shape the future of the very cosmos and all would bow to her, even that lowly cyborg Vader.

She would take great pleasure in watching him burn.

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Alderaan System  
Alderaan**

" _As the succeeding Emperor allow me to assure you that the Senate will not be disbanded nor will the senators who represent their worlds be left as mere accessories. To ensure the stability of the Empire and that of the galaxy the counsel of our senators will be needed in enacting new laws to serve for the growth and integrity of the Empire. The difference now is that as Emperor my judgement shall be final with no debates, no citations of the constitution, no court proceedings or deferrals. My decress will be carried out immediately, to ensure that the corruption of the Old Republic is swept away._

 _The senators no longer serve one world. From the Inner Rim and extending to the Outer Rim all worlds are now part of the Empire in complete unity. What happens to one of us affects all of us. As such we will not tolerate any form of disturbance. Interplanetary squabbles or threats will be meet with the swiftest of reprisals. A new form of law must be passed and thus ensures that no one will be allowed to commit crimes of slavery and murder without the fear of discipline._

 _Though our military is not being expanded new enough the Empire will see to it that the galaxy flourishes with new found wealth and knowledge to ensure the mistakes of the Old Republic and the Jedi Order are never repeated. Those that wish to serve will be treated well in our new academies and our present army of clone troopers will continue to serve now that their accelerated growth has been corrected that will allow them to age and live as nonclone beings. By ensuring that all known worlds are brought under one law we ensure the corruption of the Old Republic will never take root again._ "

Senator Bail Organa sighed as he looked at the latest news reports of Imperial activity, specifically a list of criminals wanted for high crimes against both the Empire and Republic before its transformation. The list was made of military names who committed several high crimes, including torture, the release of dangerous plagues, terrorist bombings, and such crimes. Most names were Separatists who were disavowed by the CIS prior to being absorbed into the Empire while others were high ranked mercenaries and bounty hunters. The new Emperor, Darth Vader was clearly carrying out his promise to ensure that those who committed the worst crimes during the Clone Wars were brought to justice.

Except for the one who led the attack on the Jedi Temple with the intent to kill all the Jedi himself.

However he had surprised the Senate by cutting the military budget, the production of Star Destroyers and Stormtroopers in half. He was even more surprised when he learned that the mega-corporations that made up the Confederacy of Independent Systems had transferred large amounts of credits into humanitarian fronts to deal with poverty on many planest scarred by the Clone Wars and that small forms of Milky Way technology were now being produced by the top scientists from all around the galaxy. The thought of the Empire having Milky Way technology, especially technology like the transporters were terrifying as Bail realized that if the new Emperor could supply Milky Way based technology he could effectively stabilize the Empire's economy with just a few Replicators creating vast amounts of credits, jewels, and even gold. If Darth Vader had access to Replicator technology he would have no need for the Republic's budget to build up the military and thus could fool the entire Senate into thinking military operations would be cut in half.

It was a very scary thought to the Senator of Alderaan.

What was scarier was that no one would think to question a humanitarian Empire even if it was being led by a Sith Lord. Vader will have the people fooled just as Palpatine, Darth Sidious had them fooled before and during the Clone Wars. What was worse is that the Senate accepted Vader's proposals because he allowed them some form of power but he had kept the right to overturn their authority on any matter if he decided to. The Senate did not argue with him and Bail was forced to go along with it as the meeting ended and he decided to return to Alderaan for some much needed rest.

And to speak to someone about what had happened.

Bail smiled briefly as the holo-image of Mon Mathma appeared before him. "Hello Mon."

" _Hello, Bail. I take it you are calling for the same reasons I was considering calling you._ " Mon replied with a smile.

"Indeed. The military being cut is an unexpected move." Bail stated.

" _Yes but perhaps we can use this as an opportunity to strike at Vader._ "

Bail was now confused. "Mon, I am not sure that is a good idea. Vader might have cut the military budget but if he has access to Milky Way technology like Replicators he would not need the budget. We should wait and watch how this Empire develops."

" _Bail, we cannot do that. Vader is as much a dictator as Palpatine would have been. He would never give up power willingly. This is a plot of some sort._ " Mon argued. " _We should use this chance to gather what forces we can find._ "

Bail shook his head, not believing he was actually arguing against what he actually agreed to. "The Senate retains some form of power even if Vader can override us. Military action might not be needed if we can convince enough senators to help us take back the Republic."

" _And at the first sight of resistance from Vader they would cower and swear loyalty to him. We cannot hope for a diplomatic solution in this matter._ " Mon said.

"Some might withdraw but not all of them. People will die in open rebellion. We have to rally support quietly, not take back the Republic by force when so many people are still wary of the chaos caused by the Clone Wars." Bail stated.

" _It will not work. I am sorry, Bail. I despise military options as much as you do but Vader will not allow democracy and liberty to return. He's fooled the Senate into thinking they have a say but he can take it away in an instant. If what you say is true he is only making us think there will be less military actions in the future._ " Mon said, her features turning dark. " _We have to stop him now._ "

Bail sighed, realizing he was not going to win. "Very well. I will speak with Bel Iblis and see what we can do."

Mon nodded sadly. " _And I will speak to our contacts. I am sorry that it has to be this way, Bail. I wish there was another way._ "

"So do I, Mon. So do I."

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Kessel Sector  
The Maw  
Maw Installation**

Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin could only stare at the dry docks surrounding the research station with a look thinly hidden contempt. Secret bases and research facilities had been constructed on the far edges of space during the Clone Wars, especially when the Milky Way Galaxy was revealed and forms of new technology were found from the other side, the remains of Borg base in the Maw, weapons taken from fallen enemies such as the Death Watch, the Tal Shair and the True Way, and few bits of Milky Way technology sold to them by Ferengi traders who wanted anything of value such as gold, jewelry, and many more material goods. And Lord Vader had seen fit to use his advanced knowledge which no one where he had got it from to present new and more advanced designs of ships for the Imperial Fleet to make up for its shortcomings.

Tarkin scowled at the thought of Vader who had the utter gall to decommission the Death Star project, seeing it as a technological abomination that would have consumed too many resources and taken too long to build. The DS-1 Orbital Battle Station would have been the ultimate power in the universe and Tarkin had been promised by Emperor Palpatine to be the head of the project and to ensure its completion by any means necessary. Tarkin would have used it to shape the future policies of the Empire, order enforced through fear of the threat of powerful weapons. Only Vader ordered it dismantled, calling him and Palpatine fools for thinking such a weapon would ensure order of any form in the galaxy.

Instead Tarkin had been assigned to the Maw Installation to oversee the construction of the secret base where new technologies would be created and slowly shipped out into the galaxy. In addition to that Tarkin had been greatly humiliated by the Milky Way Alliance that had defeated him at the Battle of the Rift labelled by most of the galaxy when those damn interlopers had somehow made almost all the crews of his fleet drunk instead of facing him in battle. And then Emperor Palpatine was assassinated by those bastards and Lord Vader assumed command, showing documents that labelled him as second in command of the Empire and showed that all the political connections Tarkin and his family had gained over the decade meant nothing if Tarkin could not show results. Tarkin found himself stuck as a mere admiral while Vader set about to clean up the galaxy.

Tracking down war criminals that had been disavowed by the Separatists and the Empire and would be brought to justice. All except for the Jedi that had flet to another galaxy and the sealing the portal behind them. That was possibly the only thing that could brighten Tarkin's day as he never liked the Jedi in the first place. And what was worse instead of being promoted to the title of Grand Moff he had been left as a mere Admiral for his failures.

Now he was here to make up for his failures, ensuring that the new technology the Empire was enough that it would never be challenged again. He would of course follow Vader's orders for now but he would never accept that man as Emperor for his mystic powers and his constant connection to that old religion the Jedi clinged to. He would find a way to dethrone Vader as Emperor, removing him as a threat to the order and stability. There was no place for people like Vader in the galaxy but right now Tarkin would bide his time.

Tarkin looked through the viewport, seeing the new Star Destroyer being constructed for the Empire that would be the most advanced ship in the entire fleet. The rest of the fleet was receiving minor upgrades to increase their performance, such as Electro-Plasma Conduits replacing the old style electric powered lined that were too vulnerable to weapons that could disable them such as ion cannons and pulses. New advanced deflector shields and improved weapons upgraded from turbo-lasers to disruptor style weapons or advanced plasma weapons. New engines that would allow the ships to move even faster than even the fastest starfighters in space along with improved sensors.

Vader had submitted advanced new designs to Kuat Yards, Sienar Fleet Designs, and BlasTech who would be working with the scientists in the Maw Installation to upgrade the Empire's technology. Based on current calculations the Empire would advance its technology by about a decade or two in nearly a year with transporters and new advanced holograms making their way into the community. The older ships that would not be upgraded or replaced would be reassigned to the Outer Rim or even sold to the Corporate Sector. At the very least the Empire would not be short on ships and crews to help maintain order thanks in part to the Alliance intoxicating many of the crews instead of outright killing them.

As much as the Milky Way had been a bane to the Empire even during the time of the Republic it had forced the Empire to evolve. The Empire would perhaps even expand into the Unknown Regions, finding new worlds and races to join the Empire and ensure order throughout the entire galaxy. Now the problem was that Vader was allowing the Separatist droids to be used in helping rebuild the Empire and even allowed them to assist in rebuilding the Imperial Army and Fleet. Tarkin had suggested utilizing life labour but Vader had denied him, stating that slavery was abolished by the Republic and the Empire did not need slaves to build up their fleets.

Every rejection was a slap to the face for Tarkin who did not like it one bit.

'Enjoy your time in the spotlight, Vader. I am positive your time will come.' Tarkin thought darkly.

"Enjoying your position?"

Tarkin spun around and scowled when he saw a man, looking exactly like Franklin Drake but he wore a Terran Empire uniform instead of Starfleet or Section 31 uniform. "I should alert security and have them execute you on sight."

Drake smirked. "For the actions of my counterpart?"

"For being just another enemy to the Empire." Tarkin retorted, turning away. "If you seek to form an alliance with me I will not bother you to entertain such an idea."

"Not even for a chance to see your beloved Weapon complete and dominating the galaxy?" Drake asked and saw Tarkin stiffen. "I know of the Weapon and I know of its potential. And I know that you were chosen to be the one in charge of it until your Emperor decommissioned it."

Tarkin turned around. "What do you want?"

"To finish your work. Since your Empire won't do it, mine will be glad to finish it." Drake answered.

"And let you use it against my Empire? I think not." Tarkin chuckled sarcastically. "If I cannot be allowed complete control of my Weapon I would rather it be destroyed."

"So you have no plans to see it completed, even under the nose of your leader?" Drake questioned. "The power to destroy an entire planet and you will let it slip through your fingers?"

"I will not debate with someone from a reality that does not accept the Empire's right to rule, even if there is a possible chance of an alliance. I will only say that if you do not leave I will make it my personal task of hunting you down, tearing every secret from your mind, and then personaly putting a blaster or a disruptor through your brain." Tarkin stepped forward, glaring darkly at Drake. "Leave and do not appear before me again."

Drake simply smirked and vanished in a flash of light, leaving Tarkin alone.

"I will not tolerate any influence from any universe but my own." Tarkin turned away, looking back at the viewport.

Lord Vader would like to know of the intrusion but Tarkin not to inform him. No need to report that little meeting unless there was something to report.


	65. Chapter 65

**Journal of the 501st**

 **Imperial Diplomacy**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _By the end of the first year of the Empire things in the galaxy had changed. New weapons were created and new technologies were developed like the first generation transporters. The Imperial Amry was now mix of clones, new recruits and droids from the now disbanded Separatist Alliance. Not all of us were happy with the additional new guys and clankers being added to the ranks but we wisely said nothing._

 _Lord Vader was the Emperor and he kept supplying the boys with new weapons and shields so we would do our jobs better which kept us from making any fuss. He even had us injected with a little special serum that solved our rapid aging and allowed us to remain in service much longer than we would have been if left untreated. And he made sure we kept our skills sharp, on the newly created holo-deck or dealing with pirates or tracking down war criminals. After stabilizing the Empire Lord Vader decided that the galaxy had suffered the Hutts long enough and gave the order that the Hutts surrender their space or be destroyed and send a clear warning to anymore potential enemies of the Empire._

 _The warning came in the form of the 501st now under the direct command of the Emperor himself._

* * *

 **Outer Rim  
Approaching Hutt Space  
 _Resurgent_ Class Star Destroyer _Finalizer  
_ Bridge**

Only almost a year had passed since the rise of the New Order and despite so-called lowering of the military budget it was clear to anyone who was in the right place with the right connections that the Empire did not need the economy to continue building up its military force. Especially since Vader's new Borg enhanced knowledge led to the contruction of the first generation of Skyriver Galaxy transporters that were installed on new finished Imperial warships and had yet to be released publicly across the galaxy. That gave the Empire a unique and powerful advantage over any lawbreakers or dissidants left in the galaxy. And of course there was the matter of the Hutts and their crime syndicate that had largely remained intact through the course of the Clone Wars.

The Zygerian Slave Empire and many slave groups fell at the hands of the Klingons after the Zygerians foolishly provoked them by attacking a colony wishing for Alliance protection and that had only encouraged the Klingons to crack down on any allies of the Zygerians they had discovered during the attack on Zygeria. The Hutts had wisely backed off and used their alliance with the Republic to avoid the same fate as the Zygerians, especially after the Klingons had thoroughly bombed the Zygerians back into the Stone Age. Even before his transformation into Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker had approved of the Klingon's approach to deal with corruption and believed that it was the exact approach needed for dealing with the Hutts and other pirates. For too long the Hutts had remained as a blight on the galaxy with no one wishing to crush them despite their many crimes, fearing a war with the Hutt clans would be as disastrous as the Clone Wars but Lord Vader was not afraid and as Emperor he now had the power to remove the Hutts and their disgusting presence from the galaxy forever.

Admiral Thrawn stared out the viewport of the newly built warship's bridge, knowing by instinct that all crews were at their stations. The _Finalizer_ was the first of the new Imperial ships built with Milky Way technology incorporated into the designs and was personally overseen by Lord Vader himself. The new Star Destroyer was considered about half a century more advanced than any of the older ships still used by the Empire and had a few new additional advantages such as the first generation transporters, holo-decks, replicators, and even a deflector dish that improved defenses against particles and objects that could damage the ship and even allow for safe travel through asteroid fields that would have been hazardous to even the most powerful ships of the Republic at the time of the Clone Wars. And the first new mission of the most advanced ship in the galaxy to remove the Hutts as a major power in the galaxy the Empire's new power.

And Thrawn had been chosen by Lord Vader to lead the campaign.

Thrawn had long since memorized the planets under Hutt control and what the Hutts had in the way of controlling the planets. Needless to say it was thought of by many to be an easy victory but Thrawn was not a fool and he would ensure that there would be no surprises or weaknesses in his campaign. In addition to knowing each planet under Hutt control and the resistance that would be expected Thrawn had studied on all known tactics regarding the use of transporters which would be a massive boon to the Empire.

The transporters could beam down an entire squad of elite troopers from orbit, forgoing the use of armed transports that would have time and surprise the enemy. There were a few weaknesses like the transporters being unable to beam through deflector shields unless the transporter frequency matched the frequency of the shields that had been proven by the Borg and the Dominion and later made possible by Starfleet after years of study. There were also ways to distrupt the transporter's scanners from locking the coordinates of life forms targeted for beaming such as high levels of electromagnetic jamming both natural and artificial and the transporters had a distance limit. Thrawn had studied the history of the transpoters, including all known incidents such as the one transporter incident that had split Captain James T. Kirk of the original USS _Enterprise_ in two, one representing his good side and the other his evil side.

Another involved Kirk and his senior crew switching places with their counterparts in the Mirror Universe when an ion storm interfered with the transporters. It was slightly amazing how such a device could reveal so many amazing discoveries, including the existence of a parallel universe. It made Thrawn very curious about seeing if there was ways to develop a transport that could beam someone across the galaxy, forgoing the use of hyperdrive but that was for another time.

Thrawn was focused on the now and carrying out Lord Vader's orders.

"Admiral, we are about to exit hyperspace and arrive in orbit of Nal Hutta." Thrawn's commander reported.

"Are our troops ready to be beamed down?" Thrawn asked.

"Yes Admiral."

"Good. Have our pilots ready to launch and order them to shoot down any ships. I want nothing entering or leaving this system." Thrawn said, watching as the tunnel of hyperspace ended and the ship came into orbit of the planet.

"It will be carried out, Admiral."

The tranporters used by the Empire were personally designed and tested by Lord Vader who wanted to ensure nothing but absolute perfection in their performance. Already Stormtroopers and B3-Battle droids were on the transporter pad, waiting to be beamed down and armed with the new advanced weapons now replacing the old blasters.

"Coordinates locked." The transporter operator said, having been trained in how to operate the transporter. "Energizing."

The troops were beamed away in a flash of grey light, down to surface of the planet.

 **Nal Hutta  
Surface  
Hutt Palace**

It happened without warning to the surviving Hutts and their hired thugs as Imperial troops appeared in their palace and villages, attacking without warning and capturing many of the Hutt leaders and killing anyone who got in their way. Several ships took off, trying to escape but were destroyed by the Imperial ships in orbit. The Stormtroopers moved through the hulls of the Hutt palace, killing the guards and bounty hunters that tried to stop them but were instantly cut down by the new Imperial disruptor based weaponry.

The Hutts had always been confident in their wealth to protect them but the Galactic Empire under the command of Darth Vader had decided the galaxy had suffered the presence of the Hutts long enough. Imperial troops swarmed the local towns, making sure no one escaped and made a note to arrest any wanted criminals and sabotage any ships still parked. They even stopped to take any weapons or special equipment found in the local shops that were no doubt acquired illegally. Regarding the matter of any slaves they were left alone unless they got in the way and foolishly tried to defend their masters.

Some had lived the life of a slave for so long they could not imagine themselves as anything different.

Any surviving Hutt leaders were beamed up to the _Finalizer_ in orbit and placed in special holding cells where they would be held until they were shipped off to a more suitable prison.

Perhaps the spice mines of Kessel.

When the attack on the surface was over the Imperial troops were beamed back to the _Finalizer_.

 **Orbit  
R.S.D. _Finalizer  
_ Bridge**

"Admiral, all of our troops are onboard with prisoners." The commander reported.

"Excellent." Thrawn noted in satisfaction at the efficiency of the operation. "Have our gunners locked onto the Hutt Palace?"

"Yes, Admiral."

"Then commence the bombardment."

Just mere seconds after he spoke Thrawn watched as his command ship began firing on the planet's surface, destroying the Hutt palace and thus eliminating the chance for a new Hutt Council to be formed. The loss of Nal Hutta would break the back of the Hutt Cartel but it was not over yet.

That is why Lord Vader himself had gone to Tatooine to eliminate the head.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Imperial Diplomacy**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _Our first major battle since the end of the Clone Wars was rather straight forward but accomplished. With Nal Hutta in ruins it was only a matter of time before the rest of the Hutt Cartel was wiped out. The remaining planets in Hutt space quickly fell in line. It wouldn't be the last time the men of the 501st would be called upon to adjust a planetary government._

 _Of course there was still the matter of Jabba the Hutt who was the last member of the original member of the Hutt Council before the war. Lord Vader decided that the end of Jabba's reign required a…personal touch._

* * *

 **Outer Rim  
Tatooine System  
Tatooine Orbit  
I.S.D _Exactor  
_ Bridge**

Darth Vader looked down the planet that was formerly his home with barely concealed contempt that was sensed by the entire bridge crew, motivating them to remain clear of their master at all times unless it was absolutely necessary to inform him of anything important. The planet where he had been born a slave and where his mother had breathed her last breath. The mere sight of this dust ball invoked powerful feelings of hate inside the Sith Lord which he planned to channel very soon.

"My Lord, we are in orbit of Tatooine and we have locked onto the coordinates of Jabba the Hutt's Palace." The officer behind him reported, standing straight and stiff to make sure that Lord Vader would find nothing faulty about him.

"Have the transporters locked onto Jabba?" Vader asked, not facing the officer.

The officer quickly nodded. "Yes, my Lord."

"Good. Beam directly into the holding cell prepared for him and destroy the palace." Vader ordered.

"Yes, My Lord."

Lord Vader's orders were carried out immediately as the transporters locked onto Jabba the Hutt and beamed into a specially prepared holding cell where he would be subjected to Imperial interrogation. A moment later Jabba's palace vanished in an explosion of fire. Vader turned away, satisfied to see the Hutt's palace destroyed and left the bridge, planning to supervise Jabba's interrogation to learn everything he knows about what was left of the Hutt Cartell eliminate the control off the Hutts in the cesspool part of the galaxy they controlled…

Personally.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Preventive Measures**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _Although the Clone Wars were over, some people never seem to get the message. The worst case of denial was Gizor Delso, a Geonosian Separatist who'd somehow escaped Lord Vader's efforts to wipe out the remnants of the CIS. Lord Vader tracked him to Mustafar, and brought us in to finish the job. It seemed like a simple enough mission, but when we saw the fleet of droid ships, hovering over the planet, we suddenly realized that Delso's denial mechanisms were more dangerous that we'd imagined._

* * *

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Atravis Sector  
Mustafar System  
Mustafar Orbit**

The _Resurgant_ class Star Destroyer _Finalizer_ exited hyperspace in orbit of Mustafar, escorted by two _Imperator_ class Star Destroyers. On the bridge of the _Finalizer_ Admiral Thrawn immediately spotted the fleet of CIS ships in blockade formation over the planet. The enemy fleet consisted of two _Munificent_ class star frigates, two _Lucrehulk_ -class battleships, and one _Providence_ class carrier/destroyer that was obviously the flagship. Gizor Delso obviously managed to get his hands on a few CIS ships before the CIS was absorbed into the Empire but it mattered little. There were reports that Delso had activated a secret droid factory that was producing thousands of battle droids but they were not upgraded like the Imperial fleet had been following the end of the Clone Wars.

"Admiral, the enemy fleet is launching fighters."

"Has our forward deflector dish been modified?" Thrawn asked, not taking his eyes off the enemy fleet.

"Yes sir."

"Good. I want it aimed directly at their flagship with our forward disruptors and turbo-lasers ready to fire on my command. Launch fighters to wipe out any surviving droids." Thrawn ordered.

"Understood, Admiral."

The _Finalizer_ 's forward deflector dish has been modified to emit an ion pulse, much like what had been used by the Milky Way Alliance during the battle at Coruscant. Thrawn had decided in the interest in minimizing casualities to do the same, respecting the Alliance for their cunning.

"Deflector dish fully charged, Admiral."

"Activate the pulse."

Thrawn watched in satisfaction as his order was carried out and the approaching droid ships were immediately disabled, including the flagship. His ship then pounded the _Providence_ with turbo-laser and disruptor blasts, inflicting massive damage to its critical systems.

"The enemy fleet is breaking apart."

Thrawn nodded in satisfaction. "Establish orbit over the mining facility and ready the transporters for the 501st."

"Yes sir."

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Preventive Measures**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _The slight whiff of nostalgia the 501st had felt fighting the droid fleet over Mustafar had already grown sour by the time we established orbit. Now it was time to find out what this was all about._

* * *

 **Outer Rim Territories  
Chlorian Sector  
Malachor System  
Malachor**

Darth Maul, no just Maul looked down at the planet his ship was now in orbit of. Malachor V, better known as Malachor was a planet that was infamous for its history. During the time of the Old Republic Malachor became the battleground for the last battle of the Mandalorian Wars were great Jedi Revan, before he became Darth Revan slew Mandalore the Ultimate and activate a weapon known as the Mass Shadow Generator that increased the planet's gravity and killed all of Revan's enemies in one fell swoop. The planet was thought destroyed centuries ago but the Sith discovered a way to rebuild it, using the Mass Shadow Generator after it had been modified, using the debris from the destroyed fleets and around the system to rebuild Malachor as a planet. The Sith then worked to build a new Sith temple beneath the surface of Malachor that held a superweapon.

The Mass Shadow Generator was then modified as a way to allow the temple to actually become a battle station that could lift off from the surface of the planet, powered by a massive kyber crystal with a weapon capable of destroying all life. The Jedi Order had launched a full-scale assault on the planet and engaged the Sith in a massive battle that later became known as the Great Scourge of Malachor. During the battle the temple had been activated which resulted in the death of everyone on the planet. Maul had studied the history of Malachor when he was still the apprentice of Darth Sidious who had suspected that the weapon still lied beneath the surface of Malachor but did not pursue it since Malachor had been deemed off-limits to all travelors by the Jedi.

With the Jedi defeated and the Empire now in control Maul had slipped into Malachor and he planned to take the weapon for himself and exact vengeance on all his enemies. His ship remained in orbit as he beamed down to the surface of the planet and located the ancient Sith Temple. Grinning Maul held out his hand to lift the doors to the temple open…

Only they refused to open or even buch.

Maul growled and clenched his fists in anger as he realized the doors would not open for him.

He was One and the doors would only open for Two.

A Master and an Apprentice.

The Rule of Two that had been established by Darth Bane after fall of the Sith Order.

If Maul was to enter the temple, retrieve the holocron that would power this battle station he needed an apprentice to follow him. Savage and the Nightbrothers were dead so he could not look to his home planet Dathomir for someone to teach but that would not stop him. He would find an apprentice to aid him in his revenge on the Empire even if Sidious and Dooku were now dead. The new Emperor, Darth Vader was now the focus of Maul's hate and he would see the Empire fall.

Even if he had to burn the entire galaxy.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Tying Up Loose Ends**

 **Pre-Battle Entry:** _By the time we'd made our way to the molten surface of Mustafar, it was apparent that Dellso had been a busy little bug. All by his lonesome he'd found a previously-hidden droid factory, fired it up and cranked out his own private army of battle droids. Needless to say, this got the men of the 501st ... a little_ hot _under the helmet, and not just because of all that lava. Truth be told we'd all had our fill of those gear heads during the war, and we couldn't stomach the thought of going through another one._

 _So we blew them up - blew up the droids, blew up the factory ... damn near blew up the planet._

* * *

 **Mustafar  
Surface  
CIS Mining Facility**

For this mission only clone troopers were leading the assault with no droids included. Lord Vader ordered that since Delso's army was composed of CIS droids it was appropriate that the clone troopers of the Galactic Republic before its transformation into the Galactic Empire finish what was left the Separatists once and for all. The majority of the clones beamed onto the landing platform with their personal shields activated as they stormed the mining facility. The droid army composed of B1 and B2 battle droids along with Droidekas and even the Magna Guard droids that had served as the body guards of the late General Grievous found themselves outmatched and overrun as the new Imperial disruptors burned through what little armor the droids used. Even the deflector shields of the Droidekas fell against the disruptors that overloaded their shields.

The men of the 501st pushed through the facility, destroying any droids in their way and even set up the beacon from where to signal the _Finalizer_ in orbit to launch its orbital bombardment. Gizor Delso launched one final attack in direct defiance of the Empire but was killed rather quickly along with his fellow Genosians. With Delso dead the 501st were beamed back to orbit and the _Finalizer_ commenced bombardment, destroying the facility and the last remnants of the CIS before it had been dissolved and absorbed into the Empire.

* * *

 **Journal of the 501st**

 **Tying Up Loose Ends**

 **Post-Battle Entry:** _The destruction of the mining facility put an end to the thoughts of any droid rebellion. For the first time in years the men of the 501st could relax, and get about the business of_ **maintaining** _an Empire, rather than_ _building_ _one._

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Raveh Sector  
Lae'nas System  
Lae'nas  
Preserver Archives**

The Preservers in their time were the only humanoid and sentient species in the Galaxy. They seeded humanoid life across the Milky Way to make sure their "children" would not be alone as they were. In more recent history, Preservers were responsible for rescuing primitive cultures in danger of extinction. In one such case, a number of Native American Humans were transplanted to the planet Amerind. This was discovered by the USS _Enterprise_ under James T. Kirk in 2268. They also taught the Deferi the concept of "Balance".

A century later, the USS _Enterprise_ -D (working with the Klingons and the Cardassians) discovered a recording embedded in the genetic code of a number of species the Preservers had seeded. In it, the Preservers revealed themselves and urged all races to learn to coexist. The Preservers are masters of genetic manipulation, and altered their own genetic code to the extent that each individual Preserver possessed the genetic memory of the entire race; each Preserver stored the entire knowledge and history of the species. While most of the Preserver race died out over time, hundreds of them - enough to maintain the species once they had awoken - lived in stasis in a facility on Lae'nas III, waiting for the day that their 'children' would unite to discover the facility and meet their 'parents' at last.

When Master Yoda and Lieutenant Ahsoka Tano elected to be with the strike team that had come to the Archives they sensed great wisdom and power in the Presever that had been awakened. The Preserver shined like a beacon in the Force, a light of great wisdom and goodness that only a few beings could ever have witnessed.

And he seemed to understand who the two Jedi were when he awoke. "You two, you are not from this galaxy. I contain the genetic memory of our children but you do not exist in my memories."

"Correct you are, Preserver." Yoda bowed his head in greeting. "From what is called the Skyriver Galaxy, we are."

"The Skyriver Galaxy. Yes, I know the place of which you speak. Our children once discovered that galaxy so long ago. It was time of great exploration and knowledge for them and they encountered beings like us who would what we had done. They seeded many and countless worlds in their galaxy with life, but not from them." The Perserver said. "I believe you referred to them as the Celestials."

"You know of the Celestials?" Ahsoka asked.

"I do. They were a race of great power close to evolving into a new form of life. But they did not seed planets with life for the same reasons we did. They thought they could control the evolution of life but when that life evolved thanks to a microscopic form of life that spread across the Skyriver Galaxy." The Perserver explained.

"The Medi-Chlorians!" Ahsoka realized.

"They enabled life to evolve faster by connecting them with the unseen matrix of reality, a higher plan where thoughts, emotions, and energy were one that was directly connected to the physical plane of existence. The Celestials were eventually forced into war with one of their subjects that rose up as a galaxy spanning Empire and when it ended the Celestials departed the physical plane but not before attempting to ensure nothing could enter or leave the Skyriver Galaxy." The Preserver continued. "This was done to prevent the spread of beings that would be born with powers so great and possibly equal cunning they could endanger other galaxies."

"People like the Sith." Ahsoka understood who the Preserver was referring to.

"Yes." The Preserver nodded. "The Sith were a main factor why contact with your galaxy ended. I understand that the Sith are the reason the Jedi are now here."

"How do you know?" Ahsoka asked.

"Our bodies may remained in stasis for so long but that does not mean our minds slept with them. Our technology allowed us to transplant our genetic on billions of planets and contain the genetic memory of all our children. Their lives were our dreams." The Prerserver answered. "Our children, the Iconians were driven from their homeworld by an alliance of envious species that desired their technology for their own ends. The Iccobar and the Dinasians were the leaders of these alliances with the back of another empire that has long since faded to the dusts of time. Despite their attempts they failed to destroy the Iconians and gain their technology so in an act of spite they labelled the Iconians as Demons of Air and Darkness, claiming they were conquerors even as they became extinct."

"Did the Iconians destroy them?" Ahsoka asked.

The Perserver nodded. "The Dinasians were dying from a disease and though the Iconains offered aid they would not give medical technology more advanced than what the Dinasians had during their time. The Dinaisans attempt to steal that technology but failed and they died because of their greed. The Iccobar wanted to use the gateways to conquer more worlds but instead themselves were destroyed when they failed. However their deaths was not enough to satisfy the Iconians and they have worked to not only retake their world but ensure no one would ever be a threat to them again."

Ahsoka and Yoda shared another look, realizing how similar the Iconians were to the Sith from the time of the Old Republic. Like the Iconians the Sith were driven from their homeworld of Korriban and retreated into the Unknown Regions, settling on the planet Dromund Kaas and spent the next thousand years plotting their revenge and building up their forces and returned with a vengeance. The Sith Empire did eventually fall, once again because of their own greed and ambition and it was thought after the fall of Darth Bane they were gone forever. It seems in this regard the Jedi were no different from the people that tried to kill the Iconians.

Whatever questions they left was interrupted as a portal opened in the archives and from it emerged an Iconian. " _Know that your death will bring me no pleasure, Ancient One._ "

The Preserver watched as the Iconian hovered past him, calm even though she had threatened him. "Then make a different choice, my daughter."

" _I cannot._ " The Iconian stopped in front of the main computer of the archives. " _Long have we waited for this day. We will reclaim all that was once ours. We will rule this galaxy, as is our right and duty._ " She held up her hand and a field of energy appeared around the Preserver. " _None can stand against us. Not even you._ "

"Want to bet?" Ahsoka and Yoda lashed out with the Force, pushing the Iconian back and forcing her to cancel her attack on the Preserver.

" _Jedi. You should not have come here._ " The Iconian glared at Ahsoka and Yoda. " _If you seek to defy us you will die._ "

"Defy you, the entire galaxy does. Seek to control and dominate, only those maddened do." Yoda replied.

" _If it is madness to reclaim what was stolen from us than maddened we are. Not even your powers can stop us._ " The Iconian created another portal and vanished into it. " _This place shall burn._ "

The entire Preserver archives would be destroyed with only Yoda, Ahsoka, and the one Preserver surviving the attack.

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim Territories  
Stygian Caldera  
Esstran Sector  
Horuset System  
Korriban  
Near the Sith Temple**

The original capital of the original Sith Empire had long been abandoned but even if no life remained it was still a planet that teemed with the power of the Dark Side. The shuttle landed and Darth Vader stepped out, leaving the pilot and two Stormtroopers behind.

Korriban was a world for the Sith, not for weak minded mortals.

Walking through the Valley of the Dark Lords Vader sensed the Dark Side, feeling it surround him and welcomed it. He temporarily deactivated the life support system of his suit, knowing the Borg nanites had allowed his lungs to survive without life support for a short time and he breathed in the natural air of Korriban. It fulled his lungs and made him feel even stronger.

It was part of the reason he had come to Korriban.

It was also part of the reason there was an Imperial fleet gathered around Korriban. He walked through the Valley of the Dark Lords, sensing the presence of the Sith spirits in their tombs. Allowing the Force to guide him he entered the Sith Temple, walking through the dark halls until he came into the center of the temple.

Where the tomb of Darth Bane was located.

As he approached the tomb a dark light emerged from it and formed into a masked armored figure, gazing at him with yellow eyes glowing like a dying sun. " **You come before my tomb, Sithling.** "

"I am now the last Sith, thus I am now the Master." Vader retorted sharply.

" **And why does you come here, _Master_?** " Bane asked, sarcasm heavily thick as he spoke the word 'Master'.

"I seek something from Korriban that has not been attempted before." Vader answered. "I seek to use the Dark Side to open a tear to another universe where the remaining have fled."

Darth Bane laughed. " **And what makes you think you are capable of that?** "

"I have gained the knowledge of a race that has accumiliated the knowledge of countless species. I know it is now possible to journey to other universe and conquer them, as that is the way of the Sith. The Jedi have escaped and they will return. I cannot allow them the chance to rebuild their order and return in greater strength." Vader answered.

" **And what do you want from me?** "

"I have need a planet strong in the Force to aid me in opening a tear to the other universe. I seek to use the Dark Side, here on Korriban for that purpose and I seek the aid of the Dark Lords who are buried here."

Darth Bane laughed. " **You call on us for aid? There are no allies of the Sith! There are only pawns and if you cannot do it alone then you are weak!** "

"I have succeeded where the previous Sith have failed. The galaxy is now mine and I rule the Empire that controls it. What you started long ago has succeeded but now it is time for the Sith to evolve." Vader continued.

" **Oh? How?** "

"To journey to other worlds, beyond our galaxy. What we cannot conquer by force we will gain allies, at least that will be their perception." Vader answered.

Darth Bane laughed. " **But in reality they will be pawns for you to exploit.** "

"Yes." Vader nodded. "However my power alone is not enough to create a hyperspace wormhole of such magnitude. Not even my former master would have the power needed. That is why I have come."

" **To seek my help?** " Bane snorted in contempt.

"To demand and take whatever power I need." Vader declared, holding up a clenched fist. "Korriban is still strong with the Dark Side. The Sith who rest here will now aid me in taking the next step forward."

Bane laughed. " **So you plan to take and use us for your own benefit. A true making of a Sith but you will have to prove your power.** "

"And what must I need to prove myself to a ghost?" Vader questioned.

" **We may be dead but we cling to whatever life we are left with and we remain strong.** " Bane explained. " **Prove your power by defeating us.** "

From the shadows of the temple came more specters of Sith who had long since passed on, morphing to resemble what they looked like when they were still alive and even summoned lightsabers in their hands.

"Very well." Darth Vader ignited his lightsaber and readied himself. "Then allow me to show you why I am now the master."

The Sith spirits led out a single collective roar and lunged at Vader, all of them ready to see if this new Sith was worthy.

For in the end only the strong will survive.

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Sol System  
Earth**

Satine Kryze, former Duchess of Mandalore smiled as she placed Leia Amidala-Skywalker down for a nap, next to her brother. Their godmother Ahsoka regrettably could not stay with them since she was an officer on the _Enterprise_ which was in the middle of trying to protect this planet along with the rest of the galaxy from the Iconian invasion. It saddened her to see another galaxy being torn apart by war and violence much like her own galaxy had been. The only difference was that there wasn't a megolamaniac working behind the scenes to take control of the galaxy through the war.

At she hoped there wasn't.

Obi-Wan and the other Jedi were rendering aid to the Alliance against the Iconians by assisting on ground missions such as evacuating planets that were being invaded or fighting off Iconian attacks on Romulan planets and space stations. It was difficult since they were just driven from their home galaxy but the Jedi remained strong and continued to uphold their vows no matter what galaxy they were in. Satine just hoped things would get better.

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
Iconia Sector  
Dinasia System  
Dinasia  
Surface**

Asajj Ventress wondered if she hadn't made a mistake traveling to the Milky Way with the Alliance but she knew she could not stay behind in her own galaxy. There was not enough time for her to leave and even if she had experience surviving on the run she knew the Empire, especially the Sith would not rest until she was captured or most likely dead. Of course she was now in the middle of another war in the Milky Way Galaxy, leading her to believe the Force had a sick sense of humor. The Iconians were making their move and from the reports she had read they were advancing on all fronts.

That was why she was part of this secret mission.

Kahless had assembled a team to infiltrate an Iconian facility in the Dinasia System to cripple their production of Omega particles that was the main source of energy for the Iconians and their technology, especially their gateways that allowed them a massive advantage in the war. Ventress had read up on the gateway technology used by the Iconians and despite how dangerous they have proven to be Ventress thankful they were never developed by the Sith. If such technology had existed in her home galaxy the Sith could have wiped out thousands of planets in an instant which was even more terrifying the more she thought about it.

She shook her head as she was beamed to the surface with the Klingon and Starfleet team sent to sabotage the Omega production facility.

"This facility was very well concealed and shielded. Even now, our scans are so limited we cannot get an accurated readout of the layout." Ramir stated.

"The Omega generators put out a large amount of interference. Ambiant radiation levels are elevated." A Starfleet reported.

"True but our tricorders will be of assistance while navigating."

"We should set out." Ventress spoke, eager to get this mission done.

She had other things to deal with.

"Ventress, now that we are on the site there is something you need to know." Ramir said.

Ventess raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Ramir held up his wrist comm. "Ramir to _Hegh_ : We are ready for them."

Ventress watched as another Klingon was beamed and was shocked to see who it was. "Kahless."

The clone of the founder of Klingon civilization, the one who approached her and offered her sanctuary in the Klingon Empire, and the one who cut off Count Dooku's left hand on Bajor.

"Qapla, Ventress! You have come far since the time we have first met! Now let us vanquish our foes!" Kahless declared.

"I am more than a figurehead, Ventress. A man cannot lead an Empire of warriors without being a warrior himself. I carry the Sword of Kahless, a weapon of fable, forged by Kahless the Unforgettable in the fires of the Kri'atak volcano and cooled in the icy water of the Lake of Lusor. This blade slew Molor, wounded Count Dooku and Darth Sidious. It conquered the Fek'hiri and created a mighty empire." Kahless held up his sword. "Now I will wield it against the infernal servants of the Demons of Air and Darkness."

"Do you think you'll need that sword here?" Ventress questioned.

"There is always a need for the Sword of Kahless. It is the symbol of eternal victory. No one who uses it can be defeated."

Ventress thought Kahless was being arrogant but she remembered how this man, this clone, injured Count Dooku when so many Jedi, herself actually included, had failed to do so many times so she let the matter go. "Let's move."

"We are right behind you, Ventress." Ramir said as her team followed her.

Ventress provided cover for the strike team, helping to take down Herald guards with her lightsabers that had been modified by the Klingons to better deflect the dark energy/anti-proton hybrid weaponry the Heralds wielded. The strike team set to work on gathering information, setting charges, and disabling the Omega Particle generators. The Heralds were skilled warriors, more than a match for her and likely any Jedi she had encountered during the Clone Wars but she prevailed through the fights until finally meeting up with Kahless' team.

"We got some information from the Iconian network. How did you do?" B'Eler asked.

"We found a terminal but we can't read the data." A Starfleeter answered.

"Fortunately, I come prepared. My tricorder is loaded with the best decryption subroutine in the Empire. Wrote a couple of them myself." B'Eler boasted.

"Here, see what you can do." The Starfleeter handed them over for B'Eler to read.

* * *

 _Inform our allies in the Vaadwaur to remain vigilant for signs of life in Krenim space. All contacts in that region must be stamped out before they can become a danger to us. We know the Federation vessel designated Voyager was in the sector searching for signs of the Krenim. We have also detected scavengers in the area. They cannot be allowed to recover artifacts that might lead to the restoration of Krenim technology or the Imperium._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Our Solanae servitors report they are unable to reproduce the experiment in the Calbriden system without the construction of a new station, which will take more than 200 cycles to complete._

 _Until we are able to transform a pocket of space in which they can survive, the Solanae must remain in reserve._

 _We must complete our campaign to take this galaxy as quickly as possible. Then we can re-integrate the Solanae into the Whole._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Without Unity, we are fractured. We are helpless. We are vulnerable._

 _We can never be vulnerable again._

 _All must be part of our Whole. When it is complete, we will be One. Our Heralds will protect our worlds. Our Elachi and Vaadwaur will defeat our enemies. Our Solanae will create new technology for our fleets._

 _All of the pieces are necessary for the Whole. Even the Other. Without the Other, there is no One._

* * *

"Hmm, this is interesting. There are battle plans for the Delta Quadrant. The Iconians were advising the Vaadwaur before the conflict started there. In fact, the Iconians insisted that Vaadwaur start their attack on the Krenim Imperium, although they didn't say why. I also see the data where the Omega energy is being distributed. This is good…If we use this we can attack the subspace station where…Oh no." B'Eler stiffened.

"What is it?" Ventress asked.

"T'Ket. One of the Iconians. She…It…is here." B'Eler answered.

"T'Ket's presence here doesn't change what we're here to do. We finish the job." The Starfleet commander said.

Ventress narrowed her eyes in concern, knowing that an Iconian here would make things difficult. She was aware that only one of them brought down the entire Senate Building on Coruscant and nearly killed Skywalker who ended up becoming a Sith Grievous in the aftermath.

"Yes sir. We need to find the last generator." B'Eler nodded.

"Let's go."

When the commander accessed the nearest console it showed the image of the last Omega generator but it was heavily guarded by Heralds.

And in the center was something else.

"Zoom in on that." B'Eler said and watched as the image was enhanced, showing who it was in the center of the generator room. "It's T'Ket."

"An Iconian! My blood sings for this battle! It will be glorious!" Kahless grinned.

"Kahless, my emperor. You are the strongest of the Klingons. You wield the Sword of Kahless. But there is no one who can face an Iconian in single combat." Ramir protested.

Ventress held up her lightsabers. "Want to bet?"

"The war does not go well for us. You all know what we face. Our people need a symbol to inspire them. That is what I was created to be." Kahless said. "This battle will be one of legend. Every soldier in the Empire will have this tale on their lips."

"Eager to be a martyr?" Ventress asked.

"This is not my day to die! It is my day to kill an Iconian!" Kahless replied.

"Who am I to argue with the Emperor?" Trevana asked rhetorically.

"Firing a disruptor at an Iconian is like attacking a starship with a stick. The Sword of Kahless is a remarkable weapon. It might be the only thing that could work." B'Eler said.

"We part ways here. Complete your mission. I will descend to the lower level and challenge the Iconian." Kahless said.

"Not alone." Ventress stepped forward, igniting her lightsabers. "I intend to see how these Iconians handle the power of the Force."

"You too?" B'Eler asked.

"You may a warrior but I am in assassin. We track our prey and kill them with no hesitation. "

* * *

T'Ket, one of the twelve surviving Iconians and the defender of her people monitored the production of Omega particles in this facility, knowing that it had been infiltrated by inferiors. How and why were irrelevant, they were to be destroyed for their trespassing.

"T'Ket! I challenge you!" A voice barked behind her.

T'Ket glanced over her shoulder, seeing a Klingon and a pale skinned woman, a Dathormirian holding lightsabers that ignited red blades in her hands.

"Face us, creature! I am Kahless! Destroyer of Molor, Defender of Qam-Chee, and Emperor of the Klingons! And with me is Asajj Ventress, Nightsister and warrior of Dathomir, and ally of my people." Kahless held up his sword. "In my hands is the Sword of Kahless."

T'Ket looked away, not bothering to face the two worms behind her. What were they to a being like her?

"Will you not face us, T'Ket? What would a being such as yourself have to hear from two mortals?" Kahless asked.

So they wished to die in a pointless battle. T'Ket could understand, being a warrior herself and her pride would not allow her to refuse.

So she turned and faced them. " _Very well._ "


	66. Chapter 66

**Skyriver Galaxy  
Inner Rim  
Coruscant  
Location Unknown**

 _Log Entry: Day 1_

 _We have retrieved the remains of General Grievous per Emperor Vader's instructions and after several scans we have confirmed that though Grievous's heart was crush his brain is in perfect condition. Emperor Vader had the remains sent to us, placing them in a specialized bacta tank to preserve the remaining organic components. Emperor Vader has applied special nanites that he believes will repair the damage and allow General Grievous to live once more._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _._

Several medical droids monitored the patient inside the bacta tank. The body had been through several surgery operations, replacing the crushed heart with a new one cloned from remaining DNA of the patient's original organic body.

.

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 **Status: Operation Success**

 **New-Organic Heart Installed**

 **Brain Section Intact**

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 **Nanites Repairing and Upgrading Body Structure**

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 **Heartbeat Detected**

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Inside the tank a pair of yellow eyes opened and looked around, the owner of the eyes seeing that they were suspended in liquid.

" _The patient is awake._ "

" _Inform Emperor Vader._ "

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
Iconia Sector  
Dinasia System  
Dinasia  
Surface  
Omega-Production Facility**

Asajj Ventress wondered just how powerful an Iconian would be face to face. From what she had seen one had been enough to bring down the entire Senate Building, taking down Anakin Skywalker and countless clone and senate guards. However that was mostly thanks to the gateways the Iconians could use to traverse great distances instead of fighting directly. As she looked at the Iconian named T'Ket she could sense a great amount of power from the being.

She had read up on the Iconians, learning they were few in number but apparently had evolved, either by artificial or natural evolution, into beings of energy which was a rarity even in the Skyriver Galaxy. Not even the Jedi or the Sith or even her fellow Nightsisters had reached that stage of evolution and yet these Iconians had done it and as far as she knew they had no connection to the Force. Althought just by looking at T'Ket it was easy to see the vortex she represented in the Force, a mix of darkness and red that showed her power and rage.

T'Ket was perhaps the Iconian version of a Sith.

Ventress was the one to make the first move, launching herself at T'Ket and slashing at her head. The Iconian raised right arm, blocking both lightsabers surprisingly and they didn't even scratch her armor. T'Ket moved to pierce her clawed gauntlet through Ventress' torso but the Nightsister jumped back, avoiding the claws by mere inches. Kahless made the next move when he saw T'Ket had left herself open, thrusting at her chest but T'Ket batted the sword away.

T'Ket held up a hand, firing purple beams of dark energy at the two fighters who both dodged, relying on their speed and reflexes to survive. Ventress lashed out with a Force Push that slammed into T'Ket, pushing back a few feet easily since she was floating in the air rather than standing on the ground. However it didn't seem to even leave her winded as T'Ket flew back, firing more dark energy beams. T'Ket flew straight at Ventress, readying to slice the Nightsister into pieces with her clawed gauntlets but Ventress had no intention of being a stationary target.

Ventress jumped up, allowing the Force to carry her over T'Ket and slashed at her back. However her lightsabers seemingly only left a shallow cut on T'Ket's armor. T'Ket growled and turned around, moving to fire at Ventress who landed back on the ground but Kahless took advantage of the Iconian's distraction by pulling out his disruptor pistol and shot at T'Ket. The Iconian growled again, feeling the disruptor bolts dissipate against her bio-mechanical armor and fired a dark energy blast at the Klingon Emperor who rolled to the right, dodging the energy beam by mere inches.

Kahless laughed as he stood up. "Glorious combat!"

T'Ket was starting to get annoyed by these two ants who dared think themselves capable of challenging her. With one wave of her hand she could make the two of them vanish but she let them live to show them the futility of challenging her.

And yet they were still fighting her and showed no signs of giving up.

It was time she stopped toying with them. T'Ket started firing dark energy beams rapidly at her opponents. Ventress blocked with both of her lightsabers but the force of the attack knocked her down while Kahless' shield was depleted, leaving him open to attack. T'Ket hovered over Kahless, ready to deliver the final blow when a blast of light slammed down on her.

T'Ket screamed, not in pain but of her strength fading. The blast came from the Omega Reactor directly above her, draining the Iconian of her power.

Ventress looked up, feeling T'Ket's strength fading and smirked. "So the great and powerful Iconians do have a weakness."

T'Ket fell to the ground, on her knees.

They had brought her to her knees.

To her knees!

T'Ket was shaking with rage at the fact that lesser beings had done this to her. For two hundred thousand years T'Ket had been the warrior meant to protect her people and on the eve of their victory these inferiors had turned the tables on her.

It was not possible.

 _It was not possible!_

Kahless slowly stood up and approached Kahless. "The honorable warrior will always prevail, demon."

T'Ket looked up at Kahless with blazing hate. " _Insect! You dare strike a god?!_ "

"You are no god, T'Ket." Kahless raised his sword. "And your tyranny ends here."

Kahless swung his sword down on T'Ket who brought her left arm up in a vain attempt to defend herself and unlike before when their weapons were worthless the Sword of Kahless cut through the arm. T'Ket screamed as she staggered back, howling in agony as she clenched the stump where her arm used to be.

T'Ket, the Defender of the Iconian race had lost her arm in combat to an inferior.

"Now to end this." Kahless said, raising his sword to deliver the final blow.

T'Ket trembled in rage at the sound of the Klingon's voice and the arrogance of him presuming to deliver judgement on _her_. " _This…Fight…Is not over!_ "

She gathered what strength she had left, even risking to use her own essence to summon a portal and in one instant she was on the ground…

And a second later she was behind Kahless with her right arm, piercing his back.

Ventress gasped as the body of the Klingon Emperor vanished, disintegrated by the energy of T'Ket's body.

Kahless the Unforgettable, Emperor of the Klingons, the one who challenged Count Dooku and took his left hand was gone.

And she was next when she saw T'Ket look at her as her Construct guards flanked her. " _Destroy her! Destroy them all!_ "

Luckily Ventress was beamed away before they had the chance to kill her. The mission to stop the production of Omega particles was a failure and Kahless was killed in battle.

But all was not lost.

Before he died Kahless proved the Iconians could be wounded.

And if they could be wounded, they could also be killed.

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Geonosis System  
Geonosis**

Imperial ships surrounded the planet Geonosis, guarding a massive structure being constructed by droid workers. Director Orson Krennic looked over the names of the scientists that had been drafted into the project set up by the Emperor and then looked at the many projects that were in development. The end of the Clone Wars gave way to a massive breakthrough in technology provided by Emperor Lord Vader who took over in the wake of Emperor Palpatine's assassination. Orson Callan Krennic was a human male born in Sativran City on the planet Lexrul and at the age of fifteen, he earned a place in the Galactic Republic's Future Program on Brentaal.

Although his listed area of excellence was architecture, his counsellors noted that Krennic's ability to manipulate others was just as effective. After graduating from the Program, he rose to the fore in the Republic Corps of Engineers, which led to him supervising large onworld and deep space construction projects. Krennic grew to become a member of the Republic's Strategic Advisory Cell, and, despite publicly still being represented as a member of the Corps of Engineers, only those within the cell were aware of Krennic's involvement as a member of the top-secret Republic Special Weapons Group. As part of this group, Krennic returned to studying, particularly in regards to the weapons Rothana, Kuat and others had built for the Grand Army, and Baktoid, Hoersch-Kessel Drive and others were engineering for the Separatists.

At a meeting discussing the schematics for the _Death Star_ obtained by the Republic during the First Battle of Geonosis and before the appearance of the Milky Way Galaxy, it was argued whether the Republic could create such a weapon before the Separatists were able to - a basic ring structure had already been completed, however, problems arose when it came to the labor force responsible for its construction, as well as the superweapon that would give the station its devastating power. Krennic met with Mas Amedda to discuss the weapon, within which Krennic suggested using the work of his former colleague Galen Erso. With Erso imprisoned by the Separatists on Vallt, Amedda agreed to letting Krennic arrange for his rescue, yet Krennic had to do so without making the Republic's involvement clear.

Krennic enlisted the help of smuggler Has Obitt to travel to the planet of Merj, where they and a team of other smugglers captured two Separatist Morseerian scientists. Going to Vallt disguised as employees of Zerpen Industries, the company that Galen Erso belonged to, Krennic arranged for the two scientists to be received by the Separatists in exchange for Galen, Lyra and their daughter Jyn Erso. Upon making their way off the planet, they were intercepted by a Separatist warship. Krennic called for assistance from Commander Prakas, who arrived in a Republic cruiser and opened fire on Vallt, destroying the Keep where the Ersos had been kept, much to their distaste.

In an attempt to persuade Galen to leave his strictly pacifist ways, Krennic took them to Galen's home planet of Grange, where war had ravaged much of the life there. Galen, however, maintained his resolve to stay neutral in the Clone War and the conflict against other enemies such as the Borg and the Undine: Krennic knew that Galen would have to mostly come to his own decision based on knowledge as opposed to being quickly and simply persuaded. Upon return from Vallt, Krennic arranged for a meeting with Geonosian archduke Poggle the Lesser who was prisoner to the Republic. Using his knowledge of the Geonosians from his studies as part of the Strategic Advisory Cell, Krennic appealed to Poggle and the work of his hive in the construction of the Droid Army and the Death Star plans.

Knowing that the hives on Geonosis would turn back to their native barbaric infighting at the lack of their Archduke and any construction projects, Poggle agreed to assist in the construction of the battle station. Krennic joined Poggle back on his home planet of Geonosis, where he endured observing days of gladiatorial games in celebration of Meckgin. Here, Poggle announced that the hive would be constructing the Death Star, following which the Geonosians cheered and returned to intensified combat.

Poggle reasoned that making the drones perform work beneath their skill level would increase their ultimate output despite not being entirely sold on this philosophy, the Geonosians began making significant progress on constructing the Death Star, which soon went from resembling a ring to a gyroscopic shape. However the Clone Wars suddenly ended with Poggle the Lesser being reportedly killed before the attack on Coruscant that ended with the death of General Grievous who took over command of the Separatists after the death of Count Dooku and upon his ascension as Emperor Lord Vader scrapt the Death Star project. It had been one of the times he had been in complete agreement with Admiral Tarkin, a man whom he despised and openly protested the scrapping of the project. The Emperor rewarded his audacity with a Force choke and a few sly words.

 _Be careful not to choke on your asperations, Director._

The Emperor then ordered a new project, one that was based on the transdimensional travel used by the Borg and the Milky Way Alliance to travel between the two universes. A massive gateway project, half the size the Death Star would have been, allowing the Empire to travel into the Milky Way Galaxy. Vader had ordered Krennic to have the Geonosians to begin building the gate structure while the Death Star's structure was destroyed. It was an order Krennic carried out reluctantly and he was glad he wasn't foolish enough to try and defy the Empire or its leader like he initially thought.

When Lord Vader had learned of the Geonosians refusing to assist in building the structure for the gate he ordered a swift bombing of Geonosis with the use of newly made Imperial disruptors and plasma bombs that devastated the surface of the planet, killing millions of the planet inhabitants, justifying the bombardment as punishment for the Geonosians allying with Count Dooku and the Separatists during the Clone Wars. With the population of Geonosis heavily reduced Lord Vader resorted to another source of labor for the gate project.

He discovered a droid factory still in tact on the planet and programmed it to produce worker droids. Within a few solar cycles an entire droid workforce was building the gate structure. The material from the asteroids surrounding Geonosis proved to be useless and thus the project would be moved to another planet. While the droids continued constructing the gate Krennic was in charge of gathering scientists to supervise and study the Borg's dimensional technology.

It was amazing to study the new physics and science presented by the Borg and the Milky Way despite Krennic's wish that he could have continued building the Death Star. The basic science showed that if a portal was created in one quadrant of the Skyriver Galaxy it would appear in its counterpart in the Milky Way. Given the Alliance had large territories in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants Lord Vader ordered that the gate be moved to a system where the Empire would have access to space in the Milky Way where the Alliance did not have a strong grasp such as the Delta and Gamma Quadrants. In addition to the worker droids building the structure there was also the matter of finding suitable power sources for gate powerful enough to open a portal into another universe.

Fortunately Lord Vader had already had that covered.

"Director?"

Krennic turned to face the officer that had spoken to him. "Yes."

"Our intelligence officers located the man you ordered them to locate."

Krennic smiled soflty. "Good."

"Shall I dispatch a squad to bring him in?"

"Yes and I will personally lead it." Krennic answered.

"You, sir?"

"He's an old friend."

* * *

 _Hail Kahless! Hail Kahless the Warrior! Hail Kahless the Emperor! Through blood he was brought through the mists of Legend To lead an Empire to Honor and Glory_

 _From the frozen wastes of Boreth he came From the Knife of Kirom he was formed Kahless, the traveler between worlds Kahless, the first among Heroes!_

 _Hail Kahless! Hail Kahless the Warrior! Hail Kahless the Emperor! Blood he spilled in the demon's sphere To show us the way to Honor and Glory_

 _With the Sword of Kahless in his hand Kahless challenged the creature to single combat A Demon of Air and Darkness stood against him But Kahless remained unshaken._

 _With a mighty blow of his hallowed blade Kahless struck the demon down He faced his Death and remained defiant And now an Empire will rise to Honor him._

 _Hail Kahless! Hail Kahless the Warrior! Hail Kahless the Emperor! You have fallen to the Demon's treacherous blow But your sacrifice will never be forgotten._

 **– Excerpt from "Kahless the Unforgettable" by Loresinger B'Alea**

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Beta Quadrant  
Location Unknown**

"And you currently have the artifact in your possession?"

"Yes, of course," Qwen said, his bulbous head and large ears looming on Kagran's viewscreen. "I am an honest businessman, Captain. I would never attempt to sell something which was not mine."

"I understand," Kagran said eager to end the conversation. Dealing with this odious little merchant made him want to kill something. Next time, he would let Tullek deal with the Ferengi.

"And you can confirm that the artifact is Krenim in origin?"

"Absolutely!" Qwen said with a toothy grin. "Collected it myself, as I do with all of my fine merchandise. Artifacts from the Delta Quadrant … difficult to acquire, but so unique and valuable …"

"Save me your sales pitch, Ferengi," Kagran growled. "I will send someone to Drozana to collect the artifact. My aide will work out the details."

"And my latinum?" Qwen asked.

"It will be transmitted to your account, as requested. But if this device is not what you say …"

"It is! It is!" Qwen interrupted. "I've never had an unsatisfied customer."

"See that you don't," Kagran said, stabbing a button on his chair to end the subspace transmission.

Qwen stared at the empty screen. How dare that Klingon treat him like a servant? It wasn't like Klingons were known for their skill in social situations, but Qwen was a successful businessman and deserved to be treated with respect.

And maybe he had lied to Kagran. He didn't find the artifact himself. He didn't find any of his merchandise himself – why do all that dangerous and messy salvage work when there were Talaxians and Hazari more than willing to do it for him?

The Talaxian he had purchased the device from said it was Krenim and from the Kyana system. That was good enough for Qwen, and it should be good enough for Kagran.

And, now that Qwen was thinking about it, Kagran should be grateful Qwen was even willing to sell him such a valuable treasure.

This was Krenim!

Artifacts from dead civilizations were always the most precious, and the Vaadwaur had made sure that the Krenim were long gone. Qwen didn't know why, and he didn't want to know. But the market for Krenim artifacts had skyrocketed in the past few months.

Why there were collectors who would be willing to pay far more than Kagran would ever…

Qwen stopped. And then he hit a button on his desktop console.

"Renna, get Oglo on subspace. Tell him I've got the perfect piece for his collection, but that he needs to get here and finish the deal as soon as he can."

Now this was how you made a profit. The Alliance would send their latinum like fools, but Qwen could sell the device for twice as much to Oglo. There would be some unpleasantness when the Alliance tried to collect the artifact, but it wouldn't be anything he couldn't handle. After all, once they checked their contract carefully, they'd see that there were no guarantees and no refunds.

War was very good for business.

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
Deep Space**

Far from the spacefaring civilizations of the Delta Quadrant a blast of light ripped itself through the fbric of space, creating a massive glowing tunnel and from it emerged an _Imperial_ Mk II class Star Destroyer followed by another and then a _Resurgent_ class Star Destroyer, all of them modified with Milky Way technology that had been introduced nearly two decades ago by the Emperor, Darth Vader.

"General, we've made a successful transition. We are in the Milky Way Galaxy." The navigator reported.

General Grievous, resurrected and stronger than ever nodded in satisfaction. "Contact the fleet on the other side and inform them of our success. The Emperor will be pleased to hear of our arrival."

The Empire had found a way back into the Milky Way Galaxy and it was planning to make its mark in this universe.

* * *

 **Beta Quadrant  
Iconia Sector  
Andromeda Dyson Sphere**

"Your interest in these mortals is disturbing."

T'Ket was angry again. Her passion had always been an essential part of the Whole, but conflict had turned passion for vengeance to irrational hatred.

L'Miren thought she understood. The mortals known as Kahless and Ventress had wounded T'Ket, both in body and soul. T'Ket's belief in her own strength had been shaken. Only blood would salve the pain she felt.

"I seek to understand them," L'Miren replied. "They have proven … more resilient than we thought."

"We were foolish to rely on intermediaries," T'Ket replied. "Hakeev and Maul were useless. Gaul a failure. We should have sent our Heralds to destroy these insects centuries ago."

"Why?" L'Miren asked. "We are eternal. They are fragile things, beholden to time. In the end, whether our victory comes today or tomorrow makes no difference."

"I tire of this," T'Ket responded. "Let us destroy them and be done with it."

"If we destroy them, we will rule over a galaxy of ghosts. Leaders must have those who would be led."

"We have our Heralds and servitors," T'Ket argued. "That is enough."

L'Miren considered her words for a long moment before she spoke. She must be careful not to inflame T'Ket's rage even further. "There was a time when we wanted to help the lesser races," she said at last. "They were not ready for all of our gifts, but they could benefit from our guidance."

"And they repaid our generosity with destruction!" T'Ket argued. "The Whole was shattered. Our world lost. And I will have payment for every drop of blood that has been spilled."

"But the Others and our Lost Sister …" L'Miren began.

"Now you speak of ghosts," T'Ket interrupted. "The Others and the Sister has not been seen since the Day of Fire. We honor the memory of the Other and the Sister, just as we honor all that was lost in unjust flames."

"The Others and our Lost Sister are still a part of us," L'Miren said. "The Whole must be as One."

* * *

 **Alpha Quadrant  
Sol System  
Earth Orbit  
Spacedock**

"More! Make it bigger!"

"But sir, if we add any more accelerant, the force of the explosion will exceed …"

"Bigger!"

"Starfleet regs are clear on …"

"Bigger!"

Lieutenant Kelsen felt like she was stuck in a temporal loop. Guroth was supposed to be assisting with the Mercury's new upgrades, but everything he was demanding ranged from foolhardy to extremely dangerous. How did he even come up with these ideas?

"Lieutenant, it's very easy," Guroth said with what she thought was his most genial smile. He looked he was about to bite her. "If you want a bigger blast, you must use more accelerant. If you're worried about the firing stress, we must reinforce here and here and here." He pointed at spots on the master systems display. "And then we must reroute power here and here or there will be misfires."

"But that takes power away from life support," the Benzite protested.

"Only backups," Guroth said. "You Starfleet types – so many backups."

"In a catastrophic situation, redundancies save lives."

"In a situation where you need backups for your backups, they will probably fail when the EPS fails anyway," the Klingon countered. "This is war, Lieutenant. You will die when your ship explodes, not when you run out of air."

"You may have a point," Kelsen said reluctantly. And he did. She'd already lost friends during this war. There wasn't a single person in Starfleet who didn't have friends, classmates or old crewmates who were gone now.

"We have some new duranium alloys from the Gallamites," she continued. "That should be strong enough, but won't add too much weight."

"And it will not shatter on impact – the better to punch through a hull, eh?" Guroth laughed. There was nothing in this world he enjoyed more than a well-crafted weapon.

"We'll need to run some tests. Maybe set up a simulation on the holodeck?"

"Tests, always tests with you," Guroth said. "Trust me. We will modify six torpedoes now. And when the next battle comes, we will test them against the Heralds. It will be a most satisfactory explosion."

* * *

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kyana System  
Kyana Moon**

When Ahsoka accepted the mission to go with the USS _Friedrich_ to follow a lead on the possibly extinct race known as the Krenim she expected almost anything…

Except to find out that the Krenim had hidden themselves and even their entire planet by literally hiding it from the time stream.

It was amazing how the Krenim were able to manipulate time but also extremely dangerous. If someone like Sidious had ever gotten his hands on this technology he'd have never needed to wipe the Jedi using a complicated plan like the Clone Wars and Order 66 to do when all he needed was to wipe them from time itself.

Why bother training soldiers or apprentices when you could simply wipe them out with a single push of a button?

And even better it saved her and the rest of the landing party from being killed by the Heralds who had appeared on the surface of the moon in swarms.

Right now though she was watching with Captain Malcolm and the Ferengi Starfleet officer Nog as a Herald addressed the Iconian known as M'Tara.

" _I beg forgiveness great one. The inferiors escaped using a cloaking device._ "

M'Tara raised a hand. " _You are forgiven. Make preperations to depart._ "

The Herald stood up. " _As you command._ "

A second later all Heralds disappeared into portals while eleven more Iconians appeared. Two floated towards M'Tara, one of them being T'Ket who lost an arm to Kahless and the other seem to have lost her legs since they were replaced by a metallic prosthetic.

" _A curious development._ " M'Tara stated, addressing her fellow Iconians.

" _Indeed. These sentients have proven to be most resourceful. Already they have thwarted our plan to bring in the Solanae fleet._ " The non-legged Iconian spoke.

" _Worms! Their struggles are meaningless!_ " T'Ket spat.

" _We cannot underestimate them. One of them even managed to injure you, T'Ket._ " The non-legged Iconian replied.

" _We should wipe them out! Spill enough blood to fill their oceans!_ " T'Kat spat, enraged at the reminder of the humiliation and suffering she endured upon losing her arm.

" _I understand your feelings but we must not act in haste._ " The non-legged Iconian cautioned.

M'Tara decided to end the debate. " _We will continue as planned._ " She held up her hands. " _The Whole must be as One._ "

The Iconains all raised their hands and repeated after her. " _The Whole must be as One._ "

M'Tara lowered her arms. " _The attack on Iconia shattered our unity. We were broken, divided. It took centuries to repair our bond. The Others saved us from annilhation._ "

Ahsoka tilted her head slightly at the mention of the 'Others'.

" _The campaign will go forward._ " M'Tara declared, ending the meeting and shortly later the Iconians disappeared.

"That was…informative." Captain Nog stated once they were gone.

'That was one way of putting it.' Ahsoka thought.

So the Iconians had allies who came to their rescue when their home planet was attacked known only as the Others.

But if the Iconians were hated by most of the galaxy during their time who would come to their rescue?

The limited history on the Iconians never suggested anything that described any allies the Iconians had during the bombing of their home world. Of course any history information at all on the Iconians was extremely limited at best so it wasn't much to go on. And if the Iconians had more allies than the Vaadwaur and their servitors did that mean that…

Struggling against the Iconians was pointless?

'I wonder how Master Anakin would have felt against such odds.' Ahsoka could not help but wonder.

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Esstran Sector  
Horuset System  
Korriban**

The spirit of Darth Bane watched with enjoyment as Darth Vader defeated the spirit of Naga Sadow, breaking the spirit's body that disintegrated into dust.

Vader's armor was covered in slashes and burns but he remained standing as he faced Bane. "Have I passed your test or are you the last?"

" **You have passed the test, Darth Vader.** " Bane spoke with amusement. " **The Dark Side has accepted you as its new champion.** "

Vader deactivated his lightsaber. "Good. Now to open the path."

" **Yes. Spread the Dark Side beyond our galaxy. Hunt the Jedi down until the last of them dies, choked on their precious light. Show them who the Force truly favors.** "

"I intend to." Vader said, watching as Darth Bane vanished back into his tomb.

The tomb then opened, revealing a stair case leading down into the darkness. Vader followed the stairs down into a chamber and recognized it as a place where the Sith would sacrifice Jedi they had captured.

This was the place.

He could feel the darkness in this chamber.

It was like he was standing in the very heart of the Dark Side.

It would be here he would tame the Dark Side and use it to open the path to the Milky Way Galaxy.

Vader reached out with one hand and clenched it, as if he was seizing the Dark Side by the throat.

He was now the master.

Not a padawan or apprentice.

"It has begun."

* * *

 **R.R.W. _Lleiset  
_ Auxilery Bridge**

The doctor was in the Lleiset's secondary control room when Lieutenant Gaius Selan entered.

Gaius required little sleep. Many of his Borg implants had been removed, but he retained enough of their technology to benefit more from a few hours in a regeneration chamber than from eight hours of inactivity in his quarters. So he chose to spend his off hours in more beneficial pursuits. Normally, this meant he would work on his scenarios in the holodeck.

His experiences with the Vaadwaur in the Delta Quadrant had proven the value of preparation. Lately, however, he had set his mind to a different task. Only by working through every anticipated complication could one truly be prepared for calamity.

"You're looking for her, aren't you?" Doctor Rhian Cratak had spent decades in the Romulan fleet before joining the Republic. Gaius respected the older woman. She was one of the few people on the Lleiset who was almost as informed as the chief intelligence officer.

"That is my intent," Gaius said, his voice even and controlled.

"Because you're angry?" the doctor asked. "Angry at her?"

"Anger is irrelevant," Gaius replied.

He began to input a complicated series of commands into the secondary sensor array.

"You don't get to pull that Borg routine," Rhian said. "Not with your doctor."

"I am not in need of a physician at this time."

"I disagree. You might be physically fine, but … I've been keeping an eye on you since you … returned." Rhian's voice turned soft. "My family is gone, Gaius. But you, the commander, everyone on this ship … you're family now. And I can't stand by when my family is hurting."

"I … I could not resist. But I knew what I was doing was wrong." Gaius said. "It was worse than … worse than before," he continued. "At least the Collective does not let you remember."

The doctor put a comforting hand on Gaius's arm. He wondered how long it had been since anyone had touched him. Even among the Lleiset's crew, there were many who were still uncomfortable around liberated drones.

"Sela hurt you, Gaius. Not physically, but … she stole all that you have become. Made you a slave to her will. And she did it because you were convenient."

Rhian paused. "She's selfish and cruel. Personally, I'm glad she's gone. I hope she never comes back."

"I will find her," Gaius said. "I've narrowed the search area down to three sectors. The subspace messages she's sent have helped. If I can return to my work, I can …"

"Don't," the doctor interrupted. "Focus on what's in front of you, Gaius. Not the past. Wounds don't heal if you keep opening them."

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim Territories  
Atravis Sector  
Mustafar System  
Mustafar  
Darth Vader's Sanctuary**

Director Krennic had to struggle to keep himself calm as he stepped out of his ship and entered the personal sanctuary of the Emperor. This was place was just one of many retreats across the galaxy Lord Vader had set up for when he was on a leave of absence from running the Empire. The doors opened and out of the mist that had appeared came Lord Vader, his suit and armor now repaired from his mission to Koriban.

"Director Krennic." Vader stated upon his arrival.

Krennic quickly bowed. "My Lord."

Vader strolled past Krennic. "You seem troubled."

Krennic straightened himself. "No just…Pressed for time. There are a great many things to attend to."

"My apologies." Vader faced Krennic while speaking condescendingly. "You _do_ have a many great many things to explain. An Imperial facility openly attacked."

"I have delivered the gateway you asked for, my lord. But I must warn you of it's remarkable…" Krennic trailed off as Vader approached him. "Potential."

"You will first deliver the report on the gateway."

"The structure has been completed as per your instructions, my lord. We are in the midst of gathering the necessary kyber crystals needed to power it. They seem to be properly powering the new warp reactor designs you submitted." Krennic said quickly.

"As expected." Vader stated.

"We are in the midst of attempting to program the gateway to open a way to the Milky Way Galaxy at an appropriate time. As shown in your own notes, my lord, we can open a tear leading to any timeline in the Milky Way Galaxy. A thousand or perhaps million years before the United Federation of Planets was formed or even millions of years after its creation. It's remarkable; to be given the possible chance to advance perhaps thousands of years past the Federation and its allies." Krennic continued.

"And irrelevant. The Federation and its allies have proven to be adaptable against technologically advanced enemies such as the Borg, the Dominion, and the Undine. Each day in that galaxy gives the Jedi a chance to recover, rebuild their numbers and return." Vader cut in. "I expect the timeline of the gateway to be set to allow us to enter the Milky Way close to the time when previous portal was closed."

"Just after their escape? That was nearly two decades ago." Krennic pointed.

"Precisely. Once the tear has been opened I will send a scouting force to report on the exact status of the Alliance. But to the rest of the galaxy there is no gateway project." Vader said.

"Yes, my lord."

"And I expect you not to rest until you can assure me that the creation of this tear will not compromise the security of the Empire." Vader stepped past Krennic, returning to the inner sanctum of his sanctuary, leaving Krennic to wisely leave.

* * *

Ramir stood in front of his team. They were tired, bloody, and heartsore. Three days of fighting had taken its toll on them all.

B'Eler leaned heavily on her mate's shoulder, her wounds bandaged but still hurting. Ramir could see that Trevana was in pain as well. There was a tightness around her eyes and she breathed in short, labored huffs, but she would not relax her stance. To the side, Nevven, the Lethean who served as helmsman of the I.K.S. Hegh, leaned against the wall to rest his injured leg.

Even Asajj Ventress was sporting injuries that she sustained from battling a Harbinger that had been sent to kill her on T'Ket's orders.

It seemed T'Ket was out for blood, her blood now.

Others sprawled in their chairs, exhausted. There were more still in sickbay, which luckily had survived the last Herald attack. Other parts of the ship were not so lucky. The engineers said it would be six hours before the warp drive was back online, and longer for the shields.

Until then, they were practically helpless. What his team needed was a barrel of bloodwine and three weeks leave on Qo'noS. What they would get would be more blood and death.

He took a deep breath and faced his teammates.

"I know you are weary," Ramir said. "I know the loss of friends weighs on you. Kahless, our leader, is gone. But I do not grieve for the fallen. They are in Sto'Vo'Kor, and there they will feast and fight forever as honored warriors of the Empire.

But it is not yet our time to join them." Ramir continued. "The Iconians still stand in striking distance of our Qo'noS. They still harass our ships and invade our worlds. They think they are our rulers. They think they are gods. They will learn how wrong they are.

"We are House Pegh! We are the knife in the darkness. We are the silence before the strike. We are the left hand of the Empire. And we may be bloodied, but we are never defeated."

He paused to scoop a mug off the table in front of him and took a long drink. "Kagran tells me that the Alliance has a weapon they can use against the Iconians, but that they need time to prepare it. We will give them that time.

"B'Eler, call up the charts. Find me a target that will to draw the Heralds away from the gateways to the Delta Quadrant. As soon as this ship is operational, our next battle begins."

Ventress watched as the Klingons began to move. "I wonder how you would feel here, Quinlan."


	67. Chapter 67

_Opening Imperial Intelligence Database_

 _Access to Emperor, Senate Executives, Senators, and Admirals only: Authorization Codes required._

 _Access Codes: 713835-2421-24323-Alpha-Omega_

 _Access Granted: Welcome Emperor Vader_

 _Access Time: 11:27 Coruscant Time_

 _Subject: Operation Exodus_

 _Stage One: For nearly twenty years the Empire has been constructing and developing the technology for traveling to other universes in a similar fashion that the Borg Collective and the Devidians had done. The designs for the technology had been submitted by Emperor Vader but had been in its infant stage with no previous testing ever being conducted. Still as the Empire grew and advanced the chance for success became more and more possible. The Emperor believed the best way to test our gateway technology was by opening a path into the Milky Way Galaxy._

 _Further studies showed that whatever location we activate the gateway in will appear in the exact same location in the universe in the Milky Way. For example, Naboo system is possibly the equivalent of the Sol System thus if we were to open from Naboo we would appear at Earth on the other side. For now the Emperor wishes to avoid conflict with the United Federation of Planets and its allies and ordered the gatway to be activated in the Korriban system which is located in our equivalent of the Delta Quadrant. The Emperor is in full command of the operation, followed by recently promoted Grand Admiral Thrawn and the newly reconstructed General Grievous with Director Krennic in charge of supervising its construction._

 _As of 0900 hours Coruscant time the gate system is shown to be a success._

 _Stage Two: The Imperial fleet, after going through many upgrades following the end of the Clone Wars is ready to expand our borders into a new universe. General Grievous and Grand Admiral Thrawn have been placed in direct command of leading the exploration fleet into the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way._

 _List of ships assigned to Flight Group Alpha:_

 _Three Resurgent Class Star Destroyers_

 _Eight Imperial Mk II Class Star Destroyers_

 _Twelve Victory Mk II Class Star Destroyers_

 _Eighteen Venator Class Star Destroyers_

 _Three Secutor Class Star Destroyers_

 _Three Gladiotor Class Star Destroyers_

 _Twenty Imperial Escort Carriers_

 _Stage Three: The history records provided by Starfleet has given the names of planets and species encountered by USS Voyager under the command of Admiral, previously Captain Janeway during its seven year journey back to the Alpha Quadrant. Since the beginning of Operation: Delta Rising some species have become allies of the alliance while others remain hostile. To ensure the Alliance does not interfere the portal will set up in a location far from Alliance allied or receptive worlds and establish a staging ground before moving onto making contact non-aligned worlds._

 _Stage Four: As the Imperial fleet advances in the Delta Quadrant our intelligence division will monitor for news from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants to analyze the strength of their presence in the Delta Quadrant. We are aware of their use of the two Dysons Spheres as main bases of operations, making them entrenched given the size and durability of the spheres._

 _Summary Ended_

* * *

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Esstran Sector  
Horuset System** **  
Koriban Orbit  
I.S.D. _Devastator  
_ Bridge**

Darth Vader watched as the gateway activated, sending the advance fleet into the portal that would send them to the Milky Way Galaxy. This plan had been nearly twenty years in the making, building the Galactic Empire, bringing order to the galaxy and building the forces needed for the plan to be a success. He was confident the fleet could handle any enemies sent to stop them, especially with Grand Admiral Thrawn and General Grievous in charge. Not only has the Empire had nearly twenty years to advance their technology but Thrawn and Grievous were both accomplished strategists.

Thrawn in particular was a master tactician who recognized the Empire's need to remain hidden from the Alliance until the time was right and Grievous was a skilled Jedi hunter who had been given upgrades since his resurrection. His cybernetic body was given new arms and legs made of tritanium that would have better defense against lightsabers and his ruthlessness would be needed to deal with potential enemies such as the Borg, the Voth or the Vaadwaur.

"My lord, we have received a transmission from the portal. The fleet has made a successful transition." The captain behind him reported.

"Good. Send a reply to them. Tell them they are to begin the next stage of the operation." Vader ordered.

"Yes, my lord."

Vader then left the bridge and traveled down into holding area of the ship, troops and officers saluating him as he walked by but he ignored them as he approached the door to the guest quarters and opened it. Inside was a man with a woman and a young woman who reacted in fear to his presence.

"Galen Erso." Vader greeted to the man wearing the wardrobe of an Imperial scientist.

The man nodded stiffly. "Lord Vader."

Born on the planet Grange, an agricultural backwater world, Erso was drafted into the Republic Futures Program, where his skill and intelligence ultimately led him to becoming a critical, if reluctant, component in creating the Gateway. At the urging of his mother, Galen wound up in the Futures Program on Brentaal. While enrolled, he received word that his mother had died of a short illness, and, only a few years later, that his father had died in a vehicular accident. Following these losses, he soon became best friends with Orson Krennic

By graduation, Galen graduated with top honors in the Brentaal Futures Program materials competition. Following graduation, Galen wound up taking advanced studies, research internships, and teaching positions. During this time, Krennic helped Galen land a visiting professorship at the Institute of Applied Science on Coruscant, which came with a good stipend and free apartment. By twenty-five Galen had published prolifically and had earned a reputation for himself in the fields of crystallography and energy enhancement.

Galen traveled the galaxy on research missions searching for rare crystals. During an expedition on Espinar Galen met his future wife, Lyra. By the end of the six month expedition, the two were lovers. A year later Galen married Lyra on Coruscant. Sometime later, the two were trapped in a crystal cave on Chandrila, where Lyra's knowledge of the wilderness led to their survival.

While many of Galen's colleagues pursued government research, Galen refused to pursue military research because of his pacifistic principles, and instead took a contract with Zerpen Industries to continue his studies into crystal synthesis and energy enrichment. Born to hardworking parents and seeing the wealth disparity in the galaxy, Galen sought to examine the very structures of existence to see if he could unlock unlimited energy and even the divide between the have's and have not's. Galen hoped to find a way to provide clean, safe, and nearly unlimited power to developing worlds by unlocking the secrets of the kyber crystal. Months before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Galen and Lyra relocated to the Outer Rim world of Vallt, where Zerpen Industries had arranged a deal with Vallt's King Chai, who allowed the construction of a research facility to grow synthetic crystals in the hopes of creating a new source of inexpensive power. By the start of the Clone Wars and before leaving for Vallt, Lyra was already pregnant with their future daughter, Jyn.

Shortly afterward, Vallt's Republic-aligned King Chai was overthrown in a coup by forces loyal to Marshal Phara, who received military support from the Separatist Alliance. Galen was imprisoned in a Vallt security complex after a failed escape attempt, while his wife was kept in nicer quarters in the northern wing of Vallt's Keep. While imprisoned, Galen was offered a chance to serve the Separatists for their freedom. Galen refused, but was willing to accept their offer if his wife willed it.

The same year, Jyn Erso was born on Vallt, and Galen was released from his cell to see his child with Lyra, who both chose the name Jyn in agreement. A year later Galen Erso was eventually rescued in a prisoner exchange by Orson Krennic, his longtime friend and compatriot. Unbeknownst to Galen, his earlier signal to Zerpen Industries regarding his capture and seizure of the facility was indeed heard, but ignored at request of Krennic, who was a part of the Republic Special Weapons Group and responsible for the development of the Death Star. Krennic sought to manipulate Galen and place him in his debt to coerce him into working on the Death Star's superlaser, which relied on kyber crystals; a topic in which no other galactic authority was as well versed in as Galen.

Ultimately, through Galen's work, Krennic hoped to curry favor with high-ups and attain the position of rear admiral.

Upon his and his families' rescue, Krennic ordered the bombing of Vallt to allow pro-Republic forces to reclaim power, despite both Galen and Lyra's pleas to save the lives of those they had lived with for the past year. Instead of returning to Coruscant, Krennic jumped into orbit above Grange, where a space battle had erupted over Galen's home planet. Krennic hoped to show Galen the chaos the galaxy had descended into since the start of the Clone Wars, and of course, manipulate Galen to ultimately weaponize his research to promote "peace and security" throughout the galaxy. Back on Coruscant, the Erso's soon realized the sweeping changes brought about by the war.

Many of their colleagues, drafted into wartime research, welcomed Galen back from imprisonment. However, Galen's refusal to weaponize his genius led to him being ostracized by his colleagues, many of whom refused to meet with him. Only Prof. Reeva Demesne agreed to see Galen. For a few months, Galen was unemployed, but continued living in his apartment at the Institute of Applied Science in Coruscant's Central District.

During a reunion of Futures Program students at 500 Republica, Galen was publicly accused of being a Separatist spy and collaborator by drunk patron Dagio Belcoze. Defending himself from punches thrown by Dagio, Krennic stepped in to help defend Galen in an effort to further earn his trust. During his period of unemployment, Galen became increasingly restless. He was questioned several times by Republic Intelligence and COMPOR as to his imprisonment on Vallt, and was prohibited from traveling offworld from Coruscant.

Ostensibly, this was for security reasons and because Zerpen was profiteering from both sides in the conflict. Galen also became a casual acquaintance with Adjutant General Wilhuff Tarkin, who was willing to drop the case leveled against him by the Justice Department. Around this time, Galen offered Krennic an opportunity to quit his job at the Corps of Engineers—Krennic's public title—and join him in designing a new energy facility. Krennic politely refused Galen's offer. Eventually, Krennic offered Galen a job working for Helical HyperCom, a company that was attempting to produce crystal arrays to better serve remote areas where communications arrays had fallen prey during the war.

While not as prestigious or befitting his intelligence, Galen accepted the offer, as it would allow him something to do and allow them to flee Coruscant for a while. While employed at HH, Galen quickly annoyed his superior, Roman Herbane, who disliked Galen's inquisitiveness and suggestions for improving workplace efficiency, even if it cost him credits. This was in reality a part of Krennic's plan, who knew that HH would be a terrible posting for Galen. During his time there, Krennic hoped that Galen would become more and more miserable, making him more likely to accept suggestions offered by Krennic himself.

By the last year of the Clone Wars, HH's facility on Lokori was subject to occasional Separatist raids on the civilian population. On the last day of the Clone Wars, Separatist forces broke through the Republic blockade and landed forces on the planet's surface. A fierce battle erupted, and in the chaos Galen sought to protect his family from harm. Backed into a corner by Separatist B1 battle droids, Galen was almost killed before the droids suddenly shut down.

While Galen believed this was because of the destruction of a Droid Control Ship, in reality, the Clone Wars had ended. Traumatized by his near death-encounter at the hands of the Separatists, and increasingly worried for the safety of his family, Galen quickly fell under the influence of Orson Krennic, who now served under the auspices of the First Galactic Empire. Soon enough Galen was offered a new job in part of the Empire's R&D research when the new Emperor, Darth Vader began creating and submitting new designs for improved technology and Galen's research into new energy crystals quickly gained Vader's attention. Vader personally approached Galen and offered him his new assignment along and even offered to ensure his wife and daughter would receive full benefits for the trauma the family had endured through the Clone Wars.

Since he was not in position to say no to the Emperor himself and initially believing the stories of the Jedi Rebellion Galen accepted, now having the chance to study the kyber crystals used by the Jedi. It was during his research that Galen discovered a way for kyber crystals to be used as a new source of power for the new Imperial ship designs, specifically for the new warp core that had been inspired by the technology of the Milky Way Alliance. Like the Starfleet of the United Federation of Planets the newly designed Imperial ships used matter/anti-matter reactors and the kyber crystals were used like dilithium, able to stabilize the reactions and convert it into high energy plasma that acted as a more effecient energy source than hypermatter reactors. As new and more advanced Imperial ships were built the older ones were reassaigned to patrol in the Outer Rim, dealing with pirates or Separatist holdouts that had refused integration into the Empire.

In the meantime Galen became an important scientist in Project: Gateway, the most advanced and ambitious project ever conceived: a portal to the universe of the Milky Way Galaxy. His wife and daughter were provided a luxurious apartment on Coruscant with Jyn being allowed to attend the best schools.

"It seems your hard work has paid off. The Empire now has the ability to cross over into the Milky Way Galaxy. Now we can expand our horizons beyond the scope of our galaxy." Vader stated.

Galen nodded. "Congratulations, my lord. Am I to assume you will fulfill your end of our agreement?"

"You will be allowed to leave and settle with your family on any planet you wish so as long as you understand that the nature of the gate is to remain secret. Any system you chose to inhabit will be closely monitored for communications of any…Non-official nature." Vader warned.

While he was a man of his word he was still the Emperor and thus he made it a point to ensure there was nothing to threaten his Empire.

Galen nodded. "Of course, my lord."

* * *

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Imperial Fleet  
R.S.D. _Finalizer  
_ Bridge**

Grand Admiral Thrawn stared at the map of the Milky Way in contemplation. When the Emperor selected him for this mission it was because he knew of Thrawn's tactical expertise and because he had knowledge and experience with the Milky Way.

And Thrawn had nearly twenty years to prepare.

Through the many histories of the Milky Way races Thrawn had gained an appreciation of the many races and their art. He had even gone as far as to use replicators to create exact replicas of many forms of art from Earth, Qo'nos, New Romulus, Defari, Bajor and several more worlds that fascinated him. Thrawn, better known to his people as Mitth'raw'nuruodo was born on the planet Csilla during the final decades of the Galactic Republic. His species, the Chiss, controlled an area of space in the part of the galaxy known to those in the Republic as the Unknown Regions.

He and his brother, Mitth'ras'safis, were born as commoners, but after joining the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force Mitth'raw'nuruodo was taken as a merit adoptive in the Eighth Ruling Family of Chiss society. Mitth'ras'safis also joined the Eight Ruling Family, eventually becoming a Syndic within the family. Though the practice of military officers becoming merit adoptives in the Ruling Families, and taking on the colors of their adoptive family, was common, they usually ceased belonging to the family upon leaving the military. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, however, soon reached the rank of commander—the youngest Chiss ever to achieve the rank—and impressed the Eighth Ruling Family enough during his early career to be considered a trial-born, with the possibility of becoming a permanent member of the family.

His work with the Expansionary Defense Force gave him the opportunity to learn to speak several languages used throughout the Unknown Regions, including the trade languages Sy Bisti and Minnisiat, in addition to his native Cheunh. When the Republic sent an exploration fleet known as the Outbound Flight into the Unknown Regions Thrawn had been introduced to Darth Sidious who informed him of the Outbound Flight's purpose and had concluded that the Outbound Flight needed to be destroyed when it became clear it would attract the attention of the Far Outsiders that had appeared in the Maw during the Alliance attack on the Borg installation set up there. Sidious was impressed by Thrawn's destruction of his task force and told Doriana to provide Thrawn with their reports on the Far-Outsiders and the technical date on Outbound Flight. He also warned Thrawn to be aware of the Jedi's ability to use the Force against him, though he informed the commander that a high loss of life would dull their senses.

Thrawn lost his brother during the destruction of the Outbound Flight and many in the Ruling Families still saw Thrawn's actions as tantamount to murder and from that point on, his actions were watched carefully. Palpatine, meanwhile, was impressed with Thrawn's abilities and, over the coming years, attempted on at least two occasions to contact the Chiss and secure the commander's services to assist him in carrying out his ambitions of galactic domination. Not coincidentally, the destruction of Outbound Flight had killed eighteen of the Jedi Order's most prominent Knights and Masters, furthering the Sith Lord's plans for the extermination of the Order.

For his part, Thrawn was intrigued by the idea of working for Palpatine, but knew that he could not honorably accept the offer and turn his back on the Expansionary Defense Force and his people. Instead, he remained in service to the Chiss and decided to engineer his own downfall by continuing to press for pre-emptive strikes. Some time before the end of the Clone Wars, his actions in dealing with the Chiss's enemies pushed the Ruling Families too far. After attacking an enemy ground installation that was manufacturing weapons for an upcoming attack, Thrawn was judged to have acted against everything his people believed and was brought up on charges. Found guilty, he was stripped of all rank and exiled to a world in the Unknown Regions, just beyond the edge of the Outer Rim Territories.

It was during that time the Tal Shiar was monitoring the Skyriver Galaxy and began abducting members of multiple species to test their strengths and weakness and see if they could benefit the Iconians. Exiled from his people Thrawn was the perfect catch of the Chiss people and his capture had been the perfect opportunity for Thrawn when he had been rescued from the Solanae base. He was among the many refugees returned to the Skyriver Galaxy when first contact with the Milky Way was established and he immediately caught the attention of Chancellor Palpatine who offered Thrawn a military commission due to Thrawn's encounter with the Iconians and his knowledge of the Unknown Territories. Thrawn had quickly proven himself in battle against the Separatists and even in the few campaigns against other enemies such as the Borg and even the Far Outsiders who attempted to invade the galaxy from the Maw.

After Admiral Tarkin's defeat by the MWA during the rise of the Empire Thrawn had personally studied the tactics used by the alliance and immensely respected the alliance, not just for their technology but their tactis. They could have used the stasis fields projected by the Klingon ships or their polywater intoxication technique to cripple the Empire and destroy the fleet when it was vulnerable but opted to leave them alive, not just because they didn't believe in needless killing but also because it would show everyone the Empire was the aggressor in the new war with the Milky War. When Lord Vader became the new Emperor the blame for failed assault on the Milky Way was laid on the deceased Emperor Palpatine, stating in a moment of madness by the power granted to him he became corrupted and made a foolish mistake immediately ordering war on the Milky Way.

With him dead and Vader in command the Empire had been taken in a new direction. Under Vader's command Thrawn had risen through to the rank of Grand Admiral as he not only commanded the Empire's forces against any dissidents but also had proven immensely helpful in providing information on the Unknown Regions. The new warp drives had allowed the Empire to begin exploring the Unknown Regions without the danger of the hyperspace anamolies that made travel difficult. For the first time in thousands of years the Unknown Regions were being mapped and explored, making first contact with many races and Thrawn had made sure his people, the Chiss had been informed of the Empire's movements.

And now the Empire had arrived in the Milky Way.

"Grand Admiral, now that we are in the Milky Way what exactly is our first move?" The ship's commander asked.

Thrawn stood in front of the holo-projector as it activated. "Since we arrived in the Milky Way in the time where their battle with our forces was mere days ago we can use our historical records to accurately located worlds not aligned with the Alliance." He then pointed to a set of star systems. "These systems are under the control of the Kazon, a warrior race encounted by the USS _Voyager_ when it was stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The Kazon are divided into eighteen separate sects, fighting each other over natural recources. The Ogla and the Pommar sects have sided with the Alliance while rest of the sects sided with the Vaadwaur Supremacy during the Vaadwaur's attempt for control of the Delta Quadrant. With the Vaadwaur's leadership destroyed and the Supermacy in shambles the Kazon had fallen back to their territory and continue fighting each other."

"Do we intend to ally them?" The commander asked.

"The Kazon's very nature is against order due to their enslavement by the species known as the Trabe, even against peaceful organizations as the United Federation of Planets as the crew of _Voyager_ learned first hand. Any form of alliance would be exploited by them. The Kazon only understand domination and thus we will show them the folly of attempting to exploit or defy us." Thrawn stated cooly. "We have adapted the Alliance method of FTL travel, including the warp drive. We will first conquer the territory of the Nistrim-Kazon lead by First Maj Sessen. He holds a personal connection with the Alliance, since his mother was a Cardassian agent who attempted to hand _Voyager_ over to the Kazon. He holds them responsible for his mother's death and thus hates all Federation species, including humans."

Suddenly the noticeably larger presence of non-human crewmen throughout the fleet was making sense to the commander. If they had arrived with a fleet primarily manned by human officers and carrying human soldiers it would be easy for many factions to view the Empire as an associate of the Federation. But with the majority formed from dozens of different species and led by a Chiss it would be much harder for anyone to make the same accusation.

"We will set course immediately, Grand Admiral."

"Make sure we come out of warp precisely in orbit of their training planets and have our weapons and shields charged. The Kazon are not as technologically advanced as its enemies, even by Clone Wars-era technology standards but they rely on numbers and their large carriers to compensate for that. We will catch them off balance and eliminate their leaders, causing their sects to fall into chaos and fight among themselves for leadership." Thrawn said, outlining his plan. "From Kazon space the Empire will have its first base to expand from in this galaxy. I shall outline this plan with General Grievous and continue from there."

"Understood Admiral."

Thrawn watched as the viewport showed the fleet going to warp.

* * *

 **R.S.D. _Avenger  
_ Bridge**

General Grievous stared out the viewport, watching the fleet made its way into Kazon territory. Grievous had come a long way since his days as a puppet of the Sith. After his resurrection on the orders of the new Emperor, Darth Vader Grievous had been understandably…reluctant to work for a Sith again. However Vader had promised Grievous that he was not a puppet again, showing the new improvements to his body without any tampering done to his mind and the promise to crush the Hulk and hunt down any remaining Jedi that had not been evacuated to the Milky Way. Grievous had agreed and so farVader had been honest in his agreement and the Hulk had felt his wrath.

Due to his actions during the Clone Wars Grievous's resurrection and his new status as military commander in the Empire had been understandably kept secret to only a handful while he had been prepared for this day.

The day when he would reach the Milky Way and continue his mission to eradicate the Jedi.

"General, we are coming into orbit of the first targeted planet." Grievous was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of his first officer's report.

"Follow the plan outlined to us by Admiral Thawn." Grievous ordered.

The fleet came out of warp, in orbit of the Kazon training planet, shields and weapons fully charged and activated.

"There is a Kazon ship in orbit." The weapon's officer reported.

"Disable it. I want it intact." Grievous ordered. "Beam a boarding party onboard and take the ship."

The Kazon carrier moved to intercept the Imperial fleet but not only was it outnumbered but all it took was a single barrage of Imperial style plasma based disruptors was to bring their shields down. The second the shields were down a boarding party of Stormtroopers and C-1 battle droids were beamed onto the ship, attacking the crew on sight. The Kazon attempted to fight back but the Stormtroopers but had superior training and the battle droids were faster while they were equipped with personal shields. The Kazon easily fell to the superior fire power of the Empire as the fleet took orbit arount the planet.

"We are in position, General."

"Commence bombardment on any Kazon installations. No survivors." Grievous watched as the planet was bombard.

 **R.S.D. _Finalizer  
_ Bridge**

"The Kazon ship has been disabled and its crew captured or dead." Thrawn's first officer Palleon reported.

"Good." Thrawn looked at the holo-map of the Delta Quadrant. "With the captured Kazon ship we'll be able to eliminate the Kazon as an enemy even faster."

"Because we have access to all their vital data." Palleon surmised.

"That and more." Thrawn replied with a small smile. "The Kazon are divided for now but our presence will force them to come together against a common enemy. Thus we will use their unity against them."

Thrawn gestured to three C-1 battle droids on the bridge and they shimmered, becoming Kazon trainees and children.

Palleon stared in shock. "You plan to infiltrate them."

"The Kazon will never surrender and they will never agree to an alliance. It would be easy to eliminate them but wasteful in time and resources. Therefore while they still remain divided we will infiltrate and destroy them from the inside. This will ensure their defeat and prevent the ones allied with the Federation in the Delta Quadrant from calling for help. The Federation doesn't interfere in internal affairs of other cultures and as long we remain hidden it will be considered Kazon affair." Thrawn explained. "Eventually they will come together and that will be our time to strike."

"I understand, Admiral." Palleon nodded.

* * *

For the next few weeks more Kazon planets were attacked by an unknown enemy that quickly retreated before Kazon reinforcements arrived. There was no evidence of whom the attackers where but Sessen of the Kazon-Nistrim was claiming it was the Federation and their allies attacking them and moved to declare war on them. Leaders began making offers to new alliances against the enemy but whenever they came together the negotiations broke off and decended into greater violence with Kazon ships opening fire on each other, fracturing the Kazon sects into smaller sects and making it harder to track down and defeat the mysterious enemy attacking them.

More Kazon planets were attacked and their installations destroyed with very few survivors left on the surface while Kazon ships were either destroyed or left to drift with few survivors that were forcefully drafted into newly formed sects. The sects that had allied with the Federation in the past even tried calling for help but their transmissions were somehow jammed, preventing them from calling for help. Kazon sects began fighting each other more fiercely as territories were divided up, breaking down and dividing up resources and personnel even faster. Finally Sessen had enough and ordered all sect leaders to meet with him at an undisclosed location in deep space known only to the leaders and their closest allies.

"It is the Federation that are behind this! They have attacked us in our space! We must attack them while we have the chance!" Sessen banged his fist on the table.

"And where is the proof they are behind this? Why should we risk our lives for your pointless vendetta?" One First Maje leader asked.

"They tried to dominate us before." Sessen retorted.

"Your father and mother failed to defeat them when it was just _Voyager_. Now they are allies with most of the quadrant. You failed against them so many times that I hardly understand why you are still a leader."

Sessen pulled out his blade. "Perhaps I shall show you."

"And what of the claims that our enemy has infiltrated us?" Another Fitst Maje asked. "Several fleets were destroyed in locations known only to the First Majes."

"We have been betrayed."

"The Federation has infiltrated us!"

"We will destroy them!"

As the First Majes argued back and forth the Kazon guards in the room all shared a look, their eyes flashing and they pulled out their weapons, firing on the leaders while they were distracted. Sessen barley had the chance to duck as the Kazon guards in the room fired on all the First Majes, killing them without mercy. Sessen quickly knew they had been betrayed and lunged at the nearest traitor, pinning him down and stabbing.

The traitor's image shimmered and turned into a machine. The machine grabbed Sessen and threw him off.

Sessen ran out of the room as the traitors fired on him. "The enemy is on our ship! Destroy them! Destroy them all!"

He made it to the bridge and was greeted with the sight of Kazon ships that had attended the gathering suddenly exploding without cause or reason. "What is happening?!"

"The ships are reporting they are being attacked from the inside by members of the crew." A Kazon officer reported.

That was only the beginning.

The ship's systems shut down, leaving Sessen and his crew stranded as large dagger shaped ships appeared out of warp, surrounding the surviving Kazon ships. Sessen was alive long enough to see his ship caught by a tractor beam before he was hit from behind by a weapon, killing the son of Seska who was one of _Voyager_ 's most dangerous enemies.

* * *

Thrawn watched in satisfaction as the droid infiltrators he had placed in the Kazon sects to infiltrate and divide them assassinated the leaders of the sects with little difficulty, setting off the bombs that they had hidden on the Kazon ships escorting the leaders to this place and eliminated any witnesses. Now with the leaders dead the Kazon would be even more divided, especially when his new agents replace the now dead leaders of the sects. His plan to infiltrate the Kazon with commando droids using holographic generators to disguise them as Kazon survivors had worked perfectly. As his infiltrators were taken aboard Kazon ships they provided him with communication channels, secret locations, fleet gatherings and movements and everything else needed to topple the Kazon completely and utterly.

"Your plan worked perfectly, Grand Admiral." Palleon said praisingly. "The Kazon did exactly as you predicted they would."

"Yes. Our agents will now return as the leaders of every Kazon sect and one by one they will continue to fight and fight. Not even the sects allied with the Federation can call for help now that their leaders are dead and they are so dedicated to following their leaders, earning their names and glory in battle that the mere thought of defying orders is unthinkable. Our agents will now be able to move freely and order the sects precisely as I have instructed, handing Kazon space over to us as we take their resources and planets." Thrawn said, looking over the information his agents had submitted to him. "By the time they realize what has happened the Kazon will be scattered and unable to mount a proper counter attack. They will either fight and die or flee for help. With our ability to intercept and jam Kazon communications they will never be able to properly call for help and with our infiltrators in almost every sect, sabotaging their ships or planting hidden bombs it is impossible to escape. The Kazon will soon learn proper respect for the Empire once we make ourselves known."

The Empire had arrived and had shown the Kazon their power and soon the rest of the galaxy would know it.


	68. Chapter 68

**Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Sol System  
Earth  
San Fransciso  
Starfleet Academy**

Master Yoda and the Preserver sat under a tree near Starfleet Academy, their eyes closed as they meditated. Through the Force Yoda could sense the Presever's wisdom and strange life force.

It was eternal yet finite as any normal being Yoda had encountered.

Young but held great wisdom attained by elders perhaps even Yoda himself.

Mortal and yet timeless.

Such strangeness was what the Jedi Master had come to expect of the Milky Way.

"You seek to peer into what I have seen and discover the truth." The Perserver opened his eyes.

"Open to the Force, I am." Yoda answered.

"The Force of one universe that is ever-expanding across all time, space and dimensions. A matrix of realities that promotes growth and life." The Preserver stated. "Birth, growth, creation, destruction and death."

"Luminous beings we are. Not this crude matter." Yoda opened his eyes. "Feeling the Force around us. You, between you, me. The trees, the rocks, the land, buildings and even the ships."

"Matter and energy intertwined." The Preserver nodded. "Neither can be destroyed, only transformed."

"Yes, transformed." Yoda nodded. "All transform to become one with the Force."

"And the Force is transformed by those who join with it." The Presever closed his eyes. "And when one reaches the end of one path, another is opened."

Yoda watched as a bright light overtook the Presever, his bady bathing in a golden luminous light. It shined bright in the Force, becoming one with it, encircled by it and consuming it.

" _This is what it means to live. All paths lead to the same end and one end leads to another path. It is the great circle that all follow._ " The transformed being said as he began to vanish.

Yoda closed his eyes in respect. "One all will become."

 **Delta Quadrant  
Alsuran Sector  
Kyana System  
Kyana Research Station**

"Without sufficient plasma distribution, the weapon will be able to fire twice, at the most, before the energy cells are damaged beyond repair." Seven pointed to the master systems display. "We need to redesign the EPS to compensate."

"If we pick the right target, we only need to fire it once," Noye snapped. "Stop wasting time!"

"Your logic is flawed," the liberated Borg announced. "If time is as fluid as you claim, we are incapable of wasting it."

"And while you argue semantics with me, your people are losing this war! The Krenim are still lost! We can fix all of it!" Noye rubbed his head in frustration, a familiar gesture to the rest of the researchers working at the new Krenim facility.

The argument showed no signs of abating, and it was a daily occurrence now. Nog could hear them across the room, and he knew that the bickering was taking its toll on the team. A'dranna was distracted, and Clauda kept stealing glances over at the pair wondering if she should intervene again. And Team Alpha had stopped what they were doing completely to watch the show.

Nog had to do something. The new facility in the Kyana system had the best materials and engineers the Alliance could provide and some of the greatest minds in the galaxy. Work on the ship was progressing, but fitting the Krenim weapon into it – and making that weapon work – was a more difficult task. It didn't help that the team just wasn't gelling.

There were too many strong personalities, too many cultural conflicts … and the fact that Noye fought with everyone but his wife didn't help matters at all.

In times like these, Nog always thought of one question. What would Sisko do?

With a tug on his jacket, Nog headed toward his battling researchers.

"Noye, your job is target scenarios. Seven is responsible for design issues," Nog said firmly, interrupting the Krenim in mid argument.

"But she is clearly …"

"Not interested," Nog told Noye. "You have enough to do without trying to do Seven's work too. Or have you found a suitable target yet and just forgot to inform us?"

"Well, I haven't quite …" Noye started to say.

"I am quite capable of dealing with this issue without assistance, Captain," Seven protested.

"I know," Nog answered. "But this has gone on long enough, and it's distracting us all. Noye is right about one thing. The longer it takes us to finish this ship and build the weapon, the worse it is for everyone. The Iconians won't wait for us to be ready.

"People are dying to give us the time we need."

 **Beta Quadrant  
USS _Enterprise  
_ Bridge**

" …. Ships ... range …. This is the … freighter _Treva_. We are under attack by … shields failing! Please, we need … can't last …" The transmission ended in a burst of static.

So much for a quiet night shift, Lieutenant Jirelle Kav thought. Around her, she felt the emotions of the bridge crew flare like beacons.

Stress.

Worry.

Anxiety.

Resignation.

"Attempting to compensate, sir, but there's a lot of interference." Ensign Marissa Kell said.

The red-haired human worked at her console, but all that came out of the speakers was more static. Then the transmission cleared briefly and the sound of weapons fire and the wail of an alert beacon filled the _Enterprise_ 's bridge.

"Keep trying to hail them," ordered Kav. "Helm, how long to their location?"

"21 minutes at Warp Six," answered Tem Gher Tem, the Tellarite helmsman.

"Anyone closer?" Kav asked.

Ensign Kell worked her console. "There are a couple of freighters and the U.S.S. _Day_ in range. But she's a Miranda, Lieutenant. She's not going to have much more luck than the Treva."

"Every bit helps," the Betazoid said. "Contact the Day and ask them if they can render assistance until we arrive." She touched a control on the center seat of the bridge.

"Bridge to Commander Winters."

"Winters here," a sleep-riddled voice responded.

"I'm sorry to wake you, Commander, but we've picked up a distress signal."

"Tell me it's something easy like a warp core breach."

"Bolian freighter, sir," Kav said. "Under attack by Heralds. Approximately 80 civilians onboard."

There was a pause. "On my way, Lieutenant."

"Do you want me to notify the captain?"

"No, no," Winters responded. "I'll contact him when we're on site. Winters out."

Most of the senior staff had been making a concerted effort to give the captain some down time. Captain Shon hated it … but even he admitted that his 36-hour shifts on the bridge weren't healthy.

After days of pointed remarks from Savel, the ship's chief medical officer, and repeated offers from the _Enterprise_ 's first officer to shoulder more of the burden, it had taken a blunt intervention from Counselor Mathias to convince the captain to relax his hold on the reins.

Kav rose out of the center seat as Winters entered, still tugging on his uniform jacket. She relieved Ensign Kell at Ops, and Kell moved to the empty communications station.

"Give me a sit rep," Winters said.

"No further signals from the freighter, sir," Kav said, "and we haven't been able to get a comm signal through. The U.S.S. _Day_ is four minutes out."

"Escape pods?"

"The _Treva_ did launch some, Commander. There's a chance for survivors."

'It was a slim chance,' Kav thought.

The Heralds were attacking any target they could reach now. The Alliance was holding onto key worlds, and even managing a few victories, but the best they could do is try to hold the line.

And she was so tired of finding empty escape pods.

"Go to yellow alert and increase speed to warp nine," Winters ordered. "Weapons status?"

"Fully operational," said Lieutenant Kyona at tactical. "All major systems are online."

"Then into the breach once more," Winters said. "Prepare to engage hostile ships as soon as we drop out of warp."

 **Ahsoka's Quarters**

Ahsoka looked over the latest message from Satine who was on Earth, looking after Luke and Leia while she was on the _Enterprise_ , trying to help stop the Iconian invasion. The war wasn't going well for them at all. Ventress and Kahless had wounded the Iconian T'Ket but the enemy had them outnumbered in terms of ships and soldiers. The Iconians had even destroyed an entire planet to try and bring in a Solanae fleet but luckily they had failed.

The Preserver that she and Master Yoda had rescued from the Iconian M'Tara had revealed the Iconians had used advanced bio-technology to transform themselves into beings of energy, able to use their own essence to power their gates and other extraordinary feats.

However the Preserver revealed that they had in fact several weaknesses that could be exploited.

The first weakness was their chronoton-based minds. Ahsoka didn't exactly understand the science behind but apparently the energy-based physiology had rendered the Iconians incapable of time travel.

The second weakness was the one exploited by Ventress and Kahless against T'Ket when they used an Omega Particle generator to weaken T'Ket in battle long enough for Ventress and Kahless to seriously injure her.

The third weakness was that the Iconians relied on a key source of energy, a form of energy that Federation scientists referred to as zero-point energy that allowed them to power their gates and was connected directly to their energy forms. Without the energy source the Iconians would have to rely on their own essence to power their gateways which would be fatal to them.

Just as he finished telling them all he knew the Preserver did something no one had expected. His body had morphed into a form of energy, evolving before the very eyes of everyone before him on Earth. He had revealed that even though the Presever archive had been destroyed only the physical bodies had died. The minds of the Presevers had learned to ascend to a point in space and time where they would be able to gain enlightenment.

It sound as if the Preservers had learned to become one with the Force, retaining their individuality.

These weaknesses revealed the Iconians were not as unbeatable as they were portrayed and it gave hope to many that they could be defeated.

All that was left now was finding the time needed to stop them.

" _All hands, prepare to engage._ "

Ahsoka closed her eyes, feeling the ship come out of warp. "Here we go again."

 **Wild Space  
Kamino System  
Kamino**

An Imperial shuttle emerged from hyperspace, coming upon the stormy world of Kamino. The shuttle entered the atmosphere and came upon the Kaminoan city. In the twenty years that had passed since the end of the Clone Wars the Kaminoans had worked to rebuild their city and cloning facilities after they had been destroyed by Section 31 of the Milky Way. The shuttle landed on the designated platform and from the rear hatch emerged the Emperor of the Galactic Empire, Darth Vader who strolled down the ramp and entered the facility.

Imperial troops lined up and saluted him as he walked past them and entered the command center, coming upon a balcony. He looked down and seeing a massive courtyard with dozens of men wearing white Imperial armor, taking their weapons and running combat drills.

"Come to check on our progress?"

Vader didn't turn to face the speaker, preferring to observe the troops. "Grand Admiral Thrawn has reported that his forces have conquered Kazon space in the Delta Quadrant. Soon enough we will be ready to begin sending the troops through. Have they met with my expectations?"

"The upgraded and holo-training equipment you've submitted have been put to use. Really made the fire-drill exercise more realistic without actually endangering anyone. I must admit the Milky Way have some really advanced toys." The person spoke. "And I've applied the same training methods my father implemented and supervised for the original army. I've even called in several favors for supervising their training. They'll be just as skilled and ready for battle as the original clone army had been."

"Good. You will receive your payment." Vader stated in satisfaction. "I am looking forward to seeing them in action."

"They will do their job well. I guarantee that."

"You have the option of earning an even greater payment. If you take part in as a commander of our operations in the Milky Way." Vader offered.

"I am bounty hunter, I don't take sides."

"Not even for revenge on the Federation, specifically Captain Shon of the _Enterprise_?"

The speaker stopped for a moment. "As much as the thought pleases me, I have learned never to take things personally in the job."

"Very well. Your payment will be wired to your account, Boba."

And with that done the Mandalorian bounty hunter known as Boba Fett, the clone and son of Jango Fett turned and left, his job of creating a clone army like his father before him done.

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Location Unknown**

Danaz was a Talaxian trader, known to frequent many outlying posts that were not aligned with any official government. While most of his people had found a home with the new Talaxian colony and with the alliances from the Alpha and Beta Quadrant Danaz decided to keep living the life of a trader and smuggler simply because he was not one for rules and regulations. Right now he was hanging out in a distant outpost for fellow traders, keeping his ears open for possible jobs while consulting his contact.

"The Vaadwaur have been crippled, most of them disappearing into exile while their remaining leaders fight over control of their dead planet. It seems to be a bit of trend lately when it comes to challenging those Starfleeters." Danaz's contact was humanoid but it was hard to tell if she was human or not since she was wearing a cloak that hid her features.

"My people seem to think so too. But I won't shed any tears over the Vaadwaur. They simply couldn't accept their time as the so-called rulers of the quadrant were over." Danaz said, taking a sip of his drink. "But I was actually wondering why there hasn't been any job offers from the Kazon."

"You mean haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" Danaz questioned.

"There have been rumors lately of a new force in the quadrant, passed by fellow traders, smugglers, and pirates of a new force that appeared on the far edge of the quadrant. They attacked the Kazon and utterly defeated them without mercy. Any survivors were left to rot on any planets without any ships or technology."

"A new force? Could it be the Borg or perhaps other forces like the so-called Iconians that are invading the Alpha and Beta Quadrants?" Danaz questioned, knowing of the war on the other side of the galaxy.

"That's what many of thought as well but nothing we've heard matches what we know of the Borg or any other threat." His contact answered.

"Do we even have a name for this force then?"

"Actually yes. A name was spoken through whispers to anyone who made this far."

"Really?"

His contact nodded. "They call themselves the First Order."

 **Delta Quadrant  
USS _Seraphim  
_ Captain's Ready Room**

 _Priority One_

 _Captain Creed, please report to the Kyana System._

 _Our partnership with the Krenim is starting to bear fruit. But the project may take more time to complete that we have left._

 _We must consider any plan that ensures our survival._

Nathan Creed tapped his badge. "There's been a change in plans. Set course for the Kyana System."

" _Aye Captain._ "

The _Seraphinite_ changed course to the Kyana System, moving at maximum warp. It had originally been sent on deep space missions to locate civilizations that could possibly aid against the Iconians but had little success.

A beeping sound caught his attention from the reports on the war. "Come."

The doors opened and in stepped Bo-Katan. "Captain."

"Katan." Nathan stood up. "I assume you are here for reports on our attempts to return you to your universe."

"I am understandably curious." Bo-Katan admitted, sitting down in front of Creed's desk.

"I would be moving to assist you as best I can. Starfleet owes you that much but with the war happening all of our recourses are being diverted to our survival." Creed said, sympathetic to Katan and her situation.

Katan nodded. "I figured as much. Still, I am here to help."

"In a war that doesn't concern you?" Creed questioned.

"It concerned me the moment we escaped the Empire in my galaxy to yours. I am Mandalorian, a warrior no matter where I am. And I owe you and your crew for saving Mandalore from Maul and his allies." Katan stated. "Mandalorians repay their debts, Captain."

Creed eyed Katan. "You stayed all this time because you feel you were in debt to us? I have always been of the mind that allies and even friends carry no debts."

Katan smirked. "Another Starfleet ideal?"

"My own personal ideal from my family." Creed answered, smirking back. "But if you wish to remain with us, Miss Katan we can always use another skilled set of hands."

"A wish choice, Captain."

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kazon Space  
R.S.D. _Resurgent  
_ Thrawn's Quarters**

Grand Admiral Thrawn looked over the latest reports he received from his first officer Palleon and was pleased with he read. The Kazon had been neautralized as a threat to the Empire in this sector with their fleets and shipyards destroyed, their leadship eliminated and their clans splintered. This freed the Empire up to begin sending more ships and equipment through and concentrated on more immediate enemies such as the Borg and other powerful enemies. The Imperial fleet surrounded a snowy planet with thousands of Imperial troops and droids on the planet building their main base of operations and excavations.

"Excellent news. Now that we have a suitable area of space with access to planets with suitable resources we can begin the next phase." Thrawn said, placing the PAD down on his desk.

"Admiral, if I may how exactly do we intend to move against the Borg? Even if without our advanced ships and more coming we are still outnumbered and the Borg will still be a formidable force." Palleon stated.

"Quite true, Palleon. Fortunately Lord Vader has come prepared." Thrawn nodded.

"Sir?"

"During the years of building our advanced technologies Lord Vader became heavily invested in studying transwarp technologies and physics. Now in our galaxy we use hyperdrives for FTL travel but we cannot rely on it in this galaxy. We must rely on warp and transwarp and this is led the Emperor to heavily invest in studying it, finding a way to create a weapon against the Borg. He was adamant in his decision to decommission Emperor Palpatine's Death Star Project but was forced to admit a weapon like it would be useful against the Borg." Thrawn said, bring up several images from his desk projector.

"He wishes to construct a Death Star?" Palleon asked.

"You are thinking too small." Thrawn smirked. "It is a new form of weaponry inspired by the Death Star. One powerful enough to destroy the Borg."

He brought up the image of a planet, heavily modified and torn open, revealing a massive cannon built into the crust.

"Project: Starkiller." Palleon looked over the specs, his eyes widening in shock.

"A weapon built into the crust of a planet, utilizing kyber crystals or in this reality Dilithium to house the fire power this weapon will need." Thrawn explained, showing a planet. "We already found a planet with suitable Dilithium that can be mined. As I speak contruction droids are hollowing out the planet and will begin construction of the weapon."

The designs mimicked the designs of a weapon Lord Vader had encountered in the Milky Way Galaxy long ago only the Borg knowledge he had gained allowed him to improve upon it. Gathering the best scientists in the Skyriver Galaxy to perfect the research into transwarp conduits and subspace tunneling Lord Vader had ordered Admiral Thrawn to find a suitable planet with the appropriate amount of Dilithium to begin construction and Thrawn had found it during his campaign against the Kazon.

"Lord Vader approved of such a weapon?" Palleon asked, looking over the designs in silent shock and awe.

"There is no need for it in our galaxy but against a foe like the Borg it is unfortunately necessary. He will not allow for open war against enemies like the Borg. They are too strong and numerous to risk fighting against with conventional war methods. That is why we must rely on drastic measures. Lord Vader understoods and I do as well." Thrawn deactivated the projector. "You are expected to not speak of this to anyone without proper clearance, Palleon."

Palleon nodded. "Of course, Grand Admiral Thrawn."

"Dismissed."

Palleon left the room, leaving Thrawn alone with his thoughts.

The Ultimate Weapon against the Ultimate Enemy.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kyana System  
USS _Enterprise_**

Ahsoka could hardly believe what she was reading about the secret weapon being developed in the Kyana Research Station.

A weapon capable of literally altering history.

And many were considering it for use against the Iconians.

She shuddered to think what would have happened if such a weapon had been developed in her galaxy during the Clone Wars or any other wars that had happened centuries ago.

A weapon where entire civilizations could be wiped from existence in the blink of an eye.

She wasn't sure what she could think of the people, many of whom she had come to trust, considering using something like this.

She knew the war wasn't going well but…

And the only alternative was a desperate attack on the Dyson Sphere in the Iconia System, the home base of the Iconians.

"Anakin, what would you do?" Ahsoka could not help but ask.


	69. Chapter 69

**Milky Way Galaxy  
Alpha Quadrant  
Sol System  
Earth Spacedock**

 _Admiral's Log Stardate 87264.5 Earth Spacedock_

 _When I close my eyes, all I see is wreckage._

 _Blasted ships strewn about space like broken toys. Escape pods that offered no refuge. Broken bodies …_

 _I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. There are hundreds of people I'd like to apologize to who will never have the chance to hear my meaningless words. And the letters we send to their families are cold comfort at best._

 _We had to do something. The Iconians are winning. Their Heralds are moving beyond military targets now to civilian populations. They're trying to force us to bow to their rule … but kneeling is not in our nature._

 _So we pushed back. We gathered every ship we could muster and attacked. And we failed._

 _Oh, there are some in Starfleet Command arguing that we had a partial victory. The Iconians have lost their leader, and we've proven that the Iconians are not immortal. But it was a pyrrhic victory. So many lives lost to take just one …_

 _And, if anything, it has only strengthened the Iconians' resolve. Instead of cutting the head off the snake, we gave them a martyr._

 _Herald attacks have increased by 36 percent in the last 78 hours. And now Heralds of L'Miren are joining the fight, so they have fresh reinforcements where we have battered and outnumbered ships._

 _How do you fight a war when more than twenty percent of your officers are in sickbay? When more than a third of your fleet is either destroyed or disabled?_

 _The only thing I can think to do is change tactics. We rejected the Krenim ship because it would take too long to build. Because the questions of time alteration are too thorny. Because there should be lines we shouldn't cross. That we can't cross._

 _Those lines seem hazy today. If the choice is morality or destruction, I fear that many even in Starfleet will choose the option that gives us a chance to see tomorrow._

 _What will I choose?_

Admiral Quinn sighed as he welcomed the latest guest to his office. "Master Yoda."

"Admiral Quinm." Yoda nodded, taking a seat. "News I hear is not well."

"I'm afraid not." Quinn shook his head. "The Heralds are attacking all over the quadrant and we're barely defending our positions. With their gateway technology the Iconians are pushing past our front lines and attacking any targets they wish."

"Hm…" Yoda closed his eyes. "Powerful they are, but like all beings a weakness the Iconians must have. Otherwise fear the knowledge of the Preservers they would not."

"They fell thousands years ago to a united front but it is obvious they've made themselves strong enough to face all of us together." Quinn rubbed his temple. "We are being forced to consider ideas we were initially against. You may have to consider fleeing somewhere else for help because with things the way they are we won't be able to return you to your galaxy."

"A galaxy ruled by an empire, other about to dominated and yet both in pain." Yoda opened his eyes and sighed. "Unable to help either. Find help, we might. But risking all our hopes on a fleeting chance, we would be. Leave behind allies, the Jedi will not."

"Then…I guess we leave up to fate and the Force." Quinn said with a small smile.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kyana System  
Kyana Station**

"Were you successful?"

"We destroyed Romulus. Again," Adranna said, rolling her eyes. She moved to the replicator in the corner of the room. "One spice tea, hot, and one Vulcan mocha, half sweet." When the cups appeared in a sparkling swirl of electrons, she passed the mocha to the Vulcan male at the table.

"That is the six hundred and eighth time you have encountered that result," Sann responded.

"Does that mean we quit trying?" Adranna asked.

"Perhaps it means that your mission parameters are in error."

"I'm trying to restore an entire planet. There are going to be a few setbacks."

Sann paused to think. "I understand that you and many of the Republic team greatly desire the restoration of your homeworld," he said. "But the purpose of this project is to use time alteration to end or delay the Iconian threat. Not to completely rewrite the past."

"The Iconians gave Hakeev and Taris the device that caused the Hobus supernova," Adranna argued. "Their first shot in this war wasn't when M'Tara appeared on Qo'noS or when the Elachi started stealing people from colony worlds like Virinat. It was much, much earlier. Why shouldn't we try to restore all we've lost?"

"I have made a detailed study of the records left behind by the Krenim inventor of this technology," Sann said, sipping his drink. "Annorax, wished to restore something very specific that the Krenim had lost. In his later writings, he speculated that time itself was fighting against him."

"Time fighting against him?" Adranna scoffed. "That doesn't happen."

"I agree that attributing emotions and motivation to something that cannot possibly exhibit them is not logical," Sann said. "But there is much about time alteration we do not yet understand. There may be much that we are not capable of understanding."

"I refuse to believe that there is anything we can't do," Adranna said. "We can restore everything. We just need to find the right combination of alterations."

"Then it is fortunate that you are testing your calculations in the holodeck," Sann said, standing up and taking his empty cup to the recycler. "Before you destroy your homeworld for the six hundred and ninth time."

In another part of the Kyana Station Obi-Wan was speaking with Captain Nog, the only Ferengi in Starfleet.

"So far every simulated attempt has ended in failure and when we did actually test it to restore Romulus the timeline was altered so that it was conquered by the Borg." Nog said, retelling the success of the project's test.

"It's a good thing there has been no decision to use this weapon in our galaxy. There have been talks of using this time weaponry against the Sith." Obi-Wan said, taking a sip of his tea.

"They already came to me for the idea and while I would like to see your galaxy free from an enemy like the Sith I'm afraid the results have been successful as ours." Nog said, holding out his PADD for Obi-Wan to see. "First we tried a simulation where Count Dooku was eliminated on Geonosis at the start of the Clone Wars but the time simulation showed more planets allying with the Separatists after the Jedi withdrew from the war, believing with Dooku's death the CIS would fall apart. Instead the clone army caused more destruction under the command of people like Admiral Tarkin and caused more planets to join the Separatists who are now led by Grand Admiral Thrawn."

"My word…" Obi-Wan said, reading over the report.

"Another simulation would be preventing Palpatine from being elected as Chancellor but that only led to a Chancellor who was easily influenced by certain parties that caused more planets to break away for many reasons and the Clone Wars started even faster. We even tried the removal of certain leaders such as Tarkin, Nute Gunray, San Hill, General Grievous and several more but it did not offer much changes or made them worse." Nog continued. "It has been theorized that attempting the timeline to follow a certain path only causes it to fight back, leading to futures considered completely unpredictable."

"Master Yoda always said the future was always in motion. That is why this project puts at a great unease." Obi-Wan put the PADD down.

"It is a last resort, one we are being forced to consider." Nog said sadly. "I was on Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War and I watched the Federation fight with everything they could. Like the Iconians the Dominion fought with overwhelming numbers and unique forms of technology that almost made them unstoppable. If not for the efforts of people like Captain Sisko, Kira Nerys, Countsable Odo, and even Worf we would have lost. I know that even with a gamble like this we will make the right choice because that's what ended the Dominion War."

"I hope so."

 **Beta Quadrant  
Unknown Planet**

Doctor Cratak stepped carefully through the dark but immaculately-maintained foyer of the household, then checked her hand scanner again. Movement once more – a lone person racing through a back hallway, heading toward the entryway; then suddenly, nothing. Cratak felt a momentary surge of elation followed by disappointment, but while another Romulan might have shouted or struck the wall in frustration, she kept her emotions subdued under years of experience. This wasn't the first time that they'd failed to arrive in time to stop a Herald abduction, and doubtless it would happen again before the war ended.

Even here on New Romulus, in the hinterlands where only a few hardy colonists had chosen to settle, the Heralds came without warning. Cratak put the hand scanner back into standby mode and closed her eyes. Behind her, Lieutenant Terel let out an indistinct growl, almost like a Klingon. The security officer waved with her free hand while keeping her plasma pistol trained on the door, and two of her subordinates advanced to the central hallway of the household, keyed the door open, and pointed their weapons down the darkened and empty corridor.

The house remained quiet and still, except for the sounds of the tactical team. No lights came on – the entire EPS control assembly for the southwest face of the house had been overloaded earlier, during a firefight with a Herald thrall.

"She's gone," said Cratak. "Just like the others."

Terel, in her typical stubborn fashion, refused to take that as the end of the matter. Her pair of tactical crewmen advanced through the house, covering doorways with their weapons and crouching near furniture. Terel followed behind them, then stormed into the back hallway with pistol in one hand and grenade in the other. The door for the back bedroom opened with a momentary shudder, and a squeaking, bleating noise emerged.

Terel checked the corners of the bedroom, then straightened and holstered her pistol.

"Just an epohh," she said.

The tactical crewmen moved back through the house, checking the disheveled kitchen and the empty master bedroom, but no-one else remained. While Terel paced back and forth along the back hallway, Cratak regarded an end table holding a piece of abstract art. To her it looked like a sculpted flame, stylized into smooth curves reaching upward to a narrow apex. What did it represent?

To the family that once lived here, it had some kind of meaning. Now that meaning was lost, along with the people who'd called this home. The whole house was hollow now, empty – like the whole galaxy was in danger of becoming. She picked up the piece and traced her fingers along one of the smooth curves.

It was cold to the touch, carved from some kind of native stone, a pale green shade, almost like skin, but without the warmth.

One of the tactical crew returned from finishing a sweep of the house and, with a stiff military posture, reported to Terel, saying, "Finished checking the rest of the house. Didn't find any shielded storage or panic room – nowhere to hide from scanners or intruders. It's empty. No reason left for us to stay here, sir."

Terel nodded, though she remained displeased.

She turned to Doctor Cratak and said, "The Heralds have already come and gone. I don't think we're going to catch any more in this part of the mountains. We should return to the Lleiset and wait for another signal."

Cratak nodded once, thinking back to the many conflicts she'd seen as an officer and a doctor for Romulan starships for decades. Enemies that you couldn't see were one thing: The cloaking device made that a natural tactic for Romulan naval vessels. But enemies who appeared in the middle of the night, whisked away your family and your children, and vanished to some place millions of light years away – it had an uncomfortable similarity to the tactics of the Tal Shiar.

Dark nights, with innocent people vanishing without a sound.

Carried off to unknown places, never to return.

No argument, no negotiation, no faces, just terror.

Cratak put down the statuary and tapped her communicator. "Cratak here. Ready to beam the team back. There's nobody left… just the animals. All the people are gone from this settlement."

The dipping whine of the transporter sounded in reply, and she was whisked away to oblivion.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Kyana System  
Kyana Station  
Seven of Nine's Quarters**

 _To: Admiral Janeway_

 _From: Seven of Nine_

 _Stardate: 87059.01_

 _Kathryn,_

 _I hope this letter finds you to be in optimal health. I am functioning within normal parameters. As indicated by the informal greeting, I find myself in need of the guidance of Kathryn Janeway, my friend, not Admiral Janeway of Starfleet._

 _You are aware of the Krenim Project and its stated goals. We are making efficient forward progress, however, I find myself having reservations. It has become apparent we can build this weapon, but the question for me is if we should build it. I have noticed that among my Krenim colleagues there is a disregard for the potential consequences related to our work._

 _The acquisition of new technology and the progress of knowledge is, and has always been, pleasing to me. We are also moving at an efficient pace. It is curious that despite such optimal circumstances I would feel such disquiet. I posit it may be my intimate familiarity with the statistical dangers that has tempered my desire to push those boundaries. The consequences of the technology, if actually deployed, are vast._

 _I am uncertain how to proceed._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Seven of Nine_

 _Temporal Researcher_

 _Kyana Research Facility_

 **I.K.S. _Bortasqu  
_ Sick Bay**

"Nurse Ch'droth, pass me the osteogenic stimulator," said Doctor Harza-Kull, elbow deep in microsurgery.

The patient, a Bekk named K'rat, stirred and began to mumble, "No, let me pass over to Sto'vo'kor."

"Not today, I'm afraid," Hazra-Kull said, "The Empire still has need of your services. Nurse, pass me –"

Sick bay rocked with the force of an impact, and the lights went down. Harza-Kull let loose a string of curses in several languages in the darkness, before the emergency lights came up, even redder than the regular ruddy light on the Bortasqu'.

"Koren to sick bay. Wounded incoming," Captain Koren's voice came over the comm, sounding tired.

"What? We're in battle again? I'm not even done patching up the last group," Harza-Kull said.

"It's the gateways, Doctor. The Heralds can be anywhere at will," Koren said, "And they're not slowed down by doctors who complain when they should be treating patients."

Harza-Kull grunted his frustration and snatched a dermal regenerator off the instrument tray. "No time for a thorough job, I'm afraid. We need you back at your station, K'rat. You're going to have one serious scar."

"Don't worry, K'rat," Ch'droth said, "Klingon women like their men with a few scars."

Just as he finished closing the incision on K'rat, a team of four crewmen brought in three wounded warriors.

"Put them on beds four, five, and six," Harza-Kull, already visually assessing the first patient, turned back to Ch'droth, "Nurse, administer 20 ccs of inaprovaline to Bekk K'rat and send him back to work, we're going to need the bed."

Harza-Kull completed a scan of the first patient, who was unconscious, "Severe plasma burns, possible concussion, multiple contusions and fractured ribs. He'll live, but he won't be fighting any time soon. Give him some 20 ccs of Triptacederine and monitor his vitals."

The second patient, Lieutenant J'sac was still awake, but in shock. His left arm was severely burned. "What happened, Lieutenant?" Harza-Kull asked, mostly to test J'sac's mental state – he could smell the ozone characteristic of an electro-plasma discharge the moment the Lieutenant entered his sickbay.

"We were hit by a torpedo, sir, and the EPS conduit ruptured," the Lieutenant stammered, trying not to show the pain of his injuries in his voice.

Harza-Kull nodded sharply, "Just relax, Lieutenant."

The third injured crewman was so badly burned that he was barely recognizable. It was only by comparing a scan to the medical records that Harza-Kull was able to identify him as Bekk Orrad, just out of the academy on Qo'noS. Triage on a Klingon ship was complicated under the best of circumstances. On another ship, under different circumstances, he would have tried to save the young man.

But his injuries were so extensive, it would take hours to stabilize him and then weeks of recovery before he was fit for duty. Meanwhile, he could amputate J'sac's arm, pump him full of stimulants and have him back at his station in half an hour. And in a war like this, that officer could mean the difference between the deliverance and the destruction of the Bortasqu'.

Harza-Kull turned to Nurse Ch'droth and said quietly, "Well, if I had more time I could save the arm, but we need him back at his station. Nurse, prepare the Lieutenant for amputation."

"Sir, isn't that a little extreme? You know how we Klingons feel about such injuries."

"This is a war, Nurse," Harza-Kull snapped, "And Lieutenant J'sac is an Energy Weapons Officer. And a one-armed energy weapons officer is better than no energy weapons officer. If he'd rather be dead he can perform the Hegh'bat after we've won the war."

Another explosion rocked sick bay. One of the uninjured crewmen lost his footing and knocked over a tray of instruments.

"That's it," Harza-Kull barked, "Out of my sickbay. We're in the middle of a war, go fight it. And leave me to my own battles."

Harza-Kull turned back to the third patient, fruitlessly racking his mind for a way to save the young warrior. The cruel calculus of the situation left only a single solution.

"One more for Sto'vo'kor, Nurse. Give him something to ease the way and then get back to prepping the Lieutenant."

She didn't argue. In fact, Harza-Kull caught a look of envy in her eyes that he found disturbing. Ch'droth was a competent, if uninspired, nurse. He knew that she longed to prove herself in battle, but lacked the physical prowess. For her, nursing was a way to serve the Empire.

Sometimes, though, it seemed she'd just as soon send all the wounded to Sto'vo'kor, at least the Klingon ones.

For their benefit, of course, but her Klingon appreciation of a glorious death made him uncomfortable. His job, meanwhile, was to patch them up and send them back into battle, and to make difficult decisions about who was to live and who to die. It was small comfort that, given the choice, this young warrior would likely choose to die and guarantee his place in the afterlife. Harza-Kull would have chosen to live. In fact, he would force every single one of them to live, if he could make the choice for them. Let them die of old age and go to Greth'or with the dishonored dead.

At least they wouldn't be on his conscience.

"Koren to sick bay. More wounded incoming."

"More? I'm running out of beds down here, Captain."

"I will ask the Heralds to pace themselves, Doctor, and give you a chance to catch up," Koren said.

"Ah, that famous Klingon wit. With that and some more biobeds we might be able to keep your stations manned long enough to win this war," Harza-Kull said.

"Cheer up, Doctor. Today is a good day to die," said Koren.

"I don't know about a good one," Harza-Kull said, "But it's proving to be a popular one."

 _Personal log:_

 _That's how these journals go, isn't it? How did I even get involved in this? I'm no soldier, just a biologist._

 _At first I thought that the sharp decline in the local animal population was a side-effect of Iconian weapons, or perhaps a disease or migration. That lasted until I found the remains – scat, tracks, and bits of fur. These showed the signs of some kind of new alpha predator, hunting the epohhs and vivvers and everything else that walked on New Romulus. This wasn't a huge surprise; large areas of the planet remain unexplored even now, and I'd expected to be finding new animals for centuries._

 _Whatever this animal was, though, it wasn't something indigenous. I already knew that the various Iconian servitors and Heralds had been causing havoc on Mol'Rihan, but in retrospect it should've been obvious that the Iconians – past masters at genetic alteration and the creation of servant species – would have their own biological weapons to subvert the ecosphere._

 _So far, the Heralds and the other servitors like the Elachi had been engaged in hit-and-run strikes on allied positions, appearing from nowhere and overwhelming the allies with a massive strike, then vanishing. After the death of M'tara, though, something changed. The Herald attacks became more vicious and more frequent, especially on New Romulus. And I'd found evidence that the Iconians had departed from conventional warfare with the introduction of engineered predators, pathogens, and of course the Elachi abductions and conversions._

 _At first I thought this was because the allied forces had killed M'tara, but now I'm not so sure. The Elachi haven't been targeting Federation or Klingon forces for abduction like they have Romulan colonies. The Solanae, hiding in subspace, haven't reappeared, but now it seems like the destruction of Hobus was no accident, and they're the species that would know the most about damaging subspace shockwaves._

 _This feels personal. The Iconians are targeting New Romulus and the Romulan people, and not just because of the old gateway. Crateris suffered an outbreak of an engineered plague. Gasko station's chief of security was subverted by a neural parasite._

 _The Iconians want to hurt us specifically._

 _But why?_

 _And what can we do about it?_

 _The allied forces were barely able to stop M'tara, and at a huge cost. If there's a reason for the Iconians to pay special attention to us, we don't even know what it is, and we may be exterminated before we ever find out._

 _I'm going to try to track down the predators that the Iconians have introduced before they can completely unbalance the biosphere relations, but this is just one more point to a many-pronged attack. The Iconians have something special in mind for us – and if they were somehow involved in the destruction of Romulus, that may just be the start._

 **USS _Enterprise  
_ Captain Shon's Ready Room**

Captain Va'kel Shon regarded the map with a frown. The wall display was configured to show the current state of the Alpha and Beta quadrants. Iconian forces were picked out with grey icons across the map, like sharp teeth, tearing into the Alliance.

"There must be another way," Shon said to himself, eyes tracing over the newest systems to fall under the Iconian banner. During conflicts with the Borg, the Collective swept forward like a great tide. The Iconian war had a more abstract concept of a "front line" thanks to their gateway technology, but it was certain they were heading for Earth.

Shon's ready-room door chimed, breaking his intent study of the map. "Come," he called.

"Captain," Commander Philipa Matthias greeted as she stepped into the room. She glanced at the display, lips tightening slightly.

"Did you need something, Counselor?" Shon asked, hoping she would be brief. The _Enterprise_ would be leaving for the final Kyana briefing at 0800, giving him little time to work.

"Galactic peace would be lovely, but I think you'll agree that's unlikely at the moment, so I would be satisfied with a cup of tea and your ear for the time being," Matthias said.

Shon eyed the human woman for a moment then stepped to the replicator, calling up a Vulcan blend he knew she was partial to, and a small raktajino for himself. Matthias sat on one of the more informal couches and sipped her tea for a moment in silence. Shon sat across from her with a small resigned sigh.

"I am making the rounds with everyone," Matthias said over the rim of her mug. "Just so you don't think I am singling you out, Sir."

"What's the mood of the crew?" Shon asked, more comfortable with this as a business meeting. He had too much of the future on his mind to be digging into personal tragedies of the past – as ironic as that was given the current situation. They were facing the hardest battle yet. Possibly the last battle.

"Frightened," Commander Matthias replied without hesitation, "but they are trying to keep it in check. They're looking to the senior staff for guidance."

"And how are my senior officers, Counselor?"

"Looking to you, Captain," she said, contemplating him. "So the question is, how are you? I am under the impression you've had some reservations."

Shon's antennae twitched in short, sudden anger. Philipa arched a grey eyebrow, sipped her tea and waited patiently for him to answer.

"You've seen the reports, Commander, and you've seen the same maps I have," he said, gesturing to the display. "We've little choice but to move ahead with the plan. Quinn, J'mpok and D'Tan signed off on it. The Alliance fleets are all in motion. We're committed. The _Enterprise_ will be there to defend the Federation." To the last, a small inner voice added. If only there was another way…

"I expect Captain Koren is looking forward to the battle immensely," Matthias observed, tone light.

Caught off guard, Shon chuckled. "That she is. She's bet both Tiaru and I that the _Bortasqu_ ' will personally defeat more Herald ships than the _Enterprise_ and the _Lleiset_ , combined." Shon shook his head and looked out the window at the gathering fleet; at once it was the largest he'd ever seen and it was too small. "She won't lack for targets based on what intelligence believes."

"You don't agree with Kagran's final plan," Matthias said, abruptly changing the conversation's direction back to him. "I am ship's counselor; I'm here for you to speak with as well."

Shon's antennae twitched and he gave her a cool look. "The _Enterprise_ will do her duty," he said, "and so will I."

"That is never something I have ever questioned, Captain. You'll go along with the plan, but you don't agree with it. Do you think it will fail?"

Shon set his drink aside and stood before the window, clasping his hands behind his back. "Even the best plans can fail, Counselor. No, my objections are…" he paused, looking for a word before finally settling on one. "My objections are deeper."

He turned to face her. "When I joined Starfleet, I took an oath to uphold the Federation's ideals and values. Too much of this flies directly in the face of that. We're facing certain death, but if we win in this way, will we have killed something core to the Federation? If we take these actions, will we be damning ourselves anyway?"

"You are concerned for the soul of the Federation?" Matthias asked.

"It will be easier a second time. Easier still a third. The door will have been opened." Shon walked back to the tactical display of the quadrants as he spoke. "I've spent the last few days trying to come up with an alternative." He shook his head. "They're too numerous and too powerful. The best case might have us survive a few months, but then we'll be overrun."

"I don't think we'll instantly jettison the Prime Directive if we survive the next few days," Matthias said, answering some of Shon's darker, unspoken thoughts.

Shon looked over at her.

She shook her head, shoulder squared. "We have too many good people to let that happen. I count you chief among them, Captain. That said, you are the commander of the Federation's flagship. That places you in a special position. If you have reservations, you're in a position to speak up and be heard." She rose and set her teacup in the replicator. "As someone who shares your reservations, for the same reasons, I would be grateful if you'd give us a voice."

Shon studied her then nodded. "I'll do my best, Counselor."

"Thank you, Captain. With your permission I'll let you get back to your work. If there is an alternative plan, I hope you will find it."

Shon nodded and turned to regard the map once more as Matthias saw herself out. Another icon flashed silver, another system held by Herald forces.

"As do I, Counselor," Shon said, "As do I."

The door beeped again.

"Come." Shon answered.

The door opened and this time it was Lieutenant Ahsoka Tano at the door. "Sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Of course not, Lieutenant." Shon said, welcoming and inviting her to sit. "I'm afraid we might not be in a position to return the Jedi to the Skyriver Galaxy for much longer."

Ahsoka nodded in understand.

The war against the Iconains had not been going well for the Alliance.

Despite their attempts to fight back the Iconians had the numbers with their Herald warriors and allies such as the Elachi and the Solanae and the ability to appear almost anywhere with their gateways that made it almost impossible to counter them. New Romulus had been conquered, Starbase 234 had been lost along with the Preserver Archives, the planet Calbriden Prime had been destroyed and replaced with a Solanae Station to create a pocket of tetyron space and allow the Solanae to send their ships through to assist the Iconians but had fortunately been thwarted but the Alliance was still far from wining. To the visitors from the Skyriver Galaxy it was almost a painful reminder of the Clone Wars with the Republic struggling to fend off the Separatist droid armies. Only the Iconians were more powerful and the entire galaxy was being invaded with only the Alliance and handful of other powers being able to fight.

"Sir, this plan the Alliance has issued…Is it wise?" Ahsoka asked after a moment of silence.

"Wise? Unlikely. Desperate? I am afraid so." Shon answered as he sat down. "The truth is there is no way to beat the Iconians in conventional warfare, especially considering their latest actions in the wake of their leader's death. We can either fight to the end like the Klingons would do or seek a desperate victory in the past."

Ahsoka nodded sadly. "I thought as much."

"And in the end I suppose if we do survive because of this desperate plan I must consider the chance that maybe some of the Jedi will ask we do the same for them: wipe out the Sith from history." Shon leaned back in his chair. "Prevent a galaxy spanning war and a cultural genocide."

Ahsoka wanted to say the Jedi would never condone such an action but the truth was she couldn't because she knew from experience that desperation could make anyone capable of anything, even the Jedi Order.

"I heard that Quinn offered to give the Jedi a ship to escape, fleeing to some far corner of the galaxy that the Iconians won't care about but they declined." Shon continued. "They'd rather stay and help us stand in perhaps our final moments. That offer goes to you as well, Lieutenant. You don't owe us your life and you have as much reason to return to the Skyriver Galaxy as the Jedi."

"I do…" Ahsoka admitted. "But I'd never forgive myself for fleeing and leaving people I consider friends to die. Besides, where could we go?"

That was a very good question.

 **Delta Quadrant  
Formerly Kazon Space  
Planet 'Starkiller'**

 _Admiral's Personal Log:_

 _The construction of Starkiller Base is proceeding smoothly. Using a combination of presicion and the brute force of orbital bombardment we have cleared out enough of the planet's surface to begin construction under the surface. Energy convertors have already been installed to begin harnessing heat energy from the planet's core to power the underground base. Completion of the base is estimated to be in six Earth months._

 _End Log_

Grand Admiral Thrawn looked over the reports and was pleased with the progress of the base while looking up the reports on the Iconian War happening on the other side of the galaxy. The Alliance was losing ground to the Iconians who seemed to be concentrating their forces on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The only times they had interfered in the Delta Quadrant was when they supplied the Vaadwaur with enough technology to make them a threat to the entire quadrant, even against powers like the Borg and the Voth. So it seems the Empire's operations will remain unknown to its enemies, likely it was until it was too late.

In the long run it didn't matter who won the war as the Empire would simply swoop in and removed them as threats.

"What is the latest intelligence?" Thrawn asked once the head of the Empire Intelligence Agency in the Milky Way entered his office.

"We've learned the Alliance is falling back to Earth, apparently to make a final stand against the Iconians. They've gathered the majority of their forces, including the flagships of the Federation, the Klingons and the Romulans to head the fleet. We have also received news that allies such as the Kobali will be sending their forces to aid the Alliance." The intelligence officer reported.

"And the Jedi?" Thrawn questioned.

"They are apparently stationed on Earth, possibly to help defend against Herald invasion."

"Hmm…" Thrawn brought a hand to his chin. "I find it unlikely that the Alliance has backed itself into a corner and not resorted to desperate tactics."

"We have received rumors of a secret weapon the Alliance has been constructing at a station in the Kyana system but the Alliance has been keeping it top secret. None of our agents have been able to learn anything about it." The officer said. "Given their capabilities it's hard to imagine what it could be and what could turn the tide in a war against their enemy."

"Yes…" Thrawn looked thoughtful. "The Alliance is capable of many things and they hold many weapons that could destroy entire worlds. The Doomsday Device, the Xindi Superweapon and perhaps even more that are kept secret. But against an opponent like the Iconians it would have to be more than just a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet or even more than one."

"You suggest whatever they have could be more dangerous than even Project Starkiller?"

"Not every weapon needs to be one revolving around destruction. Perhaps they have found a way to counter the gateway technology of the Iconians." Thrawn said, actualy wondering what the Alliance was planning.

The fact that he had no clue was what it made it so interesting.


	70. Chapter 70

**0 BGUW(Before Great Universal War)**

 **The dark times in the Skyriver Galaxy began when the Galactic Republic was replaced by the Galactic Empire and began a period of expansion across the Outer Rim. Worlds previously not aligned with the Republic were forced into the Empire under threat of annihilation by the Emperor, Darth Vader. The Jedi Order had been broken, many of its members fleeing to the Milky Way Galaxy or fleeing to the far edges of the galaxy. With this new age came great advancements in technology thanks to the Borg knowledge that Lord Vader had gained and used it as an advantage to crush any resistance and appease many worlds that had suffered under poverty and enslavement for decades, ensuring little chance of rebellion from them.**

 **Despite the grip the Empire has maintained on the galaxy a Resistance has been formed under Saw Guerra of Onderon, Admiral Ackbar of Mon Calamari, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, and Senator Mon Mothma of Bormea Sector with the intention of restoring the Republic. The Empire's arrival into the Milky Way would force the Resistance to move and begin what would be known as the Great Universal War.**

 **Skyriver Galaxy  
Outer Rim  
Deep Space**

Saw Guerra stared out the viewport of his small ship, looking among the small fleet that had gathered as far from Imperial space as reasonably possible. The fleet was composed of modified freighters and older ships, dating back to the Clone Wars such as the old _Venator_ class that was not modified or refitted, simply abandoned or sold to a private sector. Other ships were organic looking Mon Calamari vessels that originally functioned as deep space explorers but had later been retrofitted for military service.

One such vessel was the flagship of the Resistance fleet, _Home One_.

Like her sister ships in her original form, the _Home One_ was an unarmed civilian vessel, designed for deep-space exploration, and her hull was strewn with a number of large observation viewports that would have been vulnerable in a military role. However, it is possible that, viewport bubbles notwithstanding, she was protected from the outset by the heavy hull plating and triple-redundant deflector shields. Her vast viewports were plated over, and she was outfitted with a heavy offensive armament, including phased based weaponry that had become common in the galaxy. The hull contained twenty hangars, two of which were capable of handling larger vessels, these presumably being the large bay on the starboard side of the hull, and the main hangar on the ship's underbelly.

Two smaller bays were visible on the port side of the hull, approximately opposite the large starboard bay. The secret squadron Gray Flight utilized a hangar with an aperture located in the 'ceiling' of the room. The interior corridors, bridges and bulkheads of the _Home One_ were pristine white. The _Home One_ was modified by Calamari technicians to be capable of splitting apart in three sections.

The topmost section containing the main bridge and a forward section above the bow could separate from the main superstructure and function as additional warships or escape vehicles.

The ship was powered by four M8.0-StarDrive engines and six M4.5-StarDrive maneuvering engines, a drive system also used on the _Liberty_ type although the thrusters of the two designs were arranged in different configurations: where the _Home One_ had four large and six small nozzles, the _Liberty_ had nine of varying sizes.

"So the rumors are true." Saw turned around, starting the meeting with other rebel leader. "The Empire has found a way into the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Our agents have confirmed that an Imperial strike force has already entered the Milky Way." Bail Organa answered.

"This may precent an opportunity. We can find allies in the Milky Way to help us overthrow the Empire." Mothma suggested.

"They didn't exactly help us when the Empire rose." Saw said bitterly. "They fled back to their galaxy and left us to suffer."

"They cannot be blamed for that. The Empire turned the bulk of its forces on the Alliance and they were forced to close off the portal." Mothma protested.

"They also had conflicts of their own to worry about. Perhaps they have managed to solve it." Bail offered.

"And how do we contact them?" Saw questioned. "Any transmissions will be intercepted here."

"We still have bits of Milky Way technology that was left behind when the Alliance fled. We've been adapting it as best as we can through the years. If the Empire is looking for negotiators to speak with anyone in the Milky Way we can use that to our advantage." Bail stated.

"The United Federation of Planets has a non-interference policy. They did not intervene during the Clone Wars." Ackbar stated.

"Yes but the Klingons did wipe out the Zygerian Empire and many slave trading guilds." Bail replied. "There is a chance they would aid us against the Empire."

"I am not placing too much hope on it." Saw said quietly but nodded. "But I am willing to give it a try. If the Empire has two galaxies united against it we would have a much bigger chance."

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

"Let us hope we will have the chance."

 **Milky Way Galaxy  
Delta Quadrant  
Planet 'Starkiller'**

Thrawn grunted as he knocked down the droid he was sparring with and brought his staff down on its head, ending the match. Rubbing the sweat off his forehead he exited the sparing room to see his first officer, Palleon waiting for him.

"Sir." Palleon greeted.

"You have something to report?" Thrawn asked as he picked up a towel.

"We have just finished installing the kyber crystals for the containment field in the planet's core. Our simulations show the field will perfectly contain the amount of energy needed for a full attack." Palleon held out a pad for Thrawn to see. "The energy from the planet's core can power the facility now. We don't need the power generators anymore."

"Good. What about the status of the power converter?" Thrawn asked.

"It will be ready but without a full test I cannot guarantee it will work properly. What we are building and what it can do is…Ambitious." Palleon needed a moment to think of the proper word.

"It is." Thrawn nodded. "We have come to this galaxy, for the purpose of finishing what the Emperor started long ago. And destroy any obstacles in our way. That is the only reason why Lord Vader allowed the construction of this superweapon. For the purpose of being deterant against enemies like the Borg who hold the most power in this quadrant."

"But not the Federation?" Palleon asked.

"The Federation is an enemy state but one that can be tempered through other forms of defeating an enemy, such as negotiation. That is a power they themselves use and have perfected over the centuries of exploring the universe. However against an enemy like the Borg Lord Vader believes they are a disease that needs to be wiped from the universe and it is a belief I share." Thrawn said, looking over the reports. "They will not be the only obstacle."

The Milky Way galaxy was not like the Skyriver Galaxy.

It was vast.

It was unknown.

It was unpredictable.

And Thrawn enjoyed it.

"Is there any news in the Alpha Quadrant?" Thrawn changed the subject.

"It seems the Iconians are making their move againt Earth, Admiral." Palleon answered.

"Then the end of the war is near." Thrawn stated. "Earth is the capital of the Federation and I have no doubt they will have a plan."

"What do you suggest we do, Admiral?"

Thrawn considered the question. "Nothing. This war does not concern us. We have concerns at the moment. Has General Grievous begun his mission?"

"Yes sir."

 **Markonia Sector  
Vaadwaur System  
Vaadwaur Prime  
R.S.D. _Finalizer  
_ Bridge**

General Grievous watched as his ship emerged into the homeworld of the Vaadwaur, a race of conquerors that had nearly been driven to extinction over a thousand years ago. The Vaadwaur Supremacy ruled much the Delta Quadrant at its height, using a network of subspace corridors - the Underspace - to launch sneak attacks on neighboring systems. Eventually, however, an alliance of species led by the Turei managed to defeat the Vaadwaur in the 15th century and forced the survivors to place themselves into stasis in the hopes of one day rebuilding their culture. In 2376, the U.S.S. _Voyager_ landed on the now-lifeless Vaadwaur homeworld to hide from a Turei patrol.

While there, the crew discovered a battalion of Vaadwaur in stasis and Seven of Nine awakened them. While the crew of _Voyager_ initially helped the Vaadwaur start to rebuild, they eventually discovered the nature of the culture they'd revived and were forced to flee before the Vaadwaur could capture their vessel. Several dozen of their ships escaped the planet, disappearing to parts unknown. By 2410 the Supremacy had been reborn, and had used surprisingly powerful ships and weapons to wreak havoc across the Delta Quadrant and overthrow several major factions, such as the Krenim Imperium and the B'omar Sovereignty.

It was discovered that they had been supplied advanced technology by the Iconians who also infested their leadership with neural parasites. After their former leader Gaul was killed in battle the Vaadwaur Eldex had taken control of the remaining Vaadwaur and attempting to rebuild their civilization on Vaadwaur Prime. Though they had lost against the Alliance the Vaadwaur still had potential as a powerful ally to the Empire. They had been supplied weapons and technology by the Iconians themselves and had managed to weaken the majority of the Delta Quadrant, even the Borg to invasion.

And not just from the Iconians.

"General, we are detecting ships in orbit on an intercept course." The tactical officer reported. "Initial scans show them to be Vaadwaur. They are arming weapons and raising shields."

"Open a channel." Grievous ordered immediately.

The _Resurgent_ class Star Destroyer had been designed to fight against Milky Way starships, removing the weaknesses of the previous _Imperator_ class such as the bridge tower. But the Vaadwaur were still a powerful enemy and Grievous had been ordered to either convert them into the Empire or eliminate them. The Imperial taskforce led by the _Finalizer_ consisted six _Imperial_ Mk-II Class Star Destroyers, four _Victory_ class Star Destroyers and a dozen support craft.

"Channel open."

"This is General Grievous of the Galactic Empire. I come to offer the Vaadwaur Supremecy a chance to rebuild their civilization and protection from all their enemies." Grievous stated, standing at the viewport, watching as the Vaadwaur ships approached.

It didn't take long to receive a reply. " _We are not interested in being pawns to anyone. The Vaadwaur will rebuild with no one's assistance._ "

Grievous narrowed his eyes as the Vaadwaur closed the channel. "Status?"

"They are moving to attack, General."

"Raise shields and lock all forward weapons on the approaching Vaadwaur. Get the pilots to their fighters." Grievous ordered.

Not for the first time Grievous was glad the officers of the Empire were far more competent than the droids of the Confederacy. Lord Vader had made it a point to make sure the Empire only accepted competent officers and what droids they employed had better programming. Dozens of fighters were launched from the Imperial ships, taking up positions around the capital ships as they approached the Vaadwaure fleet. Grievous could see that the Vaadwaur ships were less in number than their Imperial enemies despite their advanced firepower.

Imperial Intelligence had confirmed the renewed Vaadwaur Supremacy had been crippled after their leadership was revealed to be under the control of the Iconians that caused the Supremact to fracture with most of it vanishing into exile while the rest remained behind to try and continue rebuilding while fighting for leadership. The Vaadwaur had been reduced to shadows of their former selves but they still could prove useful to the Empire.

"They are moving sir."

Grievous snorted, seeing how the Vaadwaur fleet was barely organized. It was obvious they all belonged to ships from different factions that wanted to control the planet and the Supremacy. They had no formation as they moved to attack and seemed to no plan other than to try and blast his forces when they come into range.

"Attack Formation Echo Three." Grievous ordered, already forming the battle plan in his mind. "Target the large cruisers and cut them off. Isolate them from others and destroy them. Order our fighters to focus on the frigates and have them move between the enemy ships to avoid being fired upon."

The forward plasma based disruptors targeted the Vaadwaur ships and fired, beginning the battle. The Imperial fighters shot forward, moving in between the Vaadwaur ships and bombarding them with disruptors and torpedoes, making use of their numerical advantage and their speed to maximum effect. Under the command of Lord Vader the Empire's main Starfighter class had been heavily upgraded to include on-board deflector shields that provided better protection and offensive capabilities, improved solar cells, and higher-capacity converters. The solar panels fitted to the TIE gathered light energy and channeled it through high-efficiency coils into a reactor powered by high-pressure radioactive gas fuel.

An armored cover protected the solar array and its girandium-colium solar cells and they also possessed their own hyperdrive even though access to hyperspace was not possible in the Milky Way. The Imperial ships fired on the nearest Vaadwaur ship, blasting its shields apart in a matter of minutes and then destroying it a second later. The Imperial ships continued this strategy, blasting the remaining Vaadwaur ships apart and settled into orbit above the planet.

"We are settling into orbit, General."

Grievous nodded in satisfaction. "Beam our troops down to the locations with the largest life signs. We will take the Vaadwaur planet and any secrets it has."

The ability to beam down troops and heavy equipment was a major step-up from the time of the Clone Wars. It allowed the Empire to forgo the use of heavy transports and minimized the chance of causalities. Stormtroopers and heavy walkers were transported down to the surface, able to quickly organize and begin marching down on the Vaadwaur resistance as they fought back. The Vaadwaur still had their weapons from the Iconians but they had been fighting amongst themselves since Gaul was killed and were left disorganized as the Empire marched through their destroyed cities.

It would only take a few days before Vaadwaur Prime was under the control of the Empire and Grievous was satisfied with the results. He would be pleased to report this to Admiral Thrawn who was equally satisfied.

This was only the beginning.

 **Kotaba Sector  
New Talax System  
New Talax**

Usually a very sociable people with a love for food, stories and humor, many Talaxians left their homeworld when it was conquered by the Haakonian Order in 2356 after a bloody war. In 2371, the Talaxian scrap trader Neelix joined the crew of the USS _Voyager_ until being dropped off 7 years later at an asteroid colony his people established tens of thousands of lightyears away from their original home. He became the leader of the community, which grew from 500 to 3,000 members and had relocated to a different asteroid in the Entaba System by 2410. As the crowded colony is no place to raise children, the Talaxians seek to re-establish a permanent home on a real planet.

That planet was New Talax, a planet much similar to the original Talaxian homeworld. Upon the arrival of the Talaxian convoy, Starfleet and its allies had to drive off some Malon commanded by Selvk, who considered the system a perfect site for waste disposal.

"Neelix!"

Neelix, current leader of the Talaxian colony and former crewmember of _Voyager_ turned around as a Talaxian officer entered his officer. "Yes, what is it?"

"We have received a transmission. An Admiral Thrawn of the Galactic Empire wishes to speak with you."

Admiral Thrawn had read up on Nelix, knowing that he had once been affiliated with Starfleet as a member of _Voyager's_ crew during the time the USS _Voyager_ had been stranded in the Delta Quadrant and was impressed by what he had learned. Near the end of the war, Talaxian Defense Forces on Talax prepared for a Haakonian invasion. He had been a participant, albeit an unwilling one in the Talaxian-Haakonian war. Apparently he had condemned the decisions his people and the Haakonians had made to go to war with each other.

The war ended when the Haakonians deployed a devastating weapon known as the metreon cascade on the Talaxian moon Rinax. More than a quarter of a million Talaxians were vaporized, and the following day Talax surrendered unconditionally to the Order. Thrawn had looked up the weapon known as the metron cascade, a weapon of mass destruction conceived by Dr. Ma'Bor Jetrel of the Haakonian Order, and then built by a team of scientists led by him. The weapon was tested, and then deployed in 2356 on Rinax, a Talaxian moon.

The military strategists selected this target because they wanted to show the power of the cascade in all its horror. It used unstable metreon isotopes to create a devastating explosion. The resulting radiation poisoning killed those who were not destroyed by the initial blast. Neelix, who lost his entire family due to the metreon cascade, was hiding on Talax from the Talaxian Defense Forces at the time the cascade was deployed; he was guilty of desertion and illegally refused to serve.

More than a quarter of a million people were vaporized, and thousands of others eaten away by Metreon poisoning. The Talaxians surrendered the day after the weapon was deployed. The only logical option given they had no defense against a weapon of such power.

"Greetings, Neelix." Thrawn stated as the image of Nelix appeared before him. "I am Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Galactic Empire. I come from the Skyriver Galaxy."

Nelix maintained a calm look. " _I know of the Skyriver Galaxy and I know of the Galactic Empire. Let me save you a lot of trouble, Mr. Thrawn. My people are allied with the United Federation of Planets and we will not join you or allow ourselves to be conquered again._ "

"You misunderstand me, Neelix. I am not attempting to intimidate you, I wish to make an offer." Thrawn replied calmly.

" _An offer?_ "

"For nearly sixty years your people have been scattered across the galaxy when your planet was conquered by your enemies. What I offer is the chance to reclaim your home." Thrawn answered.

Neelix was silent for a moment. " _That is impossible._ "

"Oh?"

" _Talax was conquered by the Haakonian Order when my people surrendered after the war. Even if the wish for home remains strong none of us have any wish to start another war, especially since we finally found a new one._ "

"And if the Empire offers to take back your world?"

" _Please explain to me the benefits of trading one master for another._ "

Thrawn chuckled. "I assure you, Mr. Nelix that the Empire has no wish to force the Talaxian people into slavery. The Empire is made of many species, including ones that have suffered under the brutality of slavery and oppression. That is why I offer you the chance to regain your homeworld."

" _And what do you want in exchange?_ "

"Mearly to extend a new hand of friendship. To ensure you we have no ill intent towards you we will offer a treaty of non-aggression against the Talaxian people. You would be free to even inform Starfleet of our presence." Thrawn answered smoothly. "The Empire is not the same as it was under the control of Emperor Palpatine. We have no reason to go to war with you or your allies."

Neelix stared at Thrawn, trying to see if he could understand the admiral's intent but the admiral was impossible to read. " _I know many of my peope would wish to regain our homeworld but I am mearly charged as helping my people settle on our new world. I do not speak for them nor will I order them to start another war with our enemies, especially since the last one was started for petty reasons._ "

"An understandable precaution, which is why the Empire will not ask you to fight. As a gesture of good will the Empire will reclaim your world with none of your people having to take up arms."

Neelix raised an eyebrow. " _You would fight an entire war for a people who would possibly refuse to ally with you even if you carry out your word?_ "

"You will find, Mr. Neelix that the Empire prefers to fulfill its promises, not by word but by deed." Thrawn smiled. "Please, speak with your people of this and as a gesture of good will I will offer you the chance to see us carry out our promise."


	71. Special Note

**Special Note**

 **I know you've all been looking forward to the next chapter of this story but I got some bad news. I wrote myself into a corner because of the course of this story, leaving me with permanent writer's block. Now before you all freak out here is the good news: I have decided to redo Age of the New Frontier, only now it will likely have more than just Star Trek and Star Wars. I will be posting it right after this message so hope you all like it.**


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